GLOSSARY TERM
What is HTTP Status Codes?
Definition
Three-digit codes a server returns with every response: 2xx (success), 3xx (redirect), 4xx (client error), 5xx (server error). Crawlers use these to decide whether to index, follow, or skip a URL.
Why it Matters for AI Search
Status codes are how crawlers and browsers understand what happened with a request. Misconfigured codes (200 for missing pages, 302 for permanent moves, 503 for normal pages) are silent SEO killers because the URL renders fine in a browser.
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