Redirect chains are one of those pesky technical SEO issues that can silently sabotage your efforts if left unchecked.
When a redirect chain occurs, there are multiple unnecessary redirects linking between an original URL and the final destination URL. For example:
URL A -> URL B -> URL C
This is far from ideal when it comes to SEO. Redirect chains negatively impact site crawlability, create indexation issues, and result in lost link equity or page authority for the target URL.
It’s easy for redirect chains to accumulate over time as sites naturally evolve. For instance, as pages get reorganized or consolidated, redirects get stacked without realizing it. Changing web hosts, migrating domains, or switching from HTTP to HTTPS can also proliferate chains if old redirects aren’t cleaned up properly.
The good news is that identifying and fixing redirect chains is a relatively straightforward technical SEO task. Regularly auditing and consolidating your redirects improves overall website health and prevents lost SEO value.
This comprehensive guide will cover:
- What causes redirect chains to form
- The negative SEO impacts of redirect chains
- How to detect redirect chains on your site
- Actionable steps to fix and prevent redirect chains
- Redirect best practices for WordPress sites and beyond
By properly handling redirects and avoiding chains, you can maximize link equity flow, improve indexation, speed up site crawlability, and boost your SEO efforts overall.
Let’s jump into this.
What Causes Redirect Chains to Form?
There are a few common scenarios that can lead to redirect chains accumulating on a website:
Accidental Oversights
It’s easy to unintentionally create a redirect chain if you aren’t aware of existing redirects in place. For example, say Page A redirects to Page B already. If you now want Page C to replace Page B, you redirect B to C without removing the A to B redirect.
Redirects happen behind the scenes so it’s not obvious when a chain like A > B > C occurs. Doing a one-off redirect without checking for existing redirects is a common reason chains accumulate.
Multiple Website Migrations
As websites grow and evolve, pages and content often get moved around or reorganized. For instance, you may consolidate categories or split them into new sections.
If the URL structure changes as part of the migration, redirects need to be created to send visitors to the new URLs. However, existing redirects don’t always get updated properly in the process.
Over time, as content gets moved to new sections and domains, lengthy redirect chains can build up from the legacy URLs.
Switching from HTTP to HTTPS
Many sites have transitioned from HTTP to HTTPS in recent years. This requires implementing redirects from old HTTP pages to their new HTTPS counterparts.
However, if you already had HTTP www to non-www redirects in place, the HTTPS migration can unintentionally chain these together. For example:
http://example.com > http://www.example.com > https://www.example.com
Changing Domain Names
When transitioning to a new domain name, redirects need to pass visitors and search engines from old URLs to the new domain.
If existing redirects weren’t properly accounted for, the domain change can tack additional links onto redirect chains from the old site architecture.
Restructuring Site Architecture
Evolving the information architecture and URL structure of a website often necessitates redirects to preserve SEO value when content gets moved.
For instance, if you change from /category/page-name to /category-name/page-name URLs, all existing URLs would need redirects.
If these redirects are layered on top of previous redirects, it can compound issues and create lengthy chains.
Negative Impacts of Redirect Chains
There are a few key ways that redirect chains can hurt your site’s SEO and performance:
Lost Link Equity and Page Authority
One of the biggest issues caused by redirect chains is lost link equity and page authority.
When a URL is redirected, it passes on link equity and authority to the target URL. However, multiple chained redirects will result in a compounding loss of authority.
For example, if a URL passes 100% equity/authority through a single redirect, with 2 redirects that may decrease to 90%, with 3 redirects down to 80%, etc. This can significantly diminish the SEO value being passed on.
Indexation and Crawl Issues
Redirect chains can also cause problems with getting new pages indexed and crawled properly.
Google has indicated they will only follow a chain of 5 redirects before aborting the crawl. This means pages buried deep in lengthy chains may never get crawled or indexed.
Excessive redirects also waste crawl budget, further restricting how much of your site Google can index.
Slower Page Load Times
Each redirect increases page load times slightly as additional requests must be made before landing on the final page.
For users, even minor delays can increase bounce rate. For search engine crawlers, slower page loads mean fewer pages can be processed during each crawl.
This negatively impacts user experience and satisfaction, which are both SEO ranking factors according to Google.
Problems for Internal Site Linking
Redirect chains also cause issues for internal site linking and structure over time.
