What “Redirect Error” Means
In Google Search Console, a Redirect error means
that Google's crawlers encountered a problem when trying to follow a redirect.
This prevents them from reaching the intended destination page and results in
the URL not being indexed.
Common Causes of Redirect Errors
Broken Redirects – The redirect target URL no longer
exists or returns a 404/5xx status.
Redirect Loops – A loop occurs when URL A redirects
to URL B, which redirects back to A (or another in the chain).
Excessive Redirect Chains – More than 5 redirects in
a sequence can be seen as excessive and may be truncated.
Incorrect Redirect Syntax – Misconfigured .htaccess,
server rules, or meta refresh tags.
Blocked by Robots.txt – Googlebot might be blocked
from crawling a redirect destination.
HTTPS Issues – Problems with SSL/TLS certificates
during redirects (especially http → https).
SEO Impact
Loss of Page Authority: Page Rank and other link
equity might not pass through.
Indexing Issues: Pages won’t be indexed, leading to
traffic loss.
Crawl Budget Waste: Google may waste time trying to
crawl unresolvable redirects.
User Experience: Users can be affected if redirected
pages don’t load correctly.
How to Fix Redirect Errors
Audit Redirects:
Use tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Sitebulb
to crawl the site and detect redirect issues.
Check the redirect logic via curl -I or browser dev
tools.
Fix the Target URLs:
Ensure the final destination URL is valid, returns a
200 status, and is accessible to bots.
Remove or Correct Redirect Loops/Chains:
Simplify redirection logic to 1:1 mappings.
Avoid redirect chains longer than 3 steps.
Update Internal Links:
Point them directly to the final destination,
bypassing redirects where possible.
Check Robots.txt and Meta Tags:
Ensure that destination URLs are not blocked or no indexed.
Proactive Monitoring
Set up automated alerts in Google Search Console.
Use tools like Screaming Frog to regularly monitor
redirect health.
Maintain a redirect mapping document to track
intentional redirects.
