What is the difference between 301 and 302 redirects?

A 301 redirect (Moved Permanently) indicates that the page has been permanently moved and transfers link juice (SEO value) to the new URL. A 302 (Found) is a temporary redirect and does not transfer PageRank. If your move is permanent, always use 301 to preserve organic rankings. Google treats persistent 302s as 301s over time, but it's better to be explicit.

Why are redirect chains a problem for SEO?

Redirect chains cause three main problems: they slow down page load time (each hop adds latency), consume Google's crawl budget (Googlebot may not follow overly long chains) and dilute link juice at each step. The best practice is to have at most a single redirect leading directly to the final destination.

What happens if Google finds a redirect loop?

A redirect loop occurs when a URL redirects to itself or to a URL that eventually leads back to the starting point. In this case the browser shows an ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS error and the page becomes completely inaccessible to both users and Googlebot. Google will not index the page and the SEO value is lost.

How many redirects can Google follow?

Google follows up to 5 redirects in a chain, but recommends keeping under 3 hops. Beyond 5 redirects, Googlebot may stop crawling and never reach the destination page, causing indexing issues. For safety, always aim for a single direct redirect to the final destination.

Should I worry about HTTP to HTTPS redirects?

HTTP to HTTPS redirects are necessary and correct, but they should be a single direct 301 hop. The problem arises when the chain has mixed steps (HTTPS → HTTP → HTTPS) that can cause security warnings and worsen load times. Make sure all redirects always point to the HTTPS version.

Yes, Primo's Redirect Checker is completely free and requires no registration. You can analyze any public URL and immediately get a complete report on the redirect chain, with score, detected issues and suggestions to optimize your site's redirect structure.

Free tool

Redirect Checker

Analyze the redirect chains of any URL. Visualize each hop with status codes, identify loops, long chains and HTTP/HTTPS issues.

🔗Enter the URL to analyze

Why check redirects?

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Redirect chains slow down your site

Each redirect adds latency to the request. A long chain can increase page load time by hundreds of milliseconds, worsening user experience and Core Web Vitals.

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Google has a limited crawl budget

Googlebot follows a limited number of redirects per URL. Chains that are too long can prevent indexing of the destination page.

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Link juice dilutes with each hop

Each redirect in the chain can cause a slight loss of PageRank. A direct 301 redirect transfers the maximum SEO value.

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302 vs 301: choose the right type

A 302 redirect (temporary) does not transfer link juice like 301 (permanent). Using the wrong type can hurt your rankings.

What is a Redirect Checker?

A redirect checker is a tool that traces the entire redirect chain of a URL, showing each individual hop from the starting point to the final destination. For each step it displays the HTTP status code (301, 302, 307, 308) and the destination URL, allowing you to quickly identify issues such as overly long chains, infinite loops or incorrect use of redirect codes.

Redirects are instructions that the server sends to the browser to automatically forward a request from one URL to another. They are essential when migrating content, changing domains or restructuring your site. However, poorly configured redirects can cause serious SEO, performance and indexing issues.

This tool automatically analyzes each hop in the chain and identifies the most common problems: overly long chains that slow down the site, 302 redirects used instead of 301, infinite loops that make the page inaccessible, and mixing of HTTP and HTTPS URLs in the same chain.

Why redirects matter for SEO

Proper redirect management is essential to maintain organic rankings and provide a good user experience.

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Preserves PageRank

A correct 301 redirect transfers up to 99% of link juice to the new URL, maintaining the SEO value accumulated over time.

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Reduces latency

Each redirect adds 50-100ms of latency. Minimizing hops improves Core Web Vitals and user experience.

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Optimizes crawl budget

Google has limited crawling resources. Clean and direct redirects allow Googlebot to index more useful pages.

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Ensures security

Properly configured HTTP to HTTPS redirects protect user data and are a ranking signal for Google.

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Maintains organic traffic

Missing or incorrect redirects after a migration can cause 50-90% traffic losses. A correct 301 preserves rankings.

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Simplifies maintenance

A clean and documented redirect structure makes the site easier to manage and prevents chain accumulation over time.

How our Redirect Checker works

Three steps to trace and analyze redirects of any URL, no registration required.

Enter the URL to check

Type or paste the page address in the field above. The tool accepts any publicly accessible URL, including pages with HTTP to HTTPS redirects, domain changes or URL restructuring.

The tool traces every single redirect

The tool follows the entire redirect chain without automatically following redirections, recording each hop with its HTTP status code (301, 302, 307, 308) until the final destination.

Get the complete report with score and issues

Get a clear visualization of the chain, a score from 0 to 100, and a list of critical issues, warnings and suggestions sorted by priority to optimize your site's redirects.

Frequently asked questions about Redirects

Everything you need to know about 301, 302 redirects, chains and SEO best practices.

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