“404 Page Not Found!” You have definitely gone through these types of three-digit codes if you are associated with web development or SEO. But do you know what exactly they are and why they are appearing? These HTTP status codes are the simple signals that tell about what is happening between the browser and the server. They indicate whether your page is working properly or not. And surely, search engines do care about these codes. So, let us find out some important types of HTTP header codes and how they are connected with SEO in this blog.
What is the HTTP Status Code?
Every time someone visits your website, the server is requested to load a page. After that, the server responds to this request in the form of a three-digit code. This is called the HTTP status code. In this, the first digit tells about the class of response, and based on that, it is categorized into 5 classes.
These codes help in analyzing strengths and faults of the site and its server. If search engines find many inappropriate HTTP status codes, then it directly crashes SEO ranking.
Types of HTTP Status Codes
- 1xx Status Code (Informational): These codes indicate that the server has received the request and is still processing it.
- 2xx Status Code (Success): These codes indicate that the server received the request, understood it, and also accepted it.
- 3xx Status Code (Redirection): These codes indicate that additional action is required to fulfill the request and often demand a redirect to a different URL.
- 4xx Status Code (Client Error): These codes indicate that there is a problem with the request, such as a missing page, a broken link, or incorrect syntax.
- 5xx Status Code (Server Error): These codes indicate that due to any unexpected error, the server can’t be able to fulfill the valid request.
Top HTTP Status Codes for SEO
200 Status Code: OK / Success
This is the code that everyone wants to see on their site. A 200 status code means everything is working perfectly; your page loaded successfully without any errors. If there is a 200 status, then the crawling and indexing process becomes easier for the search engines. Any message associated with 2xx says that your site is in a somewhat good place.
302 Status Code: Found
302 status code tells search engines that a particular page exists, but its location has shifted temporarily to a different location. This is perfect when you want to use the same URL again. As you tell the search engine that the change is temporary, the link value remains as it is with the existing URL. It is used at the time of temporary website maintenance or updates.
301 Status Code: Moved Permanently
301 status code is used when you have moved a page to a new URL or may change the entire domain. With its help, you can tell users and search engines that your page has been permanently moved to the new spot. Because of it, a smooth transition happens, and the search engine keeps your page ranking the same while ensuring that users find the information that they are looking for. But in the absence of a 301 redirect, the old URL can leave users with an error message saying “404 Page Not Found.”
- The quick difference between 301 and 302: A 301 code indicates that the webpage is moved permanently, while a 302 code appears when the page is moved temporarily.
404 Status Code: Not Found
The 404 is significant; it tells you that the page you are accessing does not exist, meaning it is either deleted or you have spelled the wrong URL. The bunch of 404s on your website definitely harms your SEO practice. The search engine thinks that your website is not well-maintained, and it falls down your site’s ranking. So, keep your site clean and redirect pages properly.
410 Status Code: Gone
In 410 status code, you specify to the search engine that this page is permanently gone. You can use this code when you want to permanently remove the content and want search engines to stop crawling it. But before removing any page permanently, think twice about it and analyze whether its redirection is possible or not.
- The quick difference between 404 and 410: A 404 error indicates that a resource might be temporarily unavailable, while 410 says that a resource is no longer available or is likely to be permanently unavailable.
500 Status Code: Internal Server Error
A 500 status code means something bad happens on the server’s side. The server is not able to process the request. It happens due to a problem on the website’s server side rather than due to the user’s request. But the server can’t give you the reason for the error. So, check the server logs, server configuration, or database to find where things are going wrong.
503 Status Code: Service Unavailable
If a server can not handle the request at a specific time 503 error occurs. This can be due to overload or maintenance on the server. If this error remains for a long time, then it negatively affects SEO. So make sure that it lasts for a short time period to convey the apt point to crawlers that the site will return back online.
Dealing with HTTP Status Codes
If you are working with SEO, then it becomes an important thing to employ particular code according to the situation. For example, if you want to delete a particular page from the site, then you should surely know the distinct characteristics of 301 and 410 because both of them are used to give a particular result.
You can employ Google Search Console to understand the status codes of sites. Here, you can find the indexing section, where all crawl errors are seen. You must resolve these errors before it is indexed correctly.
Conclusion
Knowing all types of HTTP status codes thoroughly and how they differentiate from each other is a very important thing. These codes work as an effective part in enhancing the ranking of your site and maintaining a healthy SEO practice. You should keep track of this code to ensure a smoother user experience and give search engines the signals that they need to crawl and rank your pages effectively.
If you want to stay on top, then start monitoring these HTTP status codes and keep your site running smoothly with us. Thanksweb is here to help you optimize every little detail of your website.