What is a 301 redirect and why does it matter for SEO?

A 301 redirect is a permanent HTTP redirect that signals to search engines that a page has moved to a new URL indefinitely. It transfers approximately 90–99% of link equity (PageRank) to the destination URL. This is the standard redirect type for site migrations, URL restructuring, and HTTPS enforcement. Using a 302 (temporary) redirect when you mean 301 is one of the most costly SEO mistakes — search engines will keep the old URL indexed instead of updating it.

What is the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?

A 301 Moved Permanently tells search engines and browsers to permanently update their records to the new URL, passing nearly all link equity. A 302 Found (Temporary Redirect) tells bots the move is temporary — they preserve the original URL in the index and do not transfer PageRank. Use 301 for permanent moves, 302 for A/B testing or maintenance pages, 307/308 for strict HTTP-method preservation.

How does the bulk redirect checker work?

Enter your email address to unlock bulk mode, then paste up to 20 URLs (one per line). Our engine traces each URL's full redirect chain sequentially and returns a consolidated report showing hops, status codes, affiliate detection, and final destinations for all URLs in one view.

Can this tool detect affiliate link cloaking?

Yes. Affiliate link cloaking plugins like Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and AAWP use 301 or 302 redirects to mask the real destination. Our tracer follows the complete chain and exposes the underlying affiliate network URL (e.g., the ClickBank or ShareASale hop). You can also switch the User-Agent to Googlebot to see if the site serves a different redirect path to crawlers — a clear sign of cloaking.

Is RedirectReveal free to use?

The single URL tracer is completely free with no account required. The bulk checker is also free but requires an email address to prevent automated abuse. We may introduce a paid tier for advanced features like scheduled monitoring, webhook notifications, API access, and historical data — but the core tracing tool will always remain free.

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Expose every redirect hop, detect affiliate networks, reveal tracking cookies, and check HTTP headers — all in seconds. Trusted by SEO specialists, affiliate marketers, and security researchers.

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Bulk URL Checker — Up to 20 URLs

Check multiple affiliate links or redirects at once. Enter your email to unlock bulk access — free, no spam.

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Why Use RedirectReveal

Everything you need to understand where a link really takes you.

Bypass Redirect Guards

Switch between Browser, Googlebot, and Bingbot user-agents to reveal cloaked redirects that serve different paths to crawlers vs. real users.

Full Chain Visualization

See every hop with HTTP status codes (301, 302, 307), response headers, cookies set at each step, server software, and timing.

Affiliate Network Detection

Automatically identify 25+ affiliate platforms including ClickBank, ShareASale, CJ, Awin, Impact, Rakuten, and more in your redirect chain.

Security & Privacy Screening

Detect redirect loops, suspicious cloaking, cookie injection, and potential phishing URLs — without clicking the link yourself.

How It Works

Powerful redirect analysis in three simple steps.

Paste Any URL

Enter any URL — an affiliate link, shortened URL, tracking link, or any HTTP address. We handle both HTTP and HTTPS, and normalize the URL automatically.
We Trace Every Hop

Our backend makes sequential HTTP requests using cURL, reading each Location header and status code without blindly following redirects. Full headers are captured at every step.
Get the Full Report

Receive a complete chain report with status codes, detected affiliate networks, tracking parameter flags, cookie inspection, and the verified final destination URL.

Who Uses RedirectReveal

Built for professionals who need to see through the link.

SEO Specialists

Redirect chains dilute link equity and slow down crawling. Use RedirectReveal to audit your 301 redirect structure, find costly redirect loops, verify HTTPS migration redirects, and ensure every hop preserves PageRank. A clean, single-hop permanent redirect is the gold standard — our tool tells you when you're falling short.

Affiliate Marketers

Verify that your affiliate commission tracking is intact at every hop. See whether the affiliate network's tracking cookie is being set before the final destination. Identify if a merchant is cookie-stuffing or whether your referral parameter survives all the redirects in the chain.

Security Researchers

Analyze suspicious links safely. Expose URL cloaking techniques, trace phishing redirect chains, identify malware distribution paths, and detect open redirect vulnerabilities — all without visiting dangerous URLs directly in your browser.

Web Developers

Debug server redirect configurations, verify .htaccess rewrite rules, test how your site behaves for mobile vs desktop, and confirm that canonical redirects are correctly implemented across your infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about redirect tracing and link analysis.

: A 301 redirect is a permanent HTTP redirect that signals to search engines that a page has moved to a new URL indefinitely. It transfers approximately 90–99% of link equity (PageRank) to the destination URL. This is the standard redirect type for site migrations, URL restructuring, and HTTPS enforcement. Using a 302 (temporary) redirect when you mean 301 is one of the most costly SEO mistakes — search engines will keep the old URL indexed instead of updating it.
: A 301 Moved Permanently tells search engines and browsers to permanently update their records to the new URL, passing nearly all link equity. A 302 Found (Temporary Redirect) tells bots the move is temporary — they preserve the original URL in the index and do not transfer PageRank. Use 301 for permanent moves, 302 for A/B testing or maintenance pages, 307/308 for strict HTTP-method preservation.
: Enter your email address to unlock bulk mode, then paste up to 20 URLs (one per line). Our engine traces each URL's full redirect chain sequentially and returns a consolidated report showing hops, status codes, affiliate detection, and final destinations for all URLs in one view.
: Yes. Affiliate link cloaking plugins like Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and AAWP use 301 or 302 redirects to mask the real destination. Our tracer follows the complete chain and exposes the underlying affiliate network URL (e.g., the ClickBank or ShareASale hop). You can also switch the User-Agent to Googlebot to see if the site serves a different redirect path to crawlers — a clear sign of cloaking.
: The single URL tracer is completely free with no account required. The bulk checker is also free but requires an email address to prevent automated abuse. We may introduce a paid tier for advanced features like scheduled monitoring, webhook notifications, API access, and historical data — but the core tracing tool will always remain free.