HTTP Status Codes Every SEO Should Know
Why Status Codes Matter
HTTP status codes tell crawlers what happened with a request.
2xx — Success
200 OK — The page exists and was returned.
3xx — Redirects
301 — Permanent. Passes link equity.
302 — Temporary. May not pass full equity.
307 — Temporary, preserves HTTP method.
308 — Permanent, preserves HTTP method.
4xx — Client Errors
404 — Not found. Remove inbound links.
410 — Gone. Google deindexes faster than 404.
5xx — Server Errors
500 — Internal error. Reduces crawl frequency.
503 — Unavailable. Use with Retry-After for maintenance.
Quick Reference
| Code | SEO Impact |
|---|---|
| 200 | ✅ Ideal |
| 301 | ✅ Passes equity |
| 302 | ⚠️ Use carefully |
| 404 | ⚠️ Remove inbound links |
| 500 | ❌ Reduces crawl frequency |
Next Step
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