What a redirect actually is
A redirect is a signal a server sends back to a browser (or a bot) that says "the thing you asked for isn't here — go to this other address instead." Every time you click a short link, this is exactly what happens: the shortener's server receives the request for the short URL, and instantly responds with a redirect to the real, full-length destination, which your browser then follows automatically.
301: the permanent redirect
A 301 redirect tells anyone paying attention — browsers, search engine crawlers, other tools — that the original address has permanently moved, and future requests should go directly to the new one. Search engines take this literally: over time, a 301 redirect transfers the accumulated ranking signals (sometimes called "link equity") from the old URL to the new one, and search results eventually update to show the new address instead of the old.
302: the temporary redirect
A 302 redirect signals the opposite intent: this is a temporary detour, and the original address should still be considered the canonical one going forward. Search engines generally don't transfer ranking signals for a 302 the way they do for a 301, and they'll keep checking the original URL rather than fully replacing it with the new destination in search results.
Why this distinction matters for SEO
If you're permanently moving a page — retiring an old URL structure, merging two pages into one, migrating to a new domain — using a 301 is what allows the new page to inherit the ranking authority the old page had built up. Using a 302 for a permanent move is a common SEO mistake: search engines keep treating the old URL as the "real" one, and the new page never fully accumulates the ranking signals it should.
Which redirect type URL shorteners typically use
Most URL shorteners, including the majority of dynamic QR code and short link redirects, use a 301 redirect by default. That matters if a short link is meant to represent a stable, long-term destination — a 301 signals to search engines and other systems that the shortened URL and its destination are, for practical purposes, the same page, which is usually the intended behavior for a branded or marketing short link.
When a 302 makes more sense
A 302 is the right choice when a redirect genuinely is temporary — for example, redirecting visitors to a maintenance page during a short outage, running an A/B test where a link needs to point to different variants that will eventually stop, or handling a time-limited promotion where the destination should revert afterward. Using a 302 here keeps search engines from treating the temporary destination as a permanent replacement.
A common mistake: leaving a redirect the wrong type long-term
It's easy to set up a "temporary" 302 redirect during a migration or a quick fix, and then simply never revisit it once the "temporary" situation becomes permanent. Months later, the destination hasn't changed back, but because it's still technically a 302, the SEO benefit of a full, permanent transfer of ranking signals never happens. Reviewing redirects periodically to confirm they're still using the right type is worth doing, especially for anything tied to a domain migration.
Why this is mostly invisible day to day
For the person clicking a short link, a 301 and a 302 look and feel identical — the browser follows either one instantly and lands on the destination page without any visible difference. The distinction matters almost entirely for search engines and analytics tools crawling and interpreting the web, not for the everyday experience of clicking a link.
Other redirect types you might come across
301 and 302 are the two most common redirects, but there are others with more specific meanings — a 307 is a stricter, more modern version of a temporary redirect that guarantees the request method (like a form submission) doesn't change along the way, and a 308 is the equivalent strict version of a permanent redirect. For everyday link shortening and basic SEO purposes, 301 and 302 cover the vast majority of real-world situations.
How to check which type a link is actually using
Most browsers' developer tools (usually opened with F12) show the network requests behind a page load, including the status code of any redirect that happened along the way — a 301 or 302 will show up clearly in that list. Various free online redirect-checker tools do the same thing without needing to open developer tools, which is a quick way to confirm what type of redirect a shortener or a website migration is actually using.
Why this matters even if you never think about redirects directly
Most people creating a short link or a QR code never think about which redirect type is being used behind the scenes — and for casual, everyday sharing, that's completely fine. It starts to matter once a link is meant to represent something permanent and SEO-relevant: a branded domain's homepage, a canonical campaign landing page, or any link where search engine ranking signals are worth preserving over the long run.