- Category
- Technical SEO
- Level
- Beginner
- Success
- 200 OK
- Redirects
- 301, 302, 307, 308
- Errors
- 404, 410 (client), 500, 503 (server)
- Check it free
- Redirect Checker
What are HTTP status codes?
Every time a browser or crawler requests a URL, the server answers with a status code before any content:
| Code | Meaning | What search engines do |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | OK | Consider the page for indexing |
| 301 / 308 | Moved permanently | Index the new URL |
| 302 / 307 | Moved temporarily | Usually keep the old URL |
| 404 / 410 | Not found / gone | Drop the URL over time |
| 429 | Too many requests | Slow down crawling |
| 500 / 503 | Server error / unavailable | Retry later; persistent errors hurt |
Why they matter
Status codes are how you tell search engines what's happening. A page that says "not found" with a 200 confuses them; a 503 during maintenance tells them to come back later.