HTTP Status Codes and SEO: What Google’s Search Relations Team Wants You to Know

Understanding how HTTP status codes affect your website’s search engine optimization is one of the most important technical SEO fundamentals you can master. Google’s Search Relations team, featuring experts including Zineb Illyes, recently shed light on exactly which HTTP status codes matter for crawling and indexing – and which ones Google simply ignores. This comprehensive guide breaks down everything site owners and SEO professionals need to know about HTTP status codes and their direct impact on Google Search performance.

Why HTTP Status Codes Matter for SEO

Every time Google’s crawlers visit a URL on your website, the server responds with an HTTP status code. These three-digit codes communicate the outcome of that request, telling the crawler whether the page was found successfully, moved to a new location, or encountered an error. According to Google’s documentation and the insights shared by the Search Relations team, these codes play a direct role in determining whether your pages get crawled, indexed, and ultimately ranked in search results.

The relationship between HTTP status codes and SEO is not just theoretical. Incorrect or poorly managed status codes can result in lost indexing, wasted crawl budget, and lower rankings. Getting these codes right is therefore essential for any technical SEO strategy, whether you are managing a small blog or a large e-commerce platform.

1xx Informational Codes – Completely Ignored by Google

One of the most important clarifications from Google’s Search Relations podcast is how the search engine handles 1xx informational status codes. The short answer is: Google ignores them entirely.

When Googlebot encounters any 1xx status code, it does not process or act on that response. Instead, the crawler simply passes through to the next non-1xx code in the sequence. This means these codes have zero SEO value from Google’s perspective, even if they offer performance or user experience benefits in other contexts.

HTTP 103 Early Hints and SEO

A commonly discussed example is the HTTP 103 Early Hints status code. This code allows servers to send preliminary HTTP headers before the final response is ready, which can improve page load times by letting browsers preload critical resources. From a user experience standpoint, HTTP 103 can be genuinely beneficial.

However, despite its potential UX advantages, Google’s crawlers completely bypass HTTP 103 responses. There is no SEO benefit to implementing HTTP 103 specifically for Google’s benefit. Site owners should still consider using it for real user performance improvements, but they should not expect any direct SEO gains from it in terms of crawling or indexing outcomes.

2xx Success Codes – The Foundation of Indexing

The most important status code category for SEO is the 2xx success range. When a server returns a 200 OK status code, it signals to Googlebot that the request was successful and the content was delivered properly. This is the fundamental requirement for a page to be considered for indexing in Google Search.

A 200 OK response does not guarantee indexing – Google still evaluates content quality, duplicate content signals, and other factors – but it is the necessary starting point. Without a successful 200 response, your page simply cannot be indexed under normal circumstances.

Other 2xx codes, such as 201 Created or 204 No Content, are encountered less frequently in standard web browsing scenarios but follow similar principles. The key takeaway is that any 2xx response enables Google to process and potentially index that URL, while all other code categories trigger different outcomes.

3xx Redirect Codes – Managing Link Equity and Crawl Paths

Redirect status codes in the 3xx range are critically important for SEO, particularly when you are reorganizing your site structure, migrating domains, or consolidating content. Google follows redirects and passes PageRank through them, but there are important nuances every SEO should understand.

301 Permanent Redirects vs 302 Temporary Redirects

A 301 Permanent Redirect tells Google that a page has moved permanently to a new URL. Google will update its index to reflect the new URL and transfer the majority of link equity from the old URL to the new one. This is the recommended redirect type for permanent URL changes, site migrations, and consolidating duplicate content.

A 302 Temporary Redirect indicates that the move is temporary, which means Google may continue to index the original URL rather than the destination. Using 302 when you intend a permanent move can cause confusion in Google’s index and result in ranking instability. Always use 301 for permanent changes unless you genuinely intend for the redirect to be temporary.

Google Search Console surfaces redirect errors and chains, making it easier to identify and fix problematic redirect implementations that may be hurting your crawl efficiency or link equity flow.

4xx Client Error Codes – Crawl Management and URL Removal

The 4xx error code range covers client-side errors, and several of these codes have direct implications for SEO crawling and indexing management.

404 Not Found

The 404 Not Found status code is one of the most commonly encountered codes in SEO work. When a page returns a 404, Google understands that the requested resource does not exist on the server. Over time, Google will remove 404 URLs from its index. This is the expected and appropriate behavior for pages that have been deleted or never existed.

A common misconception is that 404 errors are inherently harmful to SEO. In reality, legitimate 404s are completely normal and Google handles them gracefully. The problem arises when important pages accidentally return 404 errors, or when deleted pages had significant link equity that should have been redirected to a relevant alternative URL.

410 Gone

The 410 Gone status code is a stronger signal than 404. While both result in URL removal from Google’s index, 410 explicitly tells Google that the resource has been permanently removed with no expectation of return. Google tends to deindex 410 URLs more quickly than 404 URLs, making this code useful when you want to expedite the removal of specific pages from search results.

418 I’m a Teapot – No SEO Impact

In a lighter moment from the Search Relations podcast discussion, the team confirmed that novelty codes like 418 “I’m a Teapot” – an April Fools joke code from an old RFC – have absolutely no SEO effect. While technically part of the HTTP specification, Google treats this as it would any unrecognized code, meaning it will not produce any meaningful crawling or indexing outcome. It is interesting trivia, but not something site owners need to worry about from an SEO perspective.

5xx Server Error Codes – Critical for Crawling and Indexing

Server error codes in the 5xx range are among the most damaging for SEO when they persist over time. A 500 Internal Server Error or similar 5xx response tells Google that something went wrong on the server side and the request could not be completed. If Googlebot repeatedly encounters 5xx errors on important pages, it will reduce crawling frequency for your site and may eventually remove affected URLs from its index.

Temporary 5xx errors during routine maintenance or brief outages are generally handled gracefully by Google – the crawler will retry later. However, extended periods of 5xx responses signal reliability problems that can significantly harm your crawl budget, indexing coverage, and ultimately your search rankings.

429 Too Many Requests – Rate Limiting and Crawl Budget

The 429 Too Many Requests status code is specifically relevant for crawl rate management. When your server returns 429, it signals to Google that the crawl rate is too high and the server cannot handle the volume of requests. Google respects this signal and will slow down its crawling of your site accordingly.

This can be useful for site owners with limited server resources, but it should be used carefully. Overly aggressive rate limiting through 429 responses can reduce your crawl coverage, particularly for large sites where maximizing crawl budget is important for ensuring new and updated content gets indexed promptly.

Practical Takeaways for Site Owners and SEO Professionals

• Ensure your important pages consistently return 200 OK responses for reliable indexing.
• Use 301 redirects for all permanent URL changes to preserve link equity and avoid ranking drops.
• Monitor Google Search Console regularly for 4xx and 5xx errors affecting key pages.
• Apply 410 Gone when you want to expedite deindexing of permanently removed pages.
• Do not implement HTTP 103 Early Hints specifically for SEO benefit – Google ignores all 1xx codes.
• Use 429 Too Many Requests carefully, as excessive rate limiting reduces crawl coverage.
• Avoid redirect chains and loops, which waste crawl budget and dilute link equity.

Conclusion

HTTP status codes are a foundational element of technical SEO that directly influence how Google crawls and indexes your website. The insights shared by Google’s Search Relations team, including the confirmation that 1xx codes are completely ignored and that standard 4xx codes are processed as expected, provide valuable clarity for SEOs and site owners looking to optimize their technical infrastructure. By understanding which codes Google acts on and which it ignores, you can make smarter decisions about your server configuration, URL management, and overall site architecture to support stronger search performance.