Redirect Checker

Why redirect chains matter

A redirect checker exists because each redirect adds 50–300ms of latency. Stack three hops and you've burned almost a second before a single pixel loads. Worse, Google follows up to 10 hops but bleeds link equity at every step, so a chain that started as a quick fix is quietly draining your rankings.

This redirect chain checker traces the full path from first request to final destination. Every hop shows its HTTP status (301, 302, 307, 308), Location header, and full response time. Switch to Bulk / Sitemap mode to scan up to 2,000 URLs in parallel, so you can find every long chain, every broken redirect, and every HTTPS→HTTP downgrade across your whole site in one pass. The fix is almost always simple: point old URLs directly to the final target in one 301 redirect.

How does a redirect checker work?

It fires a simple HTTP request and follows the Location header that comes back. If the server returns a 301, 302, 307, or 308 status code, the checker records the hop and fires another request to the new URL. The loop continues until it hits a 200 OK or runs out of hops.

Redirect checker vs. broken link checker

Here's the difference: a broken link checker tells you a URL is dead. A redirect checker tells you why and what the URL is pointing to instead. Broken links return 404 or 5xx status codes. Redirected URLs return 3xx status codes with a Location header that points to the next URL in the chain. You need both tools in a site audit: the broken link checker finds dead URLs, the redirect checker finds slow or broken chains that still technically resolve but hurt user experience and crawl budget.

Bulk redirect check across an entire sitemap

Single-URL checks are fine for spot debugging, but post-migration audits need scale. Switch to Bulk / Sitemap mode and either paste your sitemap URL or paste up to 2,000 URLs directly. The tool auto-discovers your sitemap via robots.txt, parses sitemap index files, and runs every URL through the redirect tracer in parallel. The results panel groups URLs by direct vs. redirected vs. long chains vs. errors, with one-click filters for each category. Long chains (3+ hops) and HTTPS→HTTP downgrades are flagged in red — those are the ones that hurt rankings or break security.

Common use cases for a redirect checker

Post-migration audits after moving to a new CMS or domain. Debugging sessions when a redirect loop pops up in production. SEO audits before a site relaunch, especially checking that old URLs still 301 correctly to the new structure. Spot-checking competitor URLs to see how they handle old content. Any time a page "just stopped ranking" and you need to rule out a broken redirect.

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