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Redirect Chain Visualiser

Paste a chain (from your curl output, Screaming Frog export or browser DevTools) — see every hop, the status code, and a flag if you cross Google's 10-hop limit.

Summary

2 hops

More than one hop. Flatten to a single 301 wherever possible.

  1. 1https://old.example.com301→https://www.example.com/old
  2. 2https://www.example.com/old301→https://www.example.com/new

Why chains hurt

Every hop costs three things: latency (each hop adds 50–300 ms), crawl budget (Googlebot has limited time per site), and a small slice of link equity (Google's exact treatment is opaque but flattening is always safer). Beyond 10 hops, Google stops following — the final URL becomes invisible.

Flattening recipe

For each chain