Redirect Checker
Enter a URL and see every redirect it goes through before it reaches a page, with the status code of each hop.
How to read the result
The numbered list is the path a browser or crawler takes. Each row shows the URL that was requested and the status code it answered with. The last row is the final response, the page where the chain stops. Below the list, the tool points out things worth fixing.
What the checks mean
Chain length
One redirect is normal. Chains appear over time: an old migration sends /a to /b, a later one sends /b to /c, and then https and www rules add two more hops in front. Each hop adds latency for visitors and one more request for Googlebot. The tool flags chains longer than two hops. The fix is to update the old rules so they point straight at the final URL.
Protocol, www and trailing slash
These are normalisation redirects. They are correct to have, but they should happen in a single step. http://yoursite.com/page going to https://yoursite.com/page, then to https://www.yoursite.com/page, then to https://www.yoursite.com/page/ is three hops for what should be one rule.
Temporary redirects
Many frameworks and plugins default to 302 or 307. If the old URL is never coming back, change the code to 301 or 308. Keep 302 for cases that really are temporary, such as a maintenance page or a geo or login redirect.
Final status
A redirect that ends on a 404 or 5xx helps nobody. Redirecting many old URLs to the home page is also a weak pattern: Google often treats those as soft 404s. Send each old URL to the closest matching new page.
After you fix the rules
- Test a batch of old URLs with the bulk HTTP status checker.
- Write new rules with the redirect rule generator.
- Update internal links and your sitemap so they use final URLs only.
Google needs to recrawl both the old and the new URLs before the change shows up in search. TurboIndex can submit the destination pages from your sitemap so that happens sooner.
Questions and answers
How many redirects does Google follow?
Google's documentation says Googlebot follows up to 10 redirect hops. If the chain is longer, Search Console reports a redirect error and the content is not indexed. Browsers give up at around 20. Aim for one hop.
What is the difference between 301 and 302 for SEO?
A 301 (or 308) says the move is permanent, so Google indexes the destination and transfers signals to it. A 302 (or 307) says the move is temporary, so Google tends to keep the original URL in the index. Both pass link signals, but a permanent code removes the guesswork about which URL should rank.
What causes a redirect loop?
Two rules that undo each other. Typical cases: the server forces https while a proxy or CDN talks to it over http, one rule adds a trailing slash while another removes it, or a CMS setting and an .htaccess rule disagree about www.
Does this tool follow JavaScript or meta refresh redirects?
No. It follows HTTP redirects only, meaning 3xx responses with a Location header. Those are also the redirects search engines handle most reliably.