A redirect sends users and crawlers from one URL to another. Used correctly, redirects preserve rankings during migrations and site changes. Used poorly — chains, loops, permanent redirects to errors — they waste crawl budget and leak link equity. This guide covers the codes and the cleanup.
Which redirect code to use
301 for permanent moves: it passes roughly the full link equity and updates indexes fastest. 302 for temporary situations only. 307 is the strict temporary variant. Meta refresh and JavaScript redirects are last resorts — crawlers handle them less reliably.
Redirect chains and loops
A chain is URL A → B → C. Each hop slows the user, wastes crawl budget, and dilutes signals. A loop is A → B → A and breaks crawling entirely. Flatten every chain to a single hop: point every old URL directly at the final destination. Run the bulk checker after every migration.
Redirects during migrations
Map every old URL to its closest new equivalent before launch day. Keep the redirects in place for at least six months — long enough for search engines to recrawl everything. A 404 with a proper status is better than a redirect to an unrelated page.
Migration redirect mapping
Before any migration, export every indexed URL from Search Console and your crawl tool, then map each to its closest new equivalent. Unmapped URLs should get an explicit decision: redirect to the nearest relevant page, or 404 honestly. Never default-map everything to the homepage — Google treats mass redirects to the homepage as soft-404s and drops the signals anyway.
Finding chains at scale
The bulk redirect checker processes long URL lists, follows every hop, and flags chains and loops with the full path. Run it on your top 500 indexed URLs quarterly, and after every deployment that touches routing rules. Chains usually form accidentally — a CMS slug change stacking on an old redirect that was never removed.
Redirects and link equity
301 redirects pass essentially all link equity, but only when the redirect stays in place long enough for recrawling. Old URLs with real backlinks deserve permanent redirects that never get cleaned up. URLs with no equity — parameter variants, test pages — can be allowed to 404 cleanly without cost.
Free tools in this hub
- Redirect checker — Follows every hop and shows the full redirect chain for any URL
- Redirect chain bulk checker — Finds chains and loops across many URLs at once
- HTTP status bulk checker — Returns status codes for long URL lists
- HTTP header diff checker — Compares response headers between two URLs
- AI redirect diagnosis explainer — Explains confusing redirect patterns in plain language
Frequently asked questions
Are redirect chains always a problem?
Short chains still work, but every extra hop wastes crawl budget and slows users. Flatten chains to one hop during any site cleanup.
How long should redirects stay in place?
At least six months after a migration, ideally indefinitely for URLs with backlinks. Search engines need time to recrawl and reindex.
Should I redirect 404s to the homepage?
No. A 404 is honest. Redirect broken pages to the closest relevant replacement, or to a parent category — never blanket-redirect to the homepage.
