Meta Refresh Redirects and SEO: What Google Actually Does
Meta refresh redirects are the HTML-based fallback from before server-side redirects were ubiquitous. Google treats instant (delay=0) meta refreshes like a 301, but anything longer is treated as user-intended — which is almost never what you want.
Heads up: this article is still an outline. The full write-up is on our content roadmap — bookmark this page if you want to be notified when it ships.
What a meta refresh looks like
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How Google treats delay=0
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Why delay > 0 is an SEO trap
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When meta refresh is justified
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Server-side alternatives
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