Redirect error
Search Console status: Redirect error
Googlebot tried to follow a redirect and never reached the destination page. Causes include a redirect loop, a chain longer than 10 hops, a URL that's too long, or an empty or invalid URL in the Location header. It's a real failure — the page won't load for users either.
What this status means
Google started following a redirect but never got a page with content. According to Google's documentation, the reason can be:
- a redirect loop — the chain returns to a URL it already visited,
- a chain longer than 10 hops,
- a target URL that exceeds the maximum length,
- an empty or invalid URL in the
Locationheader.
Common causes in practice
- https or www rules set on both the server and the CDN (such as Cloudflare) in opposite directions,
- conflicting redirect plugins in a CMS,
- rules that add and remove a trailing slash,
- a redirect that depends on a cookie or language, which a cookieless crawler hits again and again,
- chains that grew over several migrations.
How to fix it
- Walk the chain with the redirect checker — you'll see every hop and where the loop starts.
- Find the two conflicting rules (server, CDN, plugin) and keep one.
- Shorten the chain to one hop: old URL → final URL.
- In Search Console, use "Validate fix".
How to keep an eye on it
IndexRise follows the redirects of monitored pages every night. A loop is a critical event, confirmed on the next check.
Frequently asked questions
What's the most common cause of a redirect error?
A loop — two conflicting rules, for example the server redirecting to www and the CDN redirecting back to non-www, or rules that add and remove a trailing slash.
How many redirects does Google tolerate?
Googlebot follows at most 10 hops. A longer chain ends in a redirect error.
How do I confirm the fix worked?
Run the chain through the redirect checker — it should be one hop to a page returning 200. Then click “Validate fix” in Search Console.
Updated: 2026-10-20