Redirect Checker: Check URL Redirects and HTTP Headers

Enter any URL to trace its full redirect chain — see the HTTP status code at every hop, check for redirect chains, and inspect HTTP headers of the final destination.

Enter URLs — one per line (max 20)
URL Status Hops Chain Type

How the URL Redirect Checker Works

Step 1
Enter a URL
Paste any URL — with or without https://. The scheme is added automatically.
Step 2
Chain Tracing
The tool follows each redirect hop, recording the URL, status code, and response time.
Step 3
Results
You see the chain type, final destination URL, and all HTTP headers of the final response.

Redirect Types and Their SEO Impact

The redirect type determines whether link equity (PageRank) is passed to the destination URL and how search engines update their index. Checking a URL redirect reveals the exact server response code — no guessing.

Code Type Link Equity When to Use
301 Permanent Yes (full) Page moved permanently: domain change, URL restructuring
302 Temporary Partial A/B testing, temporary landing page, maintenance
307 Temporary (1.1) No Temporary, preserves the HTTP method (POST stays POST)
308 Permanent (1.1) Yes Like 301 but preserves the HTTP method
404 Not Found No Redirect destination doesn't exist — fix the target

Why Redirect Chains Hurt SEO

A redirect chain occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which in turn redirects to URL C. Each additional hop adds latency and weakens the link equity passed through the chain.

Google officially recommends keeping chains to a single hop. Googlebot limits crawl depth, and a long chain may prevent the final page from being indexed. Use this tool together with our Site Crawler to find all redirect chains across your site.

Rule: if you see 3 or more hops, consolidate the chain so the original URL points directly to the final destination via a single 301 redirect.

What HTTP Response Headers Tell You

HTTP response headers are metadata sent by the server alongside every response. For SEO, the most relevant headers are:

Header What It Means
location The next URL in a redirect hop
x-robots-tag Indexing directives (noindex, nofollow) at HTTP level — work even without HTML access
cache-control Caching instructions for browsers and CDNs
strict-transport-security HSTS — forces HTTPS even when the user types http://
content-type Response MIME type (text/html, application/json, etc.)
server Server software (nginx, Apache, cloudflare)

Redirect Checker FAQ

What is the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect?
A 301 (permanent) redirect tells search engines the page has moved forever — link equity passes to the new URL and the old URL is removed from the index. A 302 (temporary) redirect signals a temporary move: the search engine keeps the original URL indexed and does not reliably pass link equity. Use 301 for all permanent page moves.
How do I check if a 301 redirect is working?
Enter the original URL into the redirect checker above. If the chain shows a 301 hop and the final URL matches the expected destination, the redirect is set up correctly. You should also confirm the final status is 200 — a redirect landing on a 404 is a broken redirect.
What is a redirect chain and why does it hurt SEO?
A redirect chain is a series of sequential redirects: A → B → C. Each hop adds page load latency and weakens the link equity passed through. Googlebot has crawl depth limits, so a long chain can prevent the final URL from being indexed. Consolidate chains to a single direct redirect.
What does it mean if my redirect ends in a 404?
It means the redirect destination doesn't exist. Search engines treat this as a dead end — all link equity pointing at the original URL is lost. Update the redirect to point to a live page, or remove all links to the original URL.
Does a 302 redirect pass link equity?
Officially, no. Google states that 302 redirects do not reliably pass PageRank the way a 301 does. If the page move is permanent, always use a 301 to correctly consolidate link equity at the new URL.
Can I check redirects for multiple URLs at once?
Currently this tool checks one URL at a time. For a full site-wide redirect audit across hundreds of URLs, use our Site Crawler which crawls all pages and flags redirect chains automatically.

Related Tools & Glossary

Tool Site Crawler Find all redirect chains and broken links across your site Tool Meta Checker Title, description, Open Graph and CTR score Tool Sitemap Monitor Tracks sitemap changes and URL status codes Glossary 301 Redirect Definition and use of the permanent redirect Glossary Technical SEO Crawling, indexation, and site architecture Glossary Canonical Tag Alternative to redirects for duplicate content

How to check a URL redirect

  1. Paste a single URL or a list of URLs for a bulk redirect check.
  2. Run the check — the tool follows the whole redirect chain to the final destination.
  3. Inspect the status code at each hop: 301, 302, 307, 308, 404 or 500.
  4. Fix the chains: internal links should point straight to the final URL.

What redirect status codes mean

301 Moved Permanently is a permanent redirect. Use it when a URL moves for good: search engines pass the signals to the new page and replace it in the index. The 301 vs 404 choice is separate: redirect when an equivalent page exists, and let the URL 404 when it does not.

302 and 307 are temporary redirects. The old URL stays in the index, so they are a poor fit for permanent moves and often cause ranking losses.

A redirect chain is two or more hops in a row. Every extra hop slows loading, wastes crawl budget and raises the chance of a broken link.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between 301 and 302 for SEO?
A 301 tells search engines the URL moved permanently and the signals transfer to the new page. A 302 means temporary, so the old URL stays indexed. Use 301 for real moves.
Why is a redirect chain bad?
Every hop adds delay for users and crawlers. Google may stop following a long chain, leaving the destination unindexed. Rewrite links so there is only one hop.
How many URLs can I check at once?
The tool supports bulk checks from a list, so you can validate a whole section or a migration mapping in one run and export the result.
Do 301 redirects lose link equity?
Google states a correct 301 passes signals almost fully. Losses come not from the redirect itself but from pointing to an irrelevant page or from long chains.

Next step

Continue in Pages and technical SEO

Sitemap Monitor Broken URLs in the sitemap Meta Tag Checker Title, description and Open Graph Entity Coverage Semantic gaps against the top Internal Link Audit Anchors and linking context
Read: HTTP status codes: full reference What 301, 404, 410 and 503 mean for indexing All tools in this group →