HTTP status code has a certain impact on SEO (search engine optimization). Search engines will determine the availability of the web page and whether the content is normal based on the HTTP status code returned by the page, thereby affecting the search engine's evaluation of the web page's inclusion, ranking, and user experience.
The following is the possible impact of HTTP status codes on SEO optimization:
200 status code: HTTP status code 200 indicates that the request was successful and there was no error. For search engines, the 200 status code is the ideal status code, indicating that the page is available normally and there are no exceptions. This helps search engines properly include, index and evaluate web content.
404 status code: HTTP status code 404 means that the page is not found or does not exist. If a page on your website returns a 404 error, search engines will assume that the page does not exist and may be removed from the index, resulting in the page not being displayed in search results. Therefore, frequent 404 errors may have a negative impact on your website’s SEO. It is recommended to effectively handle 404 pages, which can improve user experience and SEO effects by redirecting or providing relevant alternative content.
301 and 302 status codes: 301 status code indicates permanent redirection, and 302 status code indicates temporary redirection. Reasonable use of redirects can transfer the old URL to the new URL and maintain the search engine's transfer of page weight. Redirects help search engines index new URLs correctly and transfer authority from the old URL to the new URL.
5xx status code: The status code of the 5xx series indicates a server error, such as 500 indicating an internal server error. If a website frequently returns these error codes, search engines may think that the website is unstable or has problems, thereby lowering the evaluation and ranking of the website.
In short, HTTP status codes can affect the search engine’s evaluation of the inclusion, ranking and user experience of web pages. Therefore, when performing SEO optimization, you should ensure that the page returns the correct status code, and handle various status codes reasonably to provide a good user experience and accessibility to improve the SEO effect of the website.