# 302 redirect

A 302 redirect is a temporary move. The resource is elsewhere for now and the original URL should stay indexed. This page shows when to use 302, how Google treats it, how to check it, and the traps to avoid on a small site.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/302-redirect

## What a 302 redirect tells browsers and Google

A 302 tells clients the content moved for now and to keep using the original URL. It is a hint, not a command.

Google treats a 302 as temporary. If you leave it in place for a long time, Google may treat it as permanent and index the target instead. As of 2026, plan your redirects so the signal matches reality.

Good uses on a small site: a maintenance page during deploys, a short campaign to /black-friday, or a geo or device switch when you must move the user. Your canonical URL should still point to the original page for a true temporary move.

## 302 vs 301 vs 307: which to pick

| Redirect | Use when | Indexing aim | Request method kept |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 301 permanent | The move is permanent, like /old-pricing to /pricing | Index the target | No |
| 302 temporary | Short move or conditional routing, like /guide to /maintenance for a day | Keep the source indexed | No |
| 307 temporary | HTTP/1.1 temporary move that preserves the method, useful for POST forms | Keep the source indexed | Yes |

If a page is gone or merged, use 301. If you must switch users for a short time, use 302. If you are redirecting POST or PUT and must keep the method, use 307.

> Rule: when the change is permanent, do not use 302. Use 301 and update internal links to the target.

## How to check and measure your redirects

1. **Confirm the status code** Use a redirect checker on /pricing or any test URL. You should see 302 with one hop only, source to target.
2. **Check Search Console** Open Indexing, Pages, then filter for Page with redirect. Spot URLs you meant to keep live but are redirecting.
3. **Inspect a single URL** Use the URL Inspection tool on the source and the target. Check which URL Google considers canonical and which is indexed.
4. **Review internal links** Crawl your site and list links pointing to the 302 target. For a short move this is fine. For a permanent move, change links to the target and switch to 301.
5. **Watch effects over 28 days** In the Performance report, track impressions and clicks for the source and target URLs. If a 302 stays, watch for Google indexing the target instead.

A clean setup looks like this: /guides/getting-started 302 to /maintenance for 24 hours, no chains, canonicals unchanged, and you remove the rule after the deploy.

## Implementation tips that prevent SEO harm

- Avoid chains and loops. Source should 302 directly to target, once.
- Keep the target crawlable and indexable. Do not noindex the target of a 302.
- Match the canonical. For a true temporary move, keep the canonical on the target pointing to the original source.
- Do not mix signals. Do not pair a 302 with a permanent rel=canonical to the target unless the move is permanent.
- Limit 302s for geo or device. Offer a visible switch and link to the original URL.
- Do not use meta refresh for temporary SEO moves. Use server or app layer redirects.

## Common traps with temporary redirects

- Leaving a 302 in place for months, which may lead Google to index the target as if it were permanent.
- Using 302 for URL migrations, which keeps the wrong URL indexed and confuses analytics.
- Redirecting every path to a generic page like /, which frustrates users and makes debugging hard.
- Forgetting HTTPS and trailing slash rules, which create unintended multiple hops.
- Not updating sitemaps, which keeps pointing bots at redirected sources for longer than needed.

## Questions

### What is a 302 redirect?

A 302 is a temporary HTTP redirect. It says the content moved for now and the original URL should stay indexed. Google treats it as a hint and may switch to the target if the 302 stays for a long time.

### What is the difference between 301 and 302?

Use 301 for permanent moves. Use 302 for short or conditional moves. A long‑lived 302 can be treated as permanent by Google, so match the code to the intent and length of the change.

### What does a 307 or 308 redirect mean?

307 is the HTTP/1.1 temporary redirect that keeps the request method, useful when redirecting POST forms. 308 is the permanent version that also preserves the method. Pick 307 for temporary, 308 or 301 for permanent.

### Is a 302 redirect bad for SEO?

No. It is the right choice for temporary moves like maintenance or short campaigns. Problems start when you use 302 for permanent changes, or you leave a 302 in place for months.

### How long can I leave a 302 in place?

Keep it as short as the real‑world change. Days or a few weeks is typical. If the move becomes permanent, switch to 301 and update internal links and sitemaps.

### How do I test my 302 works?

Fetch the URL with a redirect checker or curl and confirm a single 302 hop to the right target. Then check Search Console’s Page with redirect and the URL Inspection result for the source and target.

## Read next

- [301 redirect](https://porteur.ai/glossary/301-redirect): A 301 redirect is a permanent move. Use it to send users and bots to a new URL, keep signals, avoid chains, and choose 308 when methods must persist.
- [Page with redirect in Search Console: normal, until it is not](https://porteur.ai/guides/page-with-redirect): “Page with redirect” is normal after a move. Fix it only when your sitemap or internal links still hit the old URL, or you have a chain or a loop.
- [Redirect checker](https://porteur.ai/tools/redirect-checker): Follow a URL's redirects hop by hop: each status and destination, the time each took, the kind of hop, meta and script redirects, one rule to replace it.
- [How to use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console](https://porteur.ai/guides/url-inspection-tool): Read each panel, run Test live URL, and know when to request indexing. Fix new pages, dropped pages, and canonicals Google ignores.
- [Technical SEO checklist for a small site](https://porteur.ai/guides/technical-seo-checklist): Run these 20 technical SEO checks, in order. Each shows how to check it free and what fixed looks like for a site under 1,000 pages.
- [Canonical URL](https://porteur.ai/glossary/canonical-url): A canonical URL names the original version of a page. Use it to handle parameters and duplicates, avoid split signals and keep the right page indexed.
- [HTTPS](https://porteur.ai/glossary/https): HTTPS is a small ranking signal. Serve every page over HTTPS, one‑hop redirect HTTP to HTTPS, fix mixed content, keep canonicals and sitemaps on HTTPS.

Porteur can read your site and the searches around it from a URL in about thirty seconds, free, and show three redirect findings to fix now. Free check: https://porteur.ai/