HTTP status codes

What are HTTP status codes?

HTTP status codes are three-digit codes a server sends to a browser or search engine to show how a request was handled. The first digit shows the group: 2xx means success, 3xx a redirect, 4xx an error on the requester’s side and 5xx an error on the server.

Why are HTTP status codes important?

• Crawling and indexing: Google reads the code to decide whether a page belongs in its index.
• Spotting problems: 404 and 500 errors show where visitors and Googlebot get stuck.
• Site moves: a 301 tells search engines a page has moved permanently.

Examples of HTTP status codes

• 200: the page was found and works.
• 301: the page has moved permanently.
• 404: the page does not exist (any more).
• 503: the server is temporarily unavailable.

How do you deal with HTTP status codes?

Check in Google Search Console or with an SEO crawler which codes your pages return. Make sure important pages return a 200, use a 301 when a page moves and fix 404 and 5xx errors (technical SEO).