Free tools to boost your SEO strategy
Redirect Checker
Trace the complete redirect chain for any URL. See every hop, status code, and the final destination.
Understanding URL Redirects and SEO
A redirect checker traces every hop a URL takes before reaching its final destination. Redirect chains — where one redirect leads to another — can slow page load times, dilute link equity, and confuse search engine crawlers, all of which hurt your SEO performance.
Each 301 redirect (permanent) passes most link equity to the destination, while 302 redirects (temporary) may not pass PageRank at all. Redirect chains with 3 or more hops can cause Googlebot to stop following the chain entirely, meaning your target page may never get crawled or indexed.
Use this free redirect trace tool to audit your URL redirections, identify unnecessary redirect chains, find redirect loops, and ensure your site migrations preserve SEO value. Clean redirect paths improve crawl efficiency, user experience, and search rankings.
What is the Redirect Checker Tool?
Trace the complete redirect chain for any URL to identify redirect loops, unnecessary hops, and incorrect status codes. Proper redirect management is essential for preserving link equity, ensuring smooth user navigation, and maintaining your SEO authority during site migrations.
Example: untangling a 4-hop redirect chain
A key landing page loads slowly and you suspect redirects. The checker reveals a 4-hop chain: HTTP → HTTPS → www → trailing-slash → final URL, adding ~600 ms. You consolidate into a single 301 from the original URL to the canonical, cutting redirect latency to under 150 ms.
HTTP → HTTPS → www → slash
Single 301 to canonical
Faster first paint for users
Key Features
Full Chain Tracing
Follow every redirect hop from the original URL to the final destination, showing the HTTP status code at each step.
Loop Detection
Automatically detect redirect loops that can cause infinite loading and error pages for users and crawlers.
Status Code Analysis
See whether each redirect uses a 301 (permanent) or 302 (temporary) status code — important for link equity transfer.
How to Use This Tool
Enter a URL
Paste any URL that you suspect may redirect, or check a URL after a site migration.
Trace the chain
The tool follows all redirects and displays every hop in sequence with status codes and URLs.
Fix any issues
Eliminate unnecessary redirect hops, fix loops, and ensure you're using 301 redirects for permanent URL changes to preserve SEO value.
Why This Matters for SEO
Every redirect in a chain causes a small amount of link equity loss. Google recommends no more than 3 redirects in a chain. Long redirect chains also slow down page loading and can cause crawl budget waste. After site migrations, improperly configured redirects are one of the most common causes of traffic drops.