HTTP Status Codes and SEO: A Complete Guide + List

What are HTTP status codes?

HTTP status codes are generally similar to communications delivered across the web browser and the server of a website. The client receives messages from the server based on the outcome of the request. The messages are subdivided into five different classes, each signifying something critical.

• 100s: Informational signals showing that the browser-initiated request is still being processed.
• 200s: When a browser request is received, comprehended, and processed by the server, success codes are returned.
• 300s: When a new resource has been used in place of the one that was requested, redirection codes are returned.
• 400s: Client error codes indicating that the request encountered a problem.
• 500s: Server error numbers show that although the request was approved, a server error prohibited it from being fulfilled.

Why is the HTTP status code important to SEO?

HTTP status codes are important in the context of SEO for a variety of reasons, mainly because being able to grasp these codes allows you to quickly diagnose and resolve problems.

Crawlers from search engines scan websites on an ongoing basis to find and process the web pages. Based on the relevancy of the content, the web pages get ranked.

Hence, HTTP status codes provide crawlers with information about the website’s ability to be accessed and other critical information that can define the user experience on the website.

Nevertheless, when a website produces a 404 status code known as “page not found,” search engines will figure out that the website’s page is no longer readily accessible and may delete it from the database.

HTTP status codes additionally hold an influence on the browsing experience, thus making them an important part of SEO. 

Thus, when a user discovers problems, like errors that include 404 or 500 codes, they may become frustrated and have an unfavorable impression of the website.

Having the right HTTP status code is critical, as it ensures that the user is well aware of the issue, thus enhancing the user experience.

Redirections are often used to lead people and search engines to a particular web address. SEO requires HTTP status codes like 301, commonly known as a permanent redirect, and 302 as a temporary redirect to send the message to the user and the crawler about redirection.

This either allows the search engines to shift the old URL’s ranking indicators and credibility onto the new URL or is an interim shifting, recommending the search engines keep the previous URL indexed.

How to check and monitor HTTP status codes?

Checking the HTTP status code for your website is critical for you to take the next steps. While you open the website, the server that hosts the website returns a status code – which is included in the HTTP Header.

Method 1:

Checking the status code can be done in multiple ways. You can look forward to a unique tool to discover the status code being returned on loading the webpage, or you may look into online websites – wherein you may enter the web URL to find the response.

A few of the tools that you can try are Websniffer.com, httpstatus.io, or Chrome extensions such as HTTP Status if you are using Google Chrome as your browser.

Method 2:

Another way to find out the HTTP status code is by delving into the Network tab of the developer tools on the website. In order to find out the HTTP status code, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the website you wish to check for the code.
2. Right-click anywhere on the website and click on the Inspect option in the drop-down menu.
3. Open the Networks tab by selecting Networks from the drop-down menu.
4. Now, refresh the page. As the page is refreshed, you will find the file starting with the keyword HTTP-response.
5. Click on it, and you can find the status code displayed.

 The status code can be quite critical in understanding the next steps that you need to take for your website if it is not as per expectations. 

Method 3:

The last method to find out the response code is by looking into the server logs. The server logs often have a list of HTTP requests and responses – and based on your accessibility to the server logs, you can track them too.

A complete list of HTTP status codes

Here is the complete list of the important HTTP status codes that you must keep track of:

