301 vs 302 Redirect
301 is permanent and moves indexing to the destination; 302 is temporary and keeps the original indexed.
A 301 redirect is permanent and a 302 is temporary. Use a 301 when a URL has moved for good: it passes ranking signals to the new address and search engines eventually drop the old one. Use a 302 only while the original URL is genuinely coming back, such as during maintenance or an A/B test.
Definition
Both status codes send a browser to a different URL; they differ in what they promise about the future. A 301 says the move is permanent — index the destination and forget the old URL. A 302 (and its stricter sibling 307) says the move is temporary — keep the original URL indexed, because the content is coming back.
Google will eventually treat a long-lived 302 as if it were a 301, but "eventually" is the problem: during the interim the wrong URL is the one in the index, and the consolidation of signals onto the destination is delayed.
Why It Matters
Redirects are how a site migration preserves the value it has accumulated. Choosing 302 for a permanent move is the single most common way a replatform loses rankings — the signals never transfer because the site keeps insisting the change is temporary.
Chains compound the damage. Every extra hop adds latency for users and gives crawlers another chance to give up before reaching the destination.
Example
Use 301 for a changed URL structure, an HTTP→HTTPS move, or consolidating www and non-www. Use 302 for a seasonal landing page, a temporary maintenance notice, or A/B testing where the original must stay indexed. Always redirect to the final destination directly — /a → /b → /c should be rewritten as /a → /c and /b → /c.
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