# 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: URL redirect, URL forwarding, redirection

A **redirect** sends browsers and crawlers that request one URL automatically to a different URL. In SEO, the term usually means a server response with a 3xx HTTP status code, used after a URL change, a domain move, or a switch to HTTPS.

## Which types are there?

Google groups redirects into permanent and temporary ones:

- **Permanent:** 301 and 308, plus an instant `meta refresh` or HTTP refresh (0 seconds) and a JavaScript `location` change. Google treats them as a strong signal that the target is canonical and usually shows the target in search results.
- **Temporary:** 302, 303, and 307, plus a delayed `meta refresh`. The original URL usually stays in the results.

RFC 9110 adds a technical difference. With 301 and 302, browsers may change a POST request to GET for historical reasons. With 307 and 308 they must keep the method.

Google calls server-side redirects the most reliable option. JavaScript redirects are meant for cases where neither a server-side redirect nor a meta refresh is possible, because Google has to render the page to see them.

## Example

A page moves from `/products/shoes` to `/shoes/`. The server answers requests for the old URL like this:

```http
HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Location: https://www.example.com/shoes/
```

On an Nginx server, the rule could be:

```nginx
location = /products/shoes { return 301 https://www.example.com/shoes/; }
```

## Common mistakes

- **Chains:** A redirects to B, B to C. Googlebot follows up to 10 hops (HTTP status code documentation). Google advises pointing straight at the final destination and otherwise keeping chains ideally to no more than 3 hops and fewer than 5 (site move documentation).
- **Internal links to redirected URLs:** Navigation and XML sitemaps should list the final URLs.
- **Removing redirects too soon:** After a site move, Google recommends keeping redirects as long as possible, generally at least one year.
- **Everything to the home page:** Google warns that sending many old URLs to one irrelevant page like the home page can confuse users and may be treated as a soft 404.

## FAQ

**What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?**
301 Moved Permanently signals a permanent move, 302 Found a temporary one. For Google, 301 is a strong and 302 a weak signal that the target URL should be canonical.

## At a glance

- **Type:** forwarding to another URL, usually with a 3xx status code
- **Values:** permanent: 301, 308 · temporary: 302, 303, 307
- **Other forms:** meta refresh, JavaScript
- **Googlebot follows:** up to 10 redirect hops
- **Specification:** [RFC 9110, section 15.4](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110.html#name-redirection-3xx)
- **Docs:** [Redirects and Google Search](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects)

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: Redirect chain vs. direct redirect.* Every hop in a chain is a separate request. Google’s crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops; Google still recommends redirecting straight to the final destination.

## Related terms

- [301 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/301-redirect/index.md)
- [302 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/302-redirect/index.md)
- [307 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/307-redirect/index.md)
- [308 redirect](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/308-redirect/index.md)
- [Meta refresh](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/meta-refresh/index.md)
- [Redirect chain](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/redirect-chain/index.md)

## Sources

- [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)
- [Site moves with URL changes – Google Search Central (updated Aug 20, 2026)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes)
- [RFC 9110: HTTP Semantics, Section 15.4 Redirection 3xx – IETF](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9110#section-15.4)
- [Redirections in HTTP – MDN Web Docs](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Guides/Redirections)

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