I will not discuss 301 vs. 302 redirects, which are mentioned many times here. But I found an interesting discussion on Twitter about the differences between 301 and 302 redirects and how they combine forward or backward signals. also known as a retreat.
Mike Blazer asks, “If 301 redirects include forward (from source URL to destination URL), does 302 redirect reverse (from destination URL to source URL)?”
John Mueller replied, “The short answer is, 302 sometimes says to keep the source URL, but that doesn’t mean it will ‘pull back’ what’s in the destination URL (the old trick for PR/DA spoofing).
The long-term 302 is more like a 301, and finally, canonicalization is more than a redirect.”Patrick Stox asks if “sometimes” will be retrieved when an existing page with a signal is redirected to a new page 302. What will happen to the signal going to that new page?
John Mueller replied, “If you’re talking about a new destination page. You are balancing “More signals for destinations = more destinations that tend to be canonical” and all signal normalization on the source page. The important part is the missed signal. Don’t get lost. It’s just the destination or the origin.”
