Technical SEO
302 redirect
A 302 redirect is an HTTP response indicating that a resource is temporarily available at the URL in its Location header.
What it means
Browsers usually follow the target immediately, while clients should continue treating the original URL as the durable address. Google classifies 302 as a temporary redirect and generally does not use it as the same canonical signal as a permanent 301 or 308 response.
Why it matters
The temporary meaning is useful for short-lived maintenance, regional routing or experiments where the source URL will return. Leaving a 302 indefinitely for a permanent migration creates ambiguity about which URL should remain canonical.
Example
During a two-day stock-system outage, `/availability/` can return a 302 to a status page and later resume its normal response. A renamed product page that will never return should instead use a direct permanent redirect to a genuinely equivalent destination.
Common mistakes
Do not select 302 merely because it is a familiar redirect code. Avoid using it for permanent URL migrations, chaining it through other redirects, pointing it to an error or Noindex page, or forgetting that some clients can change a non-GET request method.
How AYSA handles this
Signals reviewed
Source response, Location header, redirect duration, request method, destination status and canonical
Problem AYSA can identify
AYSA can flag long-lived temporary redirects, broken targets and cases where the chosen code contradicts the stated migration intent.
Recommendation prepared
The proposed correction names the appropriate redirect semantics, direct target and every internal reference that should change.
Approval preview
The user reviews the current response, intended duration, target and rollback path before an update is approved.
Execution
AYSA can manage approved redirects on supported WordPress configurations; CDN, proxy and application routes may require their native deployment process.
Verification
AYSA requests the source without automatic following, records status and Location, then confirms the final target and absence of extra hops.
Limits
AYSA cannot infer permanence from status alone or guarantee how quickly external systems process a redirect.
Sources and further reading
- Google Search Central — Redirects and Google Search — Official platform documentation
- MDN — 302 Found — Web platform reference
- MDN — Redirections in HTTP — Web platform reference
Written by Marius Dosinescu. Reviewed by AYSA SEO Editorial Team · 2026-07-28 00:00:00.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Should a permanent site migration use 302 redirects?
No. When the move is intended to remain, use an appropriate permanent server-side redirect such as 301 or 308 and point directly to the final equivalent URL.
SEO execution campaign
Less SEO work. More organic growth.
AYSA monitors your website, finds opportunities, prepares the work, asks for approval and executes accepted changes so you can grow without living in SEO tools.