As content gets moved around, chains break internal links that may have passed SEO authority and relevance signals. This reduces the effectiveness of internal linking for search rankings.
How To Identify Redirect Chains
Finding redirect chains on a website takes a little detective work, but isn’t too difficult with the right tools:
Use SEO Crawlers
SEO crawlers like Screaming Frog are excellent for discovering and analyzing redirect chains.
Under the Redirects section, look for the “Redirect Chains” report. This will show you any series of multiple redirects linking pages together.
Export the list to view the full redirect paths and start investigating where chains have formed.
Check Redirect Status Codes
When manually analyzing site redirects, look for pages returning 301 and 302 status codes.
- 301 = Permanent Redirect
- 302 = Temporary Redirect
These status codes indicate that a redirect is in place. Review chains of multiple redirects linking together.
Trace Redirect Paths
Use browser extensions like Redirect Path to visually see the redirects as you trace a URL to its final destination.
This makes it easy to spot chains as you test and confirm redirect paths page-by-page.
Monitor Broken Internal Links
Check your site for broken internal links regularly. Redirect chains can cause internal links to break over time as pages change.
Broken internal links are a clue that redirects may be chained together incorrectly. The linked page was likely moved without updating redirects properly.
Fixing Redirect Chains
Once you’ve identified redirect chains on your site, here are some tips for resolving the issues:
Consolidate Chains
The main fix is to consolidate any chained redirects down to a single redirect linking the original URL directly to the final destination.
Remove any unnecessary middle redirects that are simply chaining together without purpose. Simplify the path to be direct.
Update Redirects After Site Changes
When making site migrations, updates, or other architecture changes, be sure to audit and update existing redirects accordingly.
Don’t let new redirects from changes simply chain on top of old ones. Update them all together to point correctly to new destinations.
Monitor New Redirects
When adding new redirects, first check that the URL isn’t already redirecting somewhere else. Avoid chaining redirects together.
Also monitor new redirects to catch any issues with 404s or chains before they compound.
Use Canonical URLs
For URL variations you don’t want to redirect, use canonical URLs instead to consolidating signal while avoiding potential redirect issues.
Point all URL versions to the one canonical URL you want prioritized.
Proper ongoing hygiene and maintenance of your redirects is key to preventing issues from accumulating over time. Regularly audit for redirect chains and don’t let new redirects be layered blindly without review.
Redirect Best Practices
Here are some technical best practices to keep in mind when implementing redirects to avoid potential chains:
- Use 301 permanent redirects when entirely moving pages to a new URL, or consolidating content.
- Use 302 temporary redirects only for short-term, temporary URL changes.
- Set redirect cache durations to a reasonable period for temporary redirects. Don’t use excessive caching.
- Redirect individual pages only when necessary, don’t do mass redirects blindly.
- When possible, update existing redirects rather than adding new ones.
- Avoid long chains of redirects (aim for 1-2 max).
- Monitor new redirects for 404 errors, which may indicate chains.
- Periodically audit old redirects and update or remove unnecessary ones.
- Use canonical meta tags for minor URL variations rather than multiple redirects.
For WordPress sites, a few specific tips:
- Use a well-coded redirection plugin like Redirection to handle redirects. Avoid .htaccess.
- To move a page, update existing redirects first before adding new ones.
- When changing permalinks, update old redirects to the new URL structure.
- Redirect attachment image URLs using redirection plugins, don’t do it in .htaccess.
Properly setting up and maintaining redirects may seem tedious but is crucial for technical SEO. Staying on top of redirect hygiene will benefit your site’s performance and search visibility.
Conclusion
Redirect chains can sneakily sabotage SEO efforts if left unchecked on a website. Thankfully, with proper audits and redirect hygiene, they can be identified and fixed.
The main takeaways around redirect chains:
- They accumulate from site changes, migrations, and unmonitored redirects over time.
- Redirect chains negatively impact page authority flow, site crawlability, indexation, and page load times.
- Use SEO tools and link checkers to identify redirect chains through audits.
- Fix chains by consolidating redirects and updating old redirects to new destinations.
- Employ redirect best practices, like using proper status codes and monitoring new redirects.
By regularly checking your site for redirect chains and debugging any issues, you can maximize the SEO value passed from old URLs to new pages.
Proper redirect hygiene improves overall website health, prevents lost link equity, maintains internal site integrity, and boosts ranking potential. It takes some diligence, but the SEO impact is well worth the effort.
