302 Redirect
In one line
A 302 redirect tells engines that a URL is temporarily redirected — search engines keep indexing the original URL rather than transferring signals to the destination.
Going deeper
A 302 says 'we are sending visitors elsewhere for now, but the original URL will return'. Search engines therefore keep indexing the original URL. Seasonal promos and short maintenance pages are the typical use case.
The common mistake is using 302 for what is actually a permanent move. The new URL may fail to index, and link equity may not transfer cleanly. If it is permanent, use 301.
Google has said it eventually treats long-running 302s like 301s, but mismatching intent and signal is still avoidable noise. Pick the status code that matches the actual intent.
Related terms
301 Redirect
A 301 redirect is the HTTP status code that says a URL has moved permanently — passing essentially all of the original page's link equity to the new URL.
SEO404 Error
A 404 error is the HTTP response signalling that the requested URL does not exist — affecting both user experience and crawl efficiency.
SEOIndexing
Indexing is the step where a search engine stores a crawled page in its database. If a page is not indexed, it cannot appear in search results at all.
SEOLink Equity
Link equity (often called 'link juice') is the authority and ranking signal a page passes to another page through a link.
SEOCrawlability
Crawlability is how easily a search engine bot can reach and follow your site's pages — the precondition for indexing.
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