Free Redirect Checker
Paste a URL and this traces every hop it takes before it lands, with the status code, the redirect type and the response time at each step. Then it tells you what the chain means: whether it is too long, whether a temporary redirect is being used for a permanent move, and whether it ends somewhere that works.
What a redirect checker tells you
A redirect is a server saying the thing you asked for lives somewhere else. A redirect checker follows that instruction the way a browser or a crawler would, and shows you every step rather than just the destination.
That matters because the steps are invisible in normal use. Type a URL, land on a page, and nothing tells you whether you arrived in one hop or four, whether the move was permanent or temporary, or whether you were quietly downgraded from https along the way. All three change how search engines treat the page.
The status codes that matter
Why chain length matters
Every hop costs something. The visitor waits for another round trip, the crawler spends another request from a budget it will not spend elsewhere, and a small amount of link equity is lost at each step.
Google follows roughly ten redirects before giving up, so a chain under that will usually resolve, but usually resolving is not the same as being fine. A three-hop chain that could be one hop is three times the latency for no reason, and chains have a habit of growing: each migration adds a hop to the ones that came before, until a URL from two redesigns ago takes five steps to reach a page.
The fix is nearly always the same. Redirect from the original URL straight to the final destination, and update the older rules rather than layering new ones on top.
The 302 mistake
This is the most common real error this tool finds, and it is usually invisible until something goes wrong.
A 302 tells search engines the move is temporary and the original URL should stay indexed. Used on a permanent migration, it means the new URL may not inherit the old one standing, and the old URL keeps being crawled and shown. Rankings drift rather than transfer, and because the visitor experience is identical nobody notices for months.
Many platforms default to 302 when a redirect is created through an interface rather than a config file. If a move is permanent, make sure the code says so.
Checking a migration
The single most useful time to run this tool is before and after a site migration, and most migrations are checked far too late.
Before you launch, run the full list of old URLs through the bulk mode against staging. Every one should return a single 301 to a live page - the broken link checker catches the pages those redirects point to that are broken themselves.
Watch for chains created by the migration itself. A new rule that redirects into a URL that was already redirecting produces a two-hop chain the day it ships.
Check the protocol and the www version together. Moving domains at the same time as forcing https often produces three hops where one would do.
Re-run the list the day the change goes live, against production. Staging and production redirect rules disagree more often than anyone expects.
Export both runs and keep the files. The before and after CSVs are the only record of what the migration did to each URL.
Keep the old URL list. The most expensive migration mistake is discovering a year later that nobody recorded what used to exist - the sitemap generator is a fast way to capture the current one before it changes again.
Common mistakes
Using a 302 for a permanent move. The most common error on this list and the slowest to show itself.
Redirecting everything to the homepage. It is not a redirect, it is a soft 404, and search engines treat it as one.
Chaining new rules on top of old ones instead of updating them. Every migration adds a hop unless somebody prunes.
Redirecting into a page that itself 404s. A broken destination wastes the redirect entirely.
Using a meta refresh because it is the only option the CMS offers. It is slower for visitors and unreliable for crawlers.
Checking only the homepage. The homepage almost always redirects correctly. It is the deep pages that break.
Migrations are where hard-won rankings quietly disappear, and almost always through redirects nobody checked. See how the Zaprev team runs technical SEO.
Or browse all free Zaprev tools.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a redirect checker?
A tool that follows a URL through every redirect it passes through and reports each step, rather than just showing you where you ended up. It exists because the intermediate steps are invisible in a browser and are exactly where problems hide.
What is a redirect chain?
Two or more redirects in sequence: the first URL points at a second, which points at a third, before anything is actually served. Each additional step adds latency for the visitor and costs a little of the link equity being passed along.
How many redirects is too many?
Keep it to one wherever possible. Google follows roughly ten before abandoning the request, but that is the point of failure rather than a target, and anything over three is worth fixing on the grounds of speed alone.
What is the difference between a 301 and a 302?
A 301 says the move is permanent, so search engines should transfer the page standing to the new URL and stop showing the old one. A 302 says it is temporary and the original should be kept. Using the second when you meant the first is the most common redirect error there is.
Do redirects hurt SEO?
A single permanent redirect to a relevant page is a normal part of running a site and costs very little. The harm comes from long chains, temporary redirects used for permanent moves, and redirects that end somewhere broken or irrelevant.
Can I check more than one URL at once?
Yes. The bulk mode takes up to 50 URLs pasted one per line, which is how most people use a tool like this during a migration. Each returns its final status, its hop count and any flags.
Why does my redirect work in a browser but show differently here?
Browsers cache redirects aggressively, and a 301 in particular is often cached until the browser is cleared. This tool requests each hop fresh, so it shows you what a search engine would currently see rather than what your browser remembers.
Can I check redirects as Googlebot?
Yes. The user agent option runs the same trace while identifying as Googlebot, which matters because a site is free to send a crawler somewhere different from a browser, and some do it deliberately. When the two disagree, the crawler result is the one your rankings follow.
What is the difference between a 307 and a 308?
Both preserve the request method, which the older codes are allowed to change. A 308 is permanent and search engines treat it as they treat a 301. A 307 is temporary and behaves like a 302. Seeing a 307 where a permanent move was intended is the same mistake as seeing a 302, and has the same fix.