📖 Quick Summary
Tool: Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Difficulty: Beginner
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Business Impact: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Response Codes Explained
Every page on your website returns an HTTP Response Code whenever a browser or search engine requests it. These response codes tell Google whether a page exists, has moved, contains an error, or is temporarily unavailable. Understanding what each response code means is essential for diagnosing Technical SEO issues, improving crawl efficiency, and ensuring users can successfully access your website.
200 OK
What this means
The page exists and has been successfully loaded by the server.
Why this matters to the business
A 200 response tells search engines and users that everything is working correctly. These are the pages capable of generating organic traffic, leads and revenue.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By analysing the HTTP response returned for every crawled URL within Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
What to do about it
Nothing. A 200 response is exactly what you want for pages that should be available to users and search engines.
Related terms
Status Code • Indexability • Crawl Status
301 Redirect
What this means
The page has permanently moved to a new location.
Why this matters to the business
301 redirects preserve most of the SEO value from the original page and ensure visitors are automatically sent to the correct destination without encountering errors.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By analysing redirect responses returned during the Screaming Frog crawl and highlighting redirect chains where necessary.
What to do about it
Ensure every permanent redirect points directly to the final destination and avoid unnecessary redirect chains.
Related terms
302 Redirect • Redirect Chain • Canonical URL
302 Redirect
What this means
The page has been temporarily redirected to another location.
Why this matters to the business
Search engines treat temporary redirects differently from permanent redirects. Using a 302 when a page has permanently moved can confuse search engines and reduce SEO effectiveness.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By identifying temporary redirect responses returned during the crawl.
What to do about it
Only use a 302 when the redirect is genuinely temporary. Otherwise replace it with a 301 redirect.
Related terms
301 Redirect • Redirect Loop
307 Redirect
What this means
A temporary redirect that preserves the original request method.
Why this matters to the business
For most SEO purposes, a 307 behaves similarly to a 302 and should only be used when the redirect is temporary.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By analysing server responses during the crawl.
What to do about it
Confirm the redirect is intended to be temporary. If permanent, replace it with a 301 redirect.
Related terms
302 Redirect • 301 Redirect
308 Redirect
What this means
A permanent redirect that preserves the original request method.
Why this matters to the business
308 redirects permanently move users and search engines to a new location while preserving request information.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By analysing server responses collected during the crawl.
What to do about it
Ensure the redirect points directly to the final destination without additional redirect hops.
Related terms
301 Redirect • Redirect Chain
400 Bad Request
What this means
The server could not understand the request sent by the browser.
Why this matters to the business
Visitors and search engines cannot access the requested page, potentially preventing indexing or creating a poor user experience.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By detecting HTTP 400 responses during the website crawl.
What to do about it
Investigate malformed URLs, broken links or server configuration issues causing invalid requests.
Related terms
404 Not Found • 500 Internal Server Error
401 Unauthorized
What this means
The requested page requires authentication before it can be accessed.
Why this matters to the business
Search engines generally cannot crawl protected content, meaning these pages are usually excluded from search results.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By detecting HTTP 401 responses during the crawl.
What to do about it
Only protect pages that genuinely require authentication and ensure important public pages remain accessible.
Related terms
403 Forbidden • Indexability
403 Forbidden
What this means
The server understood the request but refuses to provide access.
Why this matters to the business
Important content accidentally blocked by a 403 response may become inaccessible to users and search engines.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By identifying HTTP 403 responses during the crawl.
What to do about it
Review server permissions and security settings to confirm the restriction is intentional.
Related terms
401 Unauthorized • Robots.txt
404 Not Found
What this means
The requested page no longer exists or cannot be found.
Why this matters to the business
Broken pages create poor user experiences, waste crawl budget and can result in lost rankings, traffic and revenue.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By identifying missing pages during the Screaming Frog crawl and cross-referencing them with Google Search Console where applicable.
What to do about it
Restore the page if appropriate or create a relevant 301 redirect to the closest matching content.
Related terms
Broken Links • 301 Redirect • Orphan Pages
410 Gone
What this means
The page has been permanently removed and will not return.
Why this matters to the business
A 410 response clearly tells search engines the content has intentionally been removed, allowing it to be removed from the index more quickly than a standard 404.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By detecting HTTP 410 responses during the crawl.
What to do about it
Use 410 responses only when content has been permanently removed with no suitable replacement.
Related terms
404 Not Found • 301 Redirect
500 Internal Server Error
What this means
The web server encountered an unexpected problem and could not complete the request.
Why this matters to the business
Repeated server errors prevent search engines and visitors from accessing your website, potentially resulting in significant traffic and revenue loss.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By detecting HTTP 500 responses returned during the crawl.
What to do about it
Investigate server logs, plugins, hosting configuration or application errors causing the failure.
Related terms
503 Service Unavailable • Crawl Status
503 Service Unavailable
What this means
The server is temporarily unavailable, usually due to maintenance or high demand.
Why this matters to the business
Short-term 503 responses are acceptable during maintenance, but prolonged downtime prevents search engines from crawling your website.
How Growth Architect AI identifies this
By identifying HTTP 503 responses during the crawl.
What to do about it
Resolve the underlying server issue as quickly as possible and ensure the website becomes available again.
Related terms
500 Internal Server Error • Crawl Status