miji.beWhen a short URL forwards a visitor to the original destination, it uses an HTTP redirect. The two primary types are 301 (permanent redirect) and 302 (temporary redirect). Which one a service uses affects SEO, analytics accuracy, and performance, so understanding the distinction makes the choice easier.
The HTTP response headers for a 301 redirect look like this: "HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently", "Location: https://example.com/original-page", "Cache-Control: max-age=86400", "Content-Length: 0". The browser reads the Location header and automatically navigates to the specified URL. A 301 tells browsers and search engines that the resource has permanently moved. Browsers may cache this information, and while it stays cached, subsequent visits go directly to the destination without contacting the short URL server. With a 301 redirect, link juice (PageRank value) is said to pass to the redirect destination.
The response headers for a 302 redirect look like this: "HTTP/1.1 302 Found", "Location: https://example.com/original-page", "Cache-Control: no-cache", "Content-Length: 0". A 302 indicates that the resource is temporarily at a different location. Without explicit caching instructions a 302 is not reused, so with the no-cache shown above every click passes through the short URL server. This characteristic makes click counts and referral sources easier to track. Some URL shortening services use 302 redirects because they prioritize analytics accuracy.
You can verify redirect behavior directly from the terminal using curl. Running "curl -I https://short.example/abc123" displays only the response headers, showing the status code (301 or 302) and the Location header. Running "curl -v -L https://short.example/abc123" traces the entire redirect chain to the final destination. The "-L" flag follows redirects automatically, and "-v" outputs detailed request and response information.
The performance implications differ between the two types. While a 301 redirect stays cached in the browser, repeat visits are faster. A 302 redirect requires a server request every time, adding slight latency. In practice, modern server infrastructure keeps this overhead small, so the impact on user experience can be expected to be small as well.
Beyond 301 and 302, the HTTP specification defines two additional redirect status codes: 307 (Temporary Redirect) and 308 (Permanent Redirect). The key difference is that 302 may cause browsers to change the HTTP method from POST to GET during the redirect, while 307 strictly preserves the original request method. Similarly, 308 is the strict version of 301, prohibiting method changes during redirect. Since URL shortening services typically handle only GET requests, the practical difference between 307/308 and 301/302 is small. However, for API redirects where preserving the POST method matters, there are cases where 307/308 is appropriate.
When SEO is a priority and a short URL serves as a permanent link, such as for blog posts or fixed pages where the destination will not change, a 301 is appropriate. For campaign pages, seasonal promotions, or other destinations that may change, 302 redirects are suitable. As noted above, with a 301 redirect, link juice is said to pass to the redirect destination.
The tradeoffs are worth understanding clearly. With 301 redirects, browser caching can keep repeat visits from reaching the server, and those clicks go uncounted. If you need to change the destination, cached browsers will continue redirecting to the old URL until the cache expires. The drawback of 302 redirects is the slight latency from every request hitting the server. Google's documentation (as of October 2026) says that with temporary redirects, the source page is shown in search results.
In practice, verify which redirect type your URL shortening service uses and select a service that aligns with your goals. Some services offer the option to select the redirect type on a per-link basis.