What Is a 302 Redirect? The Temporary Move
DICTIONARY · SEO

What Is a 302 Redirect?

A 302 redirect tells search engines that a page has moved temporarily and the original URL should be kept.

In plain English

The difference from a 301 is entirely about intent. A 302 says keep indexing the old address because this is not the final arrangement.

That makes it correct for genuinely temporary situations, and quietly damaging when used for permanent moves, because the search engine keeps the old URL and the new one never establishes itself.

What to know

Temporary
The original URL stays in the index.
Correct uses
Maintenance pages, A/B tests, temporary regional or seasonal diversions.
Common accident
Server or plugin defaults issuing 302 where 301 was intended.
Check the codes
Any migration should be verified with a crawl of actual status codes.

Why it matters

The 302 is one of the most common silent errors in a migration, because it works perfectly for users and wrongly for search engines. Nothing looks broken while rankings fail to transfer.

Common mistakes

×Using 302 for a permanent URL change.
×Leaving a temporary redirect in place for years.
×Assuming a redirect that works in the browser is the right type.
×Never verifying status codes after a platform change.

FAQs

Does a 302 pass authority?

Some, but the old URL is kept, so the new one does not take over.

When is a 302 correct?

Maintenance, testing, and genuinely temporary diversions.

WRITTEN BY TARIQ SALLAM
Marketing Consultant. Entrepreneur. Content Creator.

I'm a marketing consultant, entrepreneur and content creator. I help businesses grow through practical marketing, websites, SEO, content and AI.

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