Redirects and redirect chains

The four redirect codes you will meet

For most site changes, a 301 is the right choice. Avoid meta refresh tags and JavaScript redirects where a server redirect is possible; they are slower and less reliable signals.

• 301 Moved Permanently: the page has a new home for good. Search engines move their attention to the new address.
• 308 Permanent Redirect: like 301, but the browser must keep the same request method. Treated the same as 301 by Google.
• 302 Found: a temporary move. Google keeps the old address in mind, though a 302 left in place for a long time is often treated like a permanent one.
• 307 Temporary Redirect: the strict temporary version of 302.

How chains build up without anyone noticing

In 2019 you moved from http to https. In 2021 you dropped "www". In 2023 you renamed /services/ to /what-we-do/. Now an old link to http://www.example.com/services/ hops three or four times before landing. Each hop adds waiting time, especially on phones, and Google follows only a limited number of hops before giving up on that crawl.

Loops: the redirect that never ends

A loop happens when page A redirects to page B and page B redirects back to A, sometimes through several steps. Browsers show "too many redirects" and nobody can reach the page. Loops often appear when two plugins, or a plugin and a server rule, both try to force https or www.

Flattening a chain, step by step

• List every redirect: export it from your redirect plugin, server config or host panel.
• For each old address, find its true final destination.
• Change the rule so it points directly to that final address, in one hop.
• Update links in your menus, footer and content to the final address, so visitors skip redirects completely.
• Make sure the final page returns a 200 success code, not another redirect or a 404.
• Crawl again to confirm no chains or loops remain.

Good redirect habits

• Redirect to the closest matching page, not the home page.
• Keep important redirects in place for at least a year, and longer if other websites still link to the old address.
• Use one place to manage redirects so rules do not fight each other.
• Keep your XML sitemap free of redirected addresses; list only final pages.

Spotting redirects with AI Marketing Master

The website audit follows your internal links and reports links that pass through redirects, so you can see where your own site sends visitors on a detour. Each finding names the page with the link and explains the fix in plain English. Redirect rules live on your server or in a plugin, so you or your developer make the change, then re-run the audit to check.