Definition

A 302 redirect is an HTTP response with status code 302 ("Found") that tells the client the requested resource has been temporarily moved to a different URL.

Google's documentation says it generally treats 302 redirects as temporary moves, so the original URL stays in the index and ranking signals are not transferred to the destination — the opposite behaviour of a 301. If the move is in fact permanent, Google may eventually treat the 302 like a 301, but using the correct status code from the start removes that ambiguity. The closely related 307 status has the same temporary semantics but additionally guarantees the request method is preserved.

Examples

• Seasonal landing page

  An e-commerce site puts its homepage behind a 302 redirect to a one-week sale landing page. After the sale ends, the redirect is removed and traffic returns to the original homepage — Google had kept the original URL indexed throughout.

Sources

• Google Search Central — Redirects and Google Search

Related terms

• 301 Redirect
  A permanent redirect — an HTTP 301 status code telling clients and search engines that a URL has moved permanently to a new location.
• Redirect Chain
  A sequence of two or more redirects between an original URL and the final destination. Each hop adds latency and risk of signal loss.

Where QueryCatch uses this

• SEO Audit