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Redirect checker

Enter an address. We follow it one hop at a time, the way a crawler does, and show every status code on the way: temporary redirects that should be permanent, chains that should be one hop, loops, and chains that end nowhere.

How to use the redirect checker

Three steps. No account, and it works on any public page.

  1. 1

    Enter an address

    Old URLs, http:// versions, short links and marketing links are the usual suspects.

  2. 2

    We follow every hop

    One request at a time, up to 10 hops, the limit Googlebot follows, recording each status code and where it points.

  3. 3

    Fix the chain

    Temporary redirects, chains and loops are flagged, with the final address the chain ends on.

What the results mean

  • 301 or 308, permanent

    The move is permanent. Google transfers signals to the new address and, in time, shows it instead of the old one.

  • 302 or 307, temporary

    Google may keep the old address in its index. Right for a short-lived move, wrong for a page that has moved for good.

  • Chains and loops

    Each extra hop is another request before the page loads, and a loop never reaches a page at all. Point every old address straight at the final one.

Why redirects matter

Redirects keep old links and bookmarks working after a page moves. Google says permanent server-side redirects pass ranking signals, so a move done well loses nothing.

Problems build up over years: a redesign redirects to a URL that a later migration redirects again. Each hop slows the page and gives crawlers another chance to give up. Checking the addresses that bring traffic is how chains get caught.

Questions

What is the difference between 301 and 308?

Both are permanent. A 308 also tells the browser to repeat the same method, which matters for forms, not for pages.

Does it follow meta refresh or JavaScript redirects?

No, only HTTP redirects. Google handles meta refresh and JavaScript redirects too, but less reliably, so server-side redirects are the ones to use.

Is http to https a problem?

No, that hop is expected. It becomes a problem when it is followed by more hops, such as http to https to www to a trailing slash.

This is one check. AEOptimiz runs all of them, every night.

Connect Search Console and it asks Google which of your pages are indexed, why the rest are not, and which fixes are worth the most clicks. Then it checks whether AI assistants cite you.

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