Status Code	Function
1XX — Informational
100	Continue
101	Switching Protocols
102	Processing
103	Early Hints
2XX — Success
200	OK
201	Created
202	Accepted
203	Non-Authoritative Information
204	No Content
205	Reset Content
206	Partial Content
207	Multi-Status
208	Already Reported
226	IM Used
3XX — Redirection
300	Multiple Choices
301	Moved Permanently
302	Found
303	See Other
304	Not Modified
307	Temporary Redirect
308	Permanent Redirect
4XX — Client Error
400	Bad Request
401	Unauthorized
402	Payment Required
403	Forbidden
404	Not Found
405	Method Not Allowed
406	Not Acceptable
407	Proxy Authentication Required
408	Request Timeout
409	Conflict
410	Gone
411	Length Required
412	Precondition Failed
413	Content Too Large
414	URI Too Long
415	Unsupported Media Type
416	Range Not Satisfiable
417	Expectation Failed
421	Misdirected Request
422	Unprocessable Content
423	Locked
424	Failed Dependency
425	Too Early
426	Upgrade Required
428	Precondition Required
429	Too Many Requests
431	Request Header Fields Too Large
451	Unavailable for Legal Reasons
5XX — Server Error
500	Internal Server Error
501	Not Implemented
502	Bad Gateway
503	Service Unavailable
504	Gateway Timeout
505	HTTP Version Not Supported
506	Variant Also Negotiates
507	Insufficient Storage
508	Loop Detected
511	Network Authentication Required

Different HTTP Status Codes Explained

Here is a list of different commonly used HTTP Status codes:

100: Continue

This code gives the signal that the server has received the request header and is now waiting to receive the request body from the client.

103: Early Hints

This status code is sent by the server when the information being processed is lengthy and requires further time. Response 103 shares some key headers of the data being requested.

200: OK

This status code is returned when the requested information has been successfully delivered by the server to the client. 

204: No content

The request has been completed, but there is no content in the request-response.

301: Moved permanently

The response code suggests that the target content has been displaced permanently to a new URL. The client needs to update the links at their end with the new URL. 

302: Found

When the resource is temporarily available in a different path or URL, the server displays this request code. 

400: Bad requests

Signifies the failure of the server to understand request from the client due to syntactical errors

403: Forbidden

Lack of permission from the client to fulfill this request triggers the server to send a 403 HTTP status code. 

404: Not found

The server is unable to track the request, as the content may be moved or have been removed. 

504: Gateway Timeout

Failure of receiving a timely response from another server results in the server throwing 504 response 

502: Bad Gateway

When the server receives an inappropriate response from another server, for the request made, a 502 response is triggered.

Also Check: 301 vs 302 Redirect: Which is Better for SEO?

Find and Fix HTTP Status Code Errors

You may use the subsequent approaches and instruments for inspecting and tracking HTTP status codes:

1. Manual Verification 

The individual web page HTTP status codes may be verified manually by inputting the URL in the address field of your browser and then viewing the response that appears. 

E.g. In Google Chrome, you may access the Developer’s Options by right-clicking on the web page, clicking “Inspect,” and then heading to the “Network” section.

2. Online Resources 

You can check HTTP status codes for numerous sites using several free applications. Hence, these tools frequently provide extra data and acumen. 

E.g., W3C HTTP Status Code Checker, SEO Site Checkup, and Screaming Frog SEO Spider—these are some popular online tools and resources that can be used for scanning such as HTTP status code checks.

3. Google Search Console

If you have confirmed your website in Google Search Console, then you will receive “Coverage” data that indicates the condition of codes detected by Google when scanning your page.

4. Monitoring Services for Websites

You can automate the operation of inspecting HTTP status codes through the use of monitoring website software. Hence, these third-party providers check your website regularly and deliver notifications whenever they find any problems or unusual status codes.

5. Log Analysis

Examining the website’s logs can reveal information about the HTTP status codes that website visitors obtain. Moreover, it can assist you in analyzing server logs and identifying trends of status codes on your web page. E.g. Webalizer and Google Analytics.

Tracking the HTTP status codes from the pages you create regularly is critical to ensuring adequate operation, identifying, and correcting any mistakes as soon as possible, and maintaining high rankings in search engines.

Also Check: Crawl budget for SEO: How to optimize crawl budget for website

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding the HTTP status codes help in enhancing the SEO performance of your website – thus enabling it to rank higher in the SERP rankings. Fixing the errors as identified is a critical step, and once the fix is made – monitoring your web page regularly helps your website to keep the errors at bay, and remain updated.