Checks / Content and readability
Long redirect chain
Three or more redirects before the page: crawlers give up or lose the signal.
redirect_chain · Content and readability · Warning
What triggers it
A page's address goes through 3 or more redirects before it answers.
What to change
Link straight to the final URL; one redirect at most.
How to confirm the fix
- Run curl -sIL https://example.com/old-address and count the 301 or 302 lines before the final 200: one at most
- Re-check a page that linked to the old address: it links straight to the final one
How common it is
We have not measured how common this is on a sample of sites. Counts appear here when a study covers it.
About this check
| Check ID | redirect_chain |
|---|---|
| Report section | Content and readability |
| Severity | Warning |
| How it is decided | Measured: read directly from the page or the server's response. |
| Added | Before 19 Oct 2026 (versions 1 and 2), or a site-wide check with no version date yet |
| Status | Measured in every report |
| Report gives the code | No, the fix is described in words |
Related checks
- Prices appear only after scripts run
- Page is set to noindex
- Thin content
- The page opens with source and date lines
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