TheSeoSoul
Free tools/Technical

Free Redirect Checker

Trace the full HTTP redirect chain from a start URL to the final landing page. Spot HTTP→HTTPS flips, www vs apex hops, and chains that waste crawl budget — free, no signup.

How it works

  1. 01

    Enter the URL users or crawlers hit first

    Old campaign links, HTTP variants, and marketing short links are common places chains hide.

  2. 02

    Follow each Location hop

    We record status codes and intermediate URLs until a non-redirect response (or a safety hop limit).

  3. 03

    Compare with your canonical

    The final URL should usually match the preferred address you declare with rel=canonical.

What this redirect chain tool reports

  • Sequential listing of every intermediate URL hop
  • HTTP response status codes (301 Permanent, 302 Temporary, 307/308)
  • Final landing destination and canonical alignment
  • Chain latency and crawl budget waste warnings

Scenarios

Common Redirect Pitfalls & Architecture Scenarios

Inefficient redirect chains delay page load times and dilute ranking signals during site migrations:

Multi-Hop Chains

Accidental 4-Hop Redirect Chains

The Problem: Visiting http://example.com/blog/ redirects to http://www.example.com/blog/ -> https://www.example.com/blog/ -> https://example.com/blog, adding hundreds of milliseconds of TTFB latency.

The Fix: Consolidate edge rules into a single redirect that immediately points directly to the canonical HTTPS apex/www URL.

PageRank Loss

302 Temporary vs 301 Permanent Redirects

The Problem: Using 302 or JavaScript/meta refresh redirects during permanent domain or URL migrations prevents search engines from transferring historical ranking equity.

The Fix: Always use server-level 301 (Moved Permanently) or 308 (Permanent Redirect) status codes for permanent content relocation.

Infinite Loops

Redirect Loops on Trailing Slashes

The Problem: Conflicting rules between CDN edges (stripping trailing slash) and application origin servers (enforcing trailing slash) generate 301 redirect loops (ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS).

The Fix: Align trailing slash configuration between CDN (Cloudflare/CloudFront) and your backend framework.

How to Configure Single-Hop 301 Redirects

Configure redirects at the edge or server level to ensure maximum crawl efficiency:

Nginx Single-Hop HTTPS & Apex Canonicalizationnginx
# Force HTTP to HTTPS and non-www in a single hop
server {
    listen 80;
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name www.example.com;
    return 301 https://example.com$request_uri;
}
Next.js (next.config.ts) Permanent Redirectstypescript

Enforce clean permanent redirects in Next.js configuration:

import type { NextConfig } from 'next';

const nextConfig: NextConfig = {
  async redirects() {
    return [
      {
        source: '/old-seo-guide',
        destination: '/tools/meta-tag-checker',
        permanent: true, // Emits 308 Permanent Redirect
      },
    ];
  },
};

export default nextConfig;

Frequently asked questions

What does a redirect checker show?
It follows the HTTP redirect chain from your start URL and lists each hop with its status code until the final landing URL — useful for spotting HTTP→HTTPS, www flips, and long chains.
Are redirect chains bad for SEO?
One intentional hop (e.g. apex to www over HTTPS) is normal. Long chains waste time for users and crawlers and can make migrations harder to reason about. Prefer a single permanent redirect to the canonical URL.
301 vs 302 — does this tool judge which I should use?
We report the status codes we observe. Choosing 301 vs 302 is a product/SEO decision based on whether the move is permanent. Pair the chain with your canonical tag for a complete picture.
Is the redirect checker free?
Yes. TheSeoSoul redirect checker needs no account. For preferred URL signals, also run the Canonical Tag Checker.

Keep going

What to check next

After the hop chain, confirm the landing URL is the one you want indexed.

Need the whole picture? Run a full audit · browse every tool.