Permanent or temporary: SEO-friendly redirect codes for ranking

7.6.2023

Difference between the redirect codes

Webmaster können zwischen 301- und 302-Weiterleitungen wählen. Der Unterschied ist entscheidend für die SEO-Services: 301-Weiterleitungen werden permanent angelegt, 302-Redirect Codes vermitteln den Suchmaschinen Bots eine temporäre Weiterleitungen.

A redirect is typically recorded in the Apache server's htaccess file, which in turn is queried by the server each time the page is called up - and thus "triggers" the respective redirect.

Permanent (301) redirects are used, for example, when the URL and page structure is changed or a domain is moved. The 302 redirects mentioned here, on the other hand, are temporary, which in turn affects the cache. While the Google crawler caches the 301 redirect and indexes it accordingly, this does not happen with a 302 redirect - nevertheless, from the user's point of view, the correct, redirected page opens.

Temporary 302 redirects are often used for seasonal subpages or products. Likewise, they are suitable for temporary A/B tests, where page A is compared with page B. In order to determine reliable results, 302 SEO redirects can be forwarded to the respective subpage without permanently caching the redirect. By the way, the Pagerank is inherited by both redirects, so there are no disadvantages from an SEO point of view. However, since the target pages are not cached in the case of a 302 redirect, they can only be used temporarily from an SEO perspective and are not suitable for a complete, permanent domain conversion, for example.

Google may also consider 302 redirects as permanent!

SEOs should consider a statement by Google's SEO boss John Müller from April 2021: In the regular SEO Hangout, he specifically commented on both redirects and announced that Google will also recognize temporary 302 redirects as permanent 301 redirects after some time. Müller also stated that in principle no disadvantages are to be expected between both redirects, as Google is able to identify the primary page and indexes it.

Annotations for device-specific pages

Annotations, as they are often called in English and technical jargon, are special annotations that are also recommended for desktop and mobile URLs. With the "alternate" or "canonical" tag, es is able to mark desktop and mobile URLs. The tags can be inserted both in the sitemap and in the source text, and the Google crawler can reliably read and evaluate them from both sources.

Such annotations are helpful, for example, if a user is incorrectly redirected to the mobile page on the desktop - or vice versa. Here, too,302 redirects can be used, which John Müller recently even called the "technically better solution" on Twitter. In the same breath, however, he also stated that the difference between the two forms is marginal. According to the Google Search Central documentation, JavaScript redirects are also an alternative if HTTP redirects cannot be implemented for various reasons.

Responsive design as a best practice solution

With a website with responsive design, the redirection issue no longer plays a significant role, at least with regard to the different devices: The innovative web design is technically capable of automatically identifying the user's device and screen size and subsequently adapting automatically. This is also of great advantage within a device group, since the website on the browser, for example, aligns itself better to different window sizes - and does so quite automatically!

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