---
title: "HTTP Status Codes"
description: "HTTP status codes are three-digit response codes returned by a web server to indicate the result of an HTTP request, such as 200 (OK), 301 (redirect), or 404 (not found)."
category: "Server Log Analysis"
date: "2026-03-05"
url: "https://getbeast.io/glossary/http-status-codes/"
type: "glossary"
---

# HTTP Status Codes

**Category:** Server Log Analysis | **Updated:** 2026-03-05

HTTP status codes are three-digit response codes returned by a web server to indicate the result of an HTTP request, such as 200 (OK), 301 (redirect), or 404 (not found).

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## What Are HTTP Status Codes?

HTTP status codes are standardized three-digit numbers that a web server returns in response to every HTTP request. They are grouped into five classes: 1xx (informational), 2xx (success), 3xx (redirection), 4xx (client error), and 5xx (server error). The most common codes encountered in SEO are 200, 301, 302, 404, and 500.

## Why Status Codes Matter for SEO

Status codes directly control how search engines process your pages. A **200** tells crawlers the page is valid and should be indexed. A **301** passes link equity to a new URL. A **404** signals the page no longer exists. A **500** tells crawlers your server is broken. Monitoring status code distribution in your logs reveals indexation problems, broken redirects, and server health issues that directly impact rankings.

## How to Monitor Status Codes

Analyze your access logs to track status code distribution over time. Look for spikes in 4xx or 5xx codes, which indicate problems. Use [LogBeast](/logbeast/) to visualize status code trends and filter by specific crawlers to see what Googlebot experiences versus regular users.

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## Related Terms

- [404 Error](/glossary/404-error/)
- [301 Redirect](/glossary/301-redirect/)
- [302 Redirect](/glossary/302-redirect/)
- [Soft 404](/glossary/soft-404/)
- [Server Response Time](/glossary/server-response-time/)

## Further Reading

- [Finding and Fixing 404 Errors](/blog/404-errors/)

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*Part of the [GetBeast SEO Glossary](/glossary/). Visit [GetBeast.io](https://getbeast.io) for professional SEO and log analysis tools.*