What happens to a page if I take it down then later put it back up?

[jjmardlin]

I'm marketing a SaaS app that doesn't quite have product market fit yet.  I've identified a good keyword opportunity for a landing page targeting a competitor.  My business partner is worried that we'll bring too many people looking to jump ship from our competitor before our product is really ready, but we do need some of those people in order to get their feedback and develop the right product.

I'm proposing we put this landing page up, then we take it down once it's met our needs.  I'm sure we'll need to rebuild our ranking, but will it be more difficult the second time around?

Would it be better to keep it up with a redirect?

[NakulGoyal]

I agree with the 302 solution. Makes complete sense for usability as well as for SEO.

You could also 302 it to another, more appropriate page during the time it would be down and then remove the redirect when you want it make it available again.

[Chris.Menke]

I'm wondering how long you expect it to be up the first time and how long you think it will be down before it goes back up again (at the same url, of course).  If there are links to the page before it comes down and the links still exist when it goes back up, that would be very helpful.  If there are no external links going to it when you take it down and it was only up for a few months, you probably won't be losing anything when you take it down (and you won't be starting with much when it goes back up).

You could also 302 it to another, more appropriate page during the time it would be down and then remove the redirect when you want it make it available again.