Redirect error in Search Console: causes and fixes

Redirect error means Google followed the URL’s redirect and could not reach a final page, so nothing was indexed. Google’s help page lists the usual reasons: a redirect chain that was too long, a redirect loop, a redirect URL that exceeded the maximum URL length, or a bad or empty URL in the chain. Unlike most statuses, this one is always worth fixing.

What does “Redirect error” mean?

A working redirect ends on a page that returns 200; Google then reports the starting URL as Page with redirect and indexes the target. A redirect error means the chain never ended properly. Here is a loop, the most common case:

http://example.com/shop    -> 301 -> https://example.com/shop
https://example.com/shop   -> 301 -> https://example.com/shop/
https://example.com/shop/  -> 301 -> http://example.com/shop

Is it a problem?

Yes. Visitors following the same link hit an error page or a browser warning about too many redirects, and Google cannot index the destination through that URL. If the URL is one your site links to, or one that used to rank, you are losing traffic now.

What causes it, most likely first?

1. Conflicting rules in different layers: CDN, server config, CMS and plugins each redirecting for https, www or trailing slashes.
2. Chains built up over migrations, where each redesign added a redirect on top of the last.
3. Redirects that depend on cookies, location or language and loop for a visitor without cookies, like Googlebot.
4. Rules that append to the URL, such as adding a parameter on every pass until the URL is too long.
5. Typos in redirect targets, including empty or relative Location headers.

How do I fix a redirect error?

1. 1. Trace the full redirect chain

   Request the URL with a tool that shows every hop and its status code, such as curl -sIL or a redirect checker. Note each URL in the chain and where it ends.

2. 2. Identify the failure type

   A URL that appears twice is a loop. More than a few hops is a chain to shorten. An empty or malformed Location header, or a target that keeps growing longer, is a bad URL.

3. 3. Point every redirect straight at the final URL

   Rewrite the rules so each old URL redirects in one hop, with a 301 or 308, to the final page that returns 200. Merge overlapping rules from the server, CMS, plugins and CDN so only one layer handles each case.

4. 4. Break loops at their source

   Loops often come from two layers disagreeing, for example the CDN forcing https while the server forces http, or a plugin adding a trailing slash while the server removes it. Pick one canonical form and make every layer agree.

5. 5. Update links and the sitemap

   Change internal links, canonical tags and sitemap entries to the final URL so Google stops entering the chain at all.

6. 6. Validate the fix

   Once the chain is clean, run Test live URL in URL Inspection, then click Validate fix on the Redirect error reason.

curl -sIL https://example.com/old-page | grep -iE "^(HTTP|location)"

How do I check that the fix worked?

Test live URL in URL Inspection should show the redirect resolving to the final page. The final URL should then show “URL is on Google” after it is crawled. Validation on the Redirect error reason moves from Started to Looking good and Passed as Google recrawls the examples.

How long does it take?

Fixes take effect as soon as Google recrawls the URLs. Requesting indexing for the final URLs helps important pages come back within days; Google says validation can take up to about two weeks.

SEO Rank Fixer’s Site Audit also follows redirects across your site and flags chains and loops. For a one-off check, use the free SEO checker.