TECHNICAL SEO
Redirect Chain Checker
After a migration, a theme change or an http-to-https move, old addresses often pass through several redirects before they reach a page. Each hop costs time, and a temporary redirect can keep the old address in Google. This check follows the chain the way a crawler does.
- Checks the live page
- Public addresses only
- Free, no sign-up
- CheckNumber of redirects in the chain
- CheckTemporary (302, 303, 307) versus permanent (301, 308) redirects
- Checkhttp:// to https:// upgrades and downgrades
- CheckLoops and chains longer than Google follows
Free
no sign-up
Live
fetched when you run the check
5 checks
what the tool looks at
30 a minute
checks per visitor, to keep it free
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HOW IT WORKS
How to use the Redirect Chain Checker
One public URL.
Enter the old or starting URL, including http:// if that is what links use.
Read each hop in order, with its status code.
Point the first URL straight at the final one and update internal links.
WHAT IT CHECKS
What it looks at, and how to read it.
Every hop with its status, target and time, and checks on the chain.
What it checks
- Number of redirects in the chain
- Temporary (302, 303, 307) versus permanent (301, 308) redirects
- http:// to https:// upgrades and downgrades
- Loops and chains longer than Google follows
- The final status: a live page, an error, or a redirect to nowhere
How to read the results
- One permanent redirect is normal for a moved page.
- Two or more hops work but waste time; collapse them into one.
- A chain that ends in 404 or 500 sends visitors and link value to a dead page.
The concepts behind it, in the SEO glossary: Crawl budget, HTTP status codes, 301 redirect, Time to First Byte.
GOOD TO KNOW
Common mistakes, an example and the limits.
Common mistakes
- Redirecting http to https and non-www to www in two separate hops.
- Using 302 for a move that is permanent.
- Redirecting removed products to the homepage instead of the closest page.
A worked example
After moving to HTTPS, http://shop.co.ke/phones goes to http://www.shop.co.ke/phones and then to https://www.shop.co.ke/phones/. One rule sends it straight to the final URL.
Limitations
- Follows HTTP redirects only. Meta refresh and JavaScript redirects run in a browser and are not followed.
- Some sites redirect differently by country, device or cookie; this shows what an anonymous crawler gets.
FAQ
Questions about the Redirect Chain Checker
Straight answers about what it does and where its limits are.
How many redirects will Google follow?
Googlebot follows up to 10 hops in a chain. Fewer is better: each hop adds a request, and long chains can stop being followed in later crawls.
Is a 302 bad for SEO?
Not when the move really is temporary. For a permanent move, a 301 or 308 tells Google to index the new address instead of the old one.
Find every redirect chain across your site.
Free tools check one thing at a time. The NdovuSEOLabs platform connects your own Search Console, analytics and server logs, and keeps checking every page.