Google redirects guide

Google redirects guide,
as documented

Which redirects Google treats as permanent or temporary, and which to prefer, in Google's own words. Verified from Google's pages on 2026-10-07.

Google says redirecting URLs is the practice of resolving an existing URL to a different one, effectively telling visitors and Google Search that a page has a new location. This page lists what Google documents about redirect types and how Search treats them, with the wording taken from its page.

What Google documents

Topic	What Google says	Source
What a redirect does	“Redirecting URLs is the practice of resolving an existing URL to a different one, effectively telling your visitors and Google Search that a page has a new location.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Redirects and canonical	“Google Search uses certain types of redirects as a signal that the redirect target should be canonical.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Permanent redirects	“Permanent redirects : Show the new redirect target in search results.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Temporary redirects	“Temporary redirects : Show the source page in search results.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Permanent types	“Use permanent redirects when you're sure that the redirect won't be reverted.”Google lists these as permanent: HTTP 301, HTTP 308, meta refresh (0 seconds), HTTP refresh (0 seconds), JavaScript location and crypto redirect. The indexing pipeline uses them as a signal that the target should be canonical.	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Temporary types	“Googlebot follows the redirect, but the indexing pipeline doesn't use the redirect as a signal that the redirect target should be canonical.”Google lists these as temporary: HTTP 302, HTTP 303, HTTP 307, meta refresh (more than 0 seconds) and HTTP refresh (more than 0 seconds).	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Temporary and indexing	“The target page might still be indexed if other canonicalization signals are present.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Best choice for moves	“we recommend that you use a permanent server-side redirect whenever possible.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
301 and 308	“The 301 and 308 status codes mean that a page has permanently moved to a new location.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
When to use a temporary redirect	“If you just want to send users to a different page temporarily, use a temporary redirect.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Instant meta refresh	“Google Search interprets instant meta refresh redirects as permanent redirects.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Delayed meta refresh	“Google Search interprets delayed meta refresh redirects as temporary redirects.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
JavaScript redirects	“Only use JavaScript redirects if you can't do server-side or meta refresh redirects.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Why JavaScript is the last resort	“While Google attempts to render every URL Googlebot crawled, rendering may fail for various reasons.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Crypto redirects	“Don't rely on crypto redirects for letting search engines know that your content has moved unless you have no other choice.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Alternate names	“When you redirect a URL, Google keeps track of both the redirect source (the old URL) and the redirect target (the new URL).”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07
Old URLs after a move	“it's very likely that Google will continue to occasionally show the old URLs in the results, even though the new URLs are already indexed.”	Google docs Verified 2026-10-07

Read on 2026-10-07. Google's page showed "Last updated 2026-04-14 UTC". Notes under a quote are close paraphrases of the same page. This page covers only what Google documents; other search engines may differ.

Examples

Google's own examples: a permanent and a temporary server-side redirect on Apache and NGINX, and an instant and a delayed meta refresh.

# Apache (mod_alias)
# Permanent redirect:
Redirect permanent "/old" "https://example.com/new"
# Temporary redirect:
Redirect temp "/two-old" "https://example.com/two-new"

# NGINX
location = /service {
  # for a permanent redirect
  return 301 $scheme://example.com/about/service
  # for a temporary redirect
  return 302 $scheme://example.com/about/service
}

<!-- Instant meta refresh (read as permanent) -->
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=https://example.com/newlocation">
<!-- Delayed meta refresh (read as temporary) -->
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="5; url=https://example.com/newlocation">

How Google handles each status code: Google HTTP status codes guide.

Write the rules with the free 301 redirect generator, and see Google's canonical URL signals and Google's sitemap rules.

Rules to remember

Google says a permanent server-side redirect is the best way to ensure Google Search and people are directed to the correct page.
Google says temporary redirects show the source page in search results, permanent ones show the target.
Google says to use JavaScript redirects only if server-side or meta refresh redirects are not possible.

Moving to new URLs, as Google documents it: Google site move guide.

Questions

Which redirects does Google treat as permanent?

Google lists HTTP 301 and 308, instant meta refresh and HTTP refresh (0 seconds), JavaScript location redirects and crypto redirects as permanent. It says the indexing pipeline uses them as a signal that the redirect target should be canonical, and to use them when you're sure the redirect won't be reverted.

Which redirects does Google treat as temporary?

HTTP 302, 303 and 307, and meta refresh or HTTP refresh with a delay of more than 0 seconds. Google says Googlebot follows them but the indexing pipeline doesn't use them as a signal that the target should be canonical.

Which redirect type should I use?

Google recommends a permanent server-side redirect whenever possible if you need to change the URL of a page as shown in search results, and lists server-side redirects as the type it is most likely to interpret correctly.

Does Google follow JavaScript redirects?

Google says it interprets and executes JavaScript using the Web Rendering Service once crawling of the URL has completed, but rendering may fail, so a JavaScript redirect might never be seen. It says to use them only if you can't do server-side or meta refresh redirects.

Why does Google still show my old URL after a move?

Google says it keeps track of both the source and the target of a redirect, and that after a move to a new domain it is very likely to continue to occasionally show the old URLs even though the new ones are indexed. It says the alternate names fade away without you doing anything as users get used to the new domain.

What is a crypto redirect?

Google's name for a plain link to the new page with a short explanation, used when no other redirect method is possible. It says not all search engines may recognize it and not to rely on it unless you have no other choice.

How current is this page?

Every row was read from Google's page on 2026-10-07, which showed "Last updated 2026-04-14 UTC". Google can change its documentation, so treat the linked page as the final word.

Sources

Redirects and Google Search (Google Search Central), read on 2026-10-07

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