# 302 redirect

Category: [Technical SEO](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/technical-seo/) › [Redirects](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/technical-seo/redirects/) · Also known as: 302 Found, HTTP 302, temporary redirect

A **302 redirect** (status code 302 Found) tells browsers and crawlers that a resource is temporarily available at a different URL, given in the `Location` header. RFC 9110 says clients should keep using the original URL for future requests, which is why search engines keep the original URL as the main one.

## What does HTTP 302 mean for SEO?

Google groups 302, 303, and 307 as temporary redirects. The source URL usually stays in search results. According to Google's redirects guide, the indexing pipeline does not use a temporary redirect as a signal that the target should be canonical. Google's page on HTTP status codes describes it as a weak signal that the target should be processed. With 301 and 308, the signal is strong and the target tends to replace the original.

For permanent moves, such as a relaunch or domain migration, a 301 is usually the right choice. A 302 fits cases where the original URL will come back: maintenance, a seasonal campaign, or a home page that sends visitors to a country version. Google also treats a delayed `meta refresh` as temporary.

RFC 9110 allows browsers to change a POST request into a GET when following a 302. If the method must stay the same, 307 Temporary Redirect is the alternative. 303 See Other always switches to GET.

## Example

```http
GET /deals HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com

HTTP/1.1 302 Found
Location: https://www.example.com/deals-fall
```

## Common mistakes

- **302 instead of 301 during a relaunch:** Old URLs stay in the index, and the redirect does not tell Google that the new ones are canonical.
- **302 instead of 404:** In Apache, an `ErrorDocument` pointing to a full URL (`http://…`) makes the server send a redirect instead of the error code. A local path keeps the 404.
- **Redirect loops:** Two rules point at each other, for example between HTTP and HTTPS or www and non-www variants, and the browser stops with an error.

## FAQ

**Is 302 an error code?**
No. 302 belongs to the 3xx redirection class; error codes are 4xx and 5xx. An unexpected 302 often comes from a login redirect, a plugin, or a server rule.

**Why am I getting a 302 instead of a 200?**
According to reports, common causes are an expired session that sends the request to a login page, HTTP-to-HTTPS or trailing-slash rules, and geo or language redirects. `curl -I https://www.example.com/deals` shows the status code and the `Location` target.

**Is a 302 redirect bad for SEO?**
Not for temporary changes. It becomes a problem when it is used for a permanent move, because the redirect does not tell Google that the new URL should be canonical.

## At a glance

- **Class:** 3xx (redirection)
- **Duration:** temporary
- **In Google:** no signal that the target is canonical; the old URL usually stays visible
- **Request method:** POST may become GET when followed (not with 307)
- **Caching:** only with explicit cache controls
- **Specification:** [RFC 9110, section 15.4.3](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-302-found)

Last checked: October 8, 2026

## Redirect types compared

| Type | Permanent or temporary? | Request method | Effect in Google | How reliably Google detects it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 Moved Permanently | permanent | POST may become GET when followed | Signal that the target should become canonical | most reliable (server-side) |
| 308 Permanent Redirect | permanent | preserved | same as 301 | most reliable (server-side) |
| 302 Found | temporary | POST may become GET when followed | not used as a canonical signal for the target; other signals can still get it indexed | most reliable (server-side) |
| 307 Temporary Redirect | temporary | preserved | same as 302 | most reliable (server-side) |
| Meta refresh, instant (0 s) | permanent | – (redirect inside the HTML, no 3xx status code) | same as 301 | after server-side redirects |
| Meta refresh, delayed (> 0 s) | temporary | – (redirect inside the HTML, no 3xx status code) | same as 302 | after server-side redirects |
| JavaScript (location) | permanent | – (redirect in the browser) | same as 301, but only if Google renders the page | least reliable: if rendering fails, Google may never see it |

Sources: [Google Search Central: Redirects and Google Search (last updated 2026-04-14)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects); [Google Search Central: How to specify a canonical URL (redirects as canonical signal)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls); [RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, 15.4 Redirection 3xx](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-redirection-3xx). Last checked: October 8, 2026

*Diagram: What happens between browser and server during a 301.* The server names the new target in the Location header, and the browser requests it with a second request. 301 and 308 are permanent, 302 and 307 temporary. Only with 301 and 302 may a POST become GET when the redirect is followed.

## Not to be confused with

- [301 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/301-redirect/index.md): signals a permanent move. Google treats it as a signal that the target should become the canonical URL and over time shows the new URL in search results.

## Related terms

- [Redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/redirect/index.md)
- [301 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/301-redirect/index.md)
- [307 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/307-redirect/index.md)

## Sources

- [RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, 15.4.3 302 Found – IETF](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110#name-302-found)
- [302 Found – MDN Web Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Status/302)
- [Redirects and Google Search – Google Search Central (updated Apr 14, 2026)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects)
- [How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers – Google crawling documentation (updated Feb 4, 2026)](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/troubleshooting/http-status-codes)
- [Apache HTTP Server, ErrorDocument directive](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#errordocument)

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Last updated: October 8, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/302-redirect/