You ask, we answer. No jargon marathons, no robot voice—just quick, human-sounding explanations of why those little three-digit numbers can make or break your search traffic.
The basics
Q1. Remind me: what’s an HTTP status code, in plain English?
Think of it as a postcard from your server that says, “Here’s what happened with that URL you just hit.” Success, detour, dead end, meltdown—each gets its own three-digit headline.
Q2. Why do SEO folks obsess over them?
Because Googlebot can’t rank what it can’t reach—or can’t figure out. Status codes tell crawlers whether a page is alive, moved, or DOA. Get them wrong and you leak authority, waste crawl budget, and annoy visitors.
Q3. How are they grouped?
1xx = “Still talking.”
2xx = “All good!”
3xx = “Go over there instead.”
4xx = “You messed up.”
5xx = “We messed up.”
The greatest hits
Q4. Which individual codes should be on my dashboard?
200 OK – green light.
301 Moved Permanently – housewarming party.
302/307 Temporary Redirect – quick detour.
404 Not Found – wrong turn.
5xx Server Error – the kitchen’s on fire.
Success stories
Q5. What does a 200 really say to Google?
“
Index me, I’m ready for my close-up.” Only canonical pages returning 200 can rank, so double-check you’re not serving hidden redirects or “soft 404s” with a smile.
Redirect reality check
Q6. When should I roll out a 301?
New domain, HTTPS migration, URL tidy-up—anything permanent. It’s the digital change-of-address form that forwards your PageRank mail.
Q7. Does a 301 still lose PageRank?
Not enough to worry about. Google says any dampening is “negligible” if you keep it to one hop.
Q8. Okay, so when is a 302 fine?
Flash sale pages, A/B tests, seasonal promos—stuff you’ll rip down in a few weeks. Treat it like duct tape, not cement.
Q9. What’s the fallout if I leave a 302 in place forever?
Search engines may cling to the old URL, split your ranking signals, and leave link equity stranded in limbo.
Q10. How do I dodge redirect-chain pain?
Point A straight to Z. Each extra hop bleeds authority and slows crawlers. One and done.
Client-side blunders
Q11. Are 404s automatically evil?
A few honest 404s are just housekeeping. The disaster scenario is hundreds of broken internal links or high-traffic pages suddenly vanishing.
Q12. Where does 410 Gone fit in?
Use 410 when you’ve deleted something on purpose and want Google to drop it pronto. It’s a firmer handshake than 404.
Q13. Define “soft 404” for me.
It’s an error page wearing a fake 200 OK smile. Google sees through the disguise and wastes its crawl budget—fix the status or add real content.
Q14. How do I turn a 404 page into a life raft?
Skip the sad emoji. Offer a search bar, a sitemap link, maybe your top categories. Help lost visitors find their way back.
Server-side meltdowns
Q15. What damage can 5xx errors do?
Plenty. Persistent 500s or 503s scream “unstable site,” so Google slams the brakes on crawling and may boot pages from the index.
Q16. Best practice during maintenance?
Return 503 Service Unavailable with a “Retry-After” header. That tells bots, “Down for a bit, come back later,” instead of “We’ve exploded forever.”
Detective work
Q17. Fastest way to sniff out status-code hiccups?
Run Screaming Frog or Sitebulb, then skim Google Search Console’s Coverage report. You’ll spot redirect chains, soft 404s, and 5xx spikes in minutes.
Q18. Why bother with raw server logs?
They show exactly what Googlebot hits—not just what you think it hits. Great for catching orphaned URLs and sneaky loops.
Q19. Any browser tools for on-the-fly checks?
Redirect Path, Link Redirect Trace, or the built-in DevTools network tab. One click, instant code (and any hidden hops).
Fix-it game plan
Q20. How often should I audit?
After every big release, plus a light sweep each quarter. Automation and alerting keep sleepless nights to a minimum.
Q21. Should I update internal links post-301?
Absolutely. Redirects are a safety net, not a long-term navigation strategy.
Q22. What about inbound links I don’t control?
If they point to a dead URL you own, keep that slug alive with a 301 to the best match. Free link equity—don’t waste it.
Q23. Is JavaScript redirection safe for SEO?
Server-side 3xx responses will always be faster and clearer. Use JS only when the dev gods give you no other option.
Q24. How do I get devs on board?
Share redirect maps during planning, bake status-code tests into CI/CD, and agree on a “rollback now” threshold for 5xx surges. Coffee helps, too.
Quick stats & parting shots
Ahrefs’ 2023 crawl of two billion pages found 65 % of sites littered with at least one broken internal link.
Nearly 1 in 5 sitemap URLs returns a redirect or flat-out error.
Bottom line: Keep the green lights (200s) shining, use 301s when you move house, deploy 302s sparingly, clean up 404s, and treat 5xxs like a five-alarm fire. Nail that, and both users and Google will stick around.