What is the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect?

A 301 redirect signals to search engines and browsers that a page has permanently moved to a new URL. This passes most of the original page's link equity (ranking power) to the new destination, which is crucial for SEO. A 302 redirect, conversely, indicates a temporary move. Search engines understand that the original page is expected to return, so they generally do not pass link equity to the temporary destination. Using a 302 for a permanent move can lead to SEO issues like diluted link equity and slower indexing of the new page. The other options are incorrect: redirects are not categorized by internal/external links, error pages use 4xx status codes, and redirect type does not inherently affect page loading speed.