Why Are HTTP Status Codes So Important in SEO?

| | 2 min read

What is an HTTP Status Code?

HTTP status code is the server's response to the browser requests. Whenever a user enters a website, the browser sends a request to the server, and then the server responds with a three-digit code as a response: Ie, HTTP status code.

HTTP Status codes are segmented into different types, They are:

  1. 1XXInformational Status Code indicates that the server is still processing the request and has not been completed yet.
  2. 2XX: Success states that the browser request was completed successfully, and the server returned the response as expected.
  3. 3XX: Redirection, The user gets redirected to somewhere else. The server response was successfully received but not as expected.
  4. 4XX: Client-Side Errors, "Page Not Found" Requested page or website couldn't be reached. 
  5. 5XX: Server Side Errors, Failure. The browser sends a valid request to the server, but the server fails to respond. 

Why are HTTP Status Codes so important in SEO?

HTTP status code plays a vital role and is essential for Search Engine Optimisation. We can quickly identify the website's health through this code, and it also helps pinpoint significant problems.

Important HTTP Status Codes For SEOs

It is imperative to understand some standard HTTP status codes, especially the Site owners and SEO professionals.

  1. HTTP Status Code 200: OK
  2. HTTP Status Code 301: Permanent Redirect
  3. HTTP Status Code 302: Temporary Redirect
  4. HTTP Status Code 410: Gone
  5. HTTP Status Code 404: Not Found
  6. HTTP Status Code 500: Internal server error
  7. HTTP Status Code 503: Service Unavailable

Conclusion

When it comes to SEO ranking, the very first thing we need to make sure of is that all the web pages are crawlable. That means all the webpages should have the HTTP status code 200: Ok.