This redirect checker follows a URL one hop at a time from our server and lists every step until it reaches a response that is not a redirect. Each hop shows its status code (301, 302, 303, 307 or 308 for redirects), the URL, the response time and a Show headers button with the full response headers. A summary above the chain gives the number of redirects, the total time and the final status code.
Google's crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops. Google treats a 301 or 308 as a strong signal that the target URL should replace the old one, and a 302, 303 or 307 as a weak one. Every extra hop is also one more request before the page starts to load. The chain view makes long chains, temporary redirects on pages that have moved for good, and loops easy to spot.
How to use the redirect checker
- Paste the URL into the box. If it has no http:// or https://, the tool adds https:// for you.
- Press Check Redirects or Enter. Each request has a 10-second limit, and the trace stops after 20 hops.
- Read the chain from Initial Request to Final Destination, noting the URL and status code at every hop.
- Look for chains with more than one redirect, 302 or 307 redirects on permanent moves, and loops, which show up as the same URLs repeating until the 20-hop limit.
- Fix the redirect rules on your server or in your CMS and run the check again. Each IP address can run 5 checks a minute.
Status codes the URL redirect checker reports
| Code | Meaning | How Google treats it |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | Moved permanently | Strong signal to show the target URL |
| 308 | Permanent redirect, keeps the request method | Same as 301 |
| 302 | Found (temporary) | Weak signal to show the target URL |
| 303 | See other (temporary) | Same as 302 |
| 307 | Temporary redirect, keeps the request method | Same as 302 |
Any other code ends the trace. A 200 means the final page loaded; a 404, 410 or 5xx at the end means the chain leads to a broken page. If a request fails outright, for example on a timeout or a certificate error, the hop shows ERR with the error message.
Example: an http to https redirect chain
A common result after a site moves to https and a new address looks like this:
Initial Request 301 http://example.com/old-page
Hop 2 301 https://example.com/old-page
Final Destination 200 https://www.example.com/new-pageThe summary reads Redirects: 2. Both hops are permanent, so nothing is wrong for search, but visitors and crawlers make three requests to reach one page. Changing the first rule so http://example.com/old-page points straight at https://www.example.com/new-page cuts it to one redirect; run the redirect checker again to confirm. Then update internal links, and the URLs in your sitemap, to the final address.
What the 301 redirect checker cannot see
- Meta refresh and JavaScript redirects. The checker sends HEAD requests and follows HTTP redirects only.
- Redirects that depend on the visitor. Requests carry the user agent InDemandTools-RedirectChecker/1.0 and no cookies, so rules based on device, country or login may not appear.
- Servers that answer HEAD requests differently from normal page loads. A few reply with an error such as 405 even though the page works in a browser.
- Private or internal addresses, which the server refuses for security.
When to check URL redirects
- After a migration or a URL change, to confirm each old address returns a single 301 to its new page.
- When moving to https or between www and non-www, to make sure the two rules do not stack into a redirect chain.
- Before sharing a short or tracking link, run it through the redirect checker to see where it ends up. Our server makes the requests, so you can check a link without opening it.
A redirect tells crawlers where a page went; a canonical tag tells them which of several similar URLs to show. The guide to canonical tags and duplicate content explains when to use each. After you fix redirects, rebuild your sitemap with the XML sitemap generator so it lists only final URLs, and use the Open Graph checker to confirm the new page shares correctly. More checks are in the SEO tools section.
