Redirect Checker

What is a Redirect Checker and Why Does It Matter for SEO?

A redirect checker traces a URL step-by-step, recording the HTTP status code, destination URL, and all response headers at every hop until it reaches a final non-redirect response. The core question it answers: when Googlebot visits this URL, where does it actually land — and at what cost to speed and link equity?

Redirects are among the most common sources of silent ranking damage. A 301 configured as a 302, a 5-hop chain where 1 hop would do, a redirect loop Googlebot can never escape, an expired TLS certificate blocking HTTPS crawls — all invisible in a browser but visible here.

Link Equity: Quantifying PageRank Loss

Each redirect type carries a different equity multiplier. A 301 passes approximately 99% per hop. A 302 passes roughly 85% — less because Google hedges on temporary moves. A 3-hop 302 chain retains only ~61% of the original equity. This tool calculates the exact score so you can quantify the loss and justify the fix to stakeholders.

301 vs 302: The Most Expensive Redirect Mistake

Using a 302 (temporary) redirect where a 301 (permanent) redirect is intended is the single most common and most damaging redirect error. Both send users to the same page — so it looks right in a browser. But Google continues indexing the origin URL with a 302 and equity consolidation is unreliable. The fix is one line in your server config; this tool confirms it immediately after the change.

HTTP Redirect Status Codes — Complete SEO Reference

Advanced Issues This Tool Detects

Redirect Loops

A redirect loop occurs when the chain revisits a URL already visited — A→B→A, or longer cycles. Browsers and Googlebot give up with "too many redirects." Pages in loops are never crawled or indexed. Root causes: conflicting .htaccess rules, CMS permalink settings clashing with server redirects, or www/HTTPS rules interacting incorrectly.

Inefficient HTTP to HTTPS Chains

An HTTP→HTTPS upgrade should be a single 301 hop. A common misconfiguration creates two hops: HTTP → HTTP-www → HTTPS-www. Every inbound HTTP link doubles its latency and adds an extra equity step. Consolidate both rules at the server level into one direct redirect.

TLS Certificate Issues

An expired or near-expiry TLS certificate causes browsers to block HTTPS pages with security warnings and can prevent Googlebot from crawling your site entirely. This tool fetches certificate metadata directly from the destination host and flags certificates expiring within 30 days — giving you time to renew before an impact occurs.

Missing Security Headers

Security headers like Strict-Transport-Security, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options protect users from clickjacking, MIME sniffing, and protocol downgrade attacks. This tool checks 5 critical headers and provides copy-paste implementation fixes for every missing one.

Crawler-Specific Redirect Behaviour

Testing with Googlebot as the user-agent surfaces redirects that only appear to crawlers. Some servers use bot-management layers (Cloudflare, Nginx geo-rules, CMS plugins) that send different redirect responses to Googlebot than to browsers. What looks correct in Chrome may be a 302 loop when Googlebot visits. Always test with the Googlebot user-agent before and after a migration.