Redirect Checker

Trace every redirect hop, inspect status semantics and destination changes, and export the evidence for one URL or a bulk list.

The tool follows redirects and traces the full chain to the final destination. Supports http:// and https:// URLs.
Quick test:
Enter up to 25 URLs, one per line. Results show status codes, hop counts, and redirect chains.
Quick test:

About the Redirect Checker

This tool traces the complete redirect path from your input URL to its final destination. It follows up to five redirect hops, tracking each 301/302/303/307/308 response and the Location header. Perfect for debugging redirect chains, verifying 301 implementations, and auditing site migrations.

Hop-by-hop chain visualization

See every redirect with status codes, target URLs, and the final destination.

Loop detection

Automatically flags when URLs reappear in a chain, preventing crawling black holes.

Evidence-first analysis

Review terminal state, per-hop timing, status semantics, protocol and host changes, cache evidence, and concise next steps.

Why Redirect Chains Matter for SEO

Redirect chains add requests and can complicate migrations and URL maintenance. Here is why shorter paths are easier to operate:

  • Additional requests — Each redirect hop creates another HTTP request. Long chains increase total page-load latency and make URL signal maintenance more complex.
  • User experience — Every redirect adds an extra round trip. Keep chains short and link directly to the final destination whenever practical.
  • Indexing — Very long chains make URL signals harder for search engines to follow consistently.

Best Practices

  • Eliminate all unnecessary redirects — Link directly to the final destination URL.
  • Keep chains to 0-2 hops — If you must redirect, minimize the number of hops.
  • Use 301 for permanent moves — Google has confirmed that 301 redirects do not cause PageRank loss. Use 301 for permanent moves.
  • Avoid redirect loops — Test redirects after configuration changes to prevent circular chains.
  • Consolidate during migrations — When migrating a site, map old URLs directly to new URLs, not through intermediate pages.
  • Monitor redirect health regularly — Audit your redirect chains monthly, especially after CMS updates or .htaccess changes.

Suggested Workflow

Use this tool as part of a comprehensive site audit:

  1. Run a Full SEO Audit to identify pages with redirect chains
  2. Use this tool to trace specific redirect chains in detail
  3. Plan redirect consolidation using the Redirect Map Builder
  4. Generate server configuration with the .htaccess Redirect Generator
  5. Re-check after implementation to verify the chains are resolved
Monitor backlinks for redirect issues — dropped backlinks often redirect unexpectedly. Use linkcheck.app to track up to 5,000 backlinks and catch redirect-related drops before they hurt your rankings.

Redirect Checker Examples: Valid vs. Broken Inputs

Use these examples before testing your own site so you know what a normal result and a problem result should look like.

Valid example

Test https://www.google.com/ and review the final 200 response after any normal canonical redirect.

Broken example

Test a known redirect chain or an old URL that hops through multiple 301/302 redirects before reaching its destination.

Preview: What the Result Should Show

A screenshot should show each redirect hop, HTTP status, final URL, and any chain-length warning.

How to Interpret the Result

One clean 301 to the final canonical URL is usually fine. Multiple hops add extra requests and may increase total latency.

Common Failure Cases

  • Redirect loops
  • Long redirect chains
  • 302 used where permanent 301 is expected

What warnings mean

A warning usually means the destination is reachable, but the redirect path is less efficient than it should be. One clean redirect can be acceptable; multiple hops, mixed temporary redirects, or loops usually deserve cleanup.

What this tool cannot know

  • Whether all internal links, canonicals, hreflang references, and sitemap entries already point to the final destination.
  • Whether the redirect logic behaves the same for every device, country, or user agent if CDN or application rules vary the response.
  • Whether Google treats the final page as the preferred canonical in practice; confirm that with Search Console when the page matters.

Download sample report

Frequently Asked Questions

A redirect chain occurs when one URL redirects to another, which redirects to another, and so on. Chains create additional requests and may add latency. They also make migrations and URL signals harder to maintain. Link directly to the final destination whenever practical.
This tool detects 301 (Moved Permanently), 302 (Found), 303 (See Other), 307 (Temporary Redirect), and 308 (Permanent Redirect) status codes. It also identifies client errors (4xx) and server errors (5xx) that may appear in the chain.
Yes! Switch to the Bulk Check tab and enter one URL per line. You can check up to 25 URLs at once. Bulk checks normalize and deduplicate up to 25 URLs, use bounded request concurrency in the browser, and include complete per-URL chains for export.
Redirect chains create additional server round trips. Googlebot follows each hop in the chain, which can mean fewer pages get crawled overall for very large sites. Each hop adds some latency, but the impact varies by server speed and geography. Linking directly to the final destination helps minimize extra round trips. Use the Redirect Map Builder to plan a migration with minimal redirect depth.
A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect — it signals to search engines that the original URL has permanently moved. Google has confirmed that 301 redirects do not cause PageRank loss. A 302 redirect is temporary — search engines keep the original URL indexed. For SEO purposes, always use 301 for permanent moves and 302 only for temporary redirects like A/B testing or maintenance pages.
Redirect hops add server requests and may increase page-load latency. Longer chains make URL signal maintenance and migrations more complex. Google does not prescribe a fixed maximum hop count — the goal is to minimize unnecessary hops. Link directly to the final destination whenever practical.
A redirect loop happens when URL A redirects to B, B redirects back to A (or through a cycle that eventually returns to a previously visited URL). This is typically caused by misconfigured .htaccess rules, conflicting CMS redirect plugins, or circular URL rewriting rules. The tool automatically detects loops and alerts you so you can fix them before they create a crawling black hole.
Response time measures how long the entire redirect chain takes to resolve. Slow redirects can indicate server performance issues, geographic latency, or overly complex redirect logic. While redirect speed is not a direct ranking factor, faster pages provide a better user experience. If your redirect chain takes more than 1-2 seconds total, investigate the slowest hops.
Yes — a 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS is essential for modern websites. This ensures all traffic uses the encrypted connection, which is a trust signal and protects user data. The redirect chain should be: http://example.com → https://example.com (one hop). Avoid chaining http:// → https://www → https:// (two hops) — use a single redirect per request if possible.
Reviewed Jul 2026 · Sources and limitations

Review details: 2026-07-13 · Marc LaClear · v2.0

Reference sources:

Known limits:

  • Checks are based on publicly fetchable HTML, response headers, and browser-side input. They do not use private Google Search Console, analytics, or ranking data.
  • Scores and warnings are diagnostic aids, not guarantees of ranking improvement or Google indexation.
  • Pages blocked by robots.txt, login walls, bot protection, heavy JavaScript, or network timeouts may return incomplete results.
  • Validate critical fixes with official Google tools such as Search Console, Rich Results Test, Lighthouse, and your own crawl data.

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