The Google Search Relations team recently shared insights on how search engines handle HTTP status codes in the “Search Off the Record” podcast.
Gary Illyes and Martin Splitt from Google discussed several categories of status codes that are often misunderstood by SEO professionals.
How Google Views Certain HTTP Status Codes
While the podcast did not cover all HTTP status codes (clearly, 200 OK remains fundamental), it focused on categories that often confuse SEO practitioners.
Splitt emphasized during the discussion:
“These status codes are actually important for site owners and SEOs because they tell a story about what happened when a particular request came in.”
The podcast revealed several noteworthy points about how Google handles specific categories of status codes.
1xx Codes: Completely Ignored
Google’s crawlers ignore all status codes in the 1xx range, including new features like “Early Hints” (HTTP 103).
Illyes explained:
“We are just going to pass through [1xx status codes] anyway without even noticing that something was in the 100 range. We just notice the next non-100 status code instead.”
This means that implementing early hints may enhance user experience but will not directly benefit your SEO.
Redirects: Simpler Than Many SEOs Think
While SEO professionals often debate which type of redirect to use (301, 302, 307, 308), Google’s approach primarily focuses on whether the redirect is permanent or temporary.
Illyes stated:
“For Google search specifically, it’s just like ‘yeah, it was a redirection.’ We kind of care about in canonicalization whether something was temporary or permanent, but otherwise we just [see] it was a redirection.”
This does not mean that the implementation of redirects is unimportant, but it indicates that the distinction between permanent and temporary is more significant than the specific code number.
Client Error Codes: Standard Handling
Status codes in the 4xx range generally operate as expected.
Google appropriately handles standard codes like 404 (not found) and 410 (gone), which are essential for proper crawling management.
The team humorously mentioned status code 418 (“I’m a teapot”), which is a joke in the standard and has no impact on SEO.
Network Errors in Search Console: A Deeper Look
Many mysterious network errors in Search Console stem from deeper technical layers below HTTP.
Illyes explained:
“Every now and then you would get these weird messages in Search Console that like there was something with the network… and that can actually happen in these layers that we are talking about.”
When you see network-related crawl errors, you may need to investigate lower-level protocols like TCP, UDP, or DNS.
Not Discussed but Still Important
The podcast did not cover many status codes that are absolutely important to Google, including:
- 200 OK (standard success response)
- 500-level server errors (which may affect crawling and indexing)
- 429 Too Many Requests (rate limiting)
- Various other proprietary codes
Practical Takeaways
While this is not a comprehensive guide to HTTP status codes, the discussion revealed some practical insights:
- For redirects, primarily focus on the distinction between permanent and temporary
- Do not invest resources specifically optimizing 1xx responses for Google
- When troubleshooting network errors, look beyond HTTP to deeper protocol layers
- Continue to implement standard status codes correctly, including those not specifically discussed
As web technologies evolve with HTTP/3 and QUIC, understanding how Google handles these signals can help you build a more effective technical SEO strategy without making implementation overly complex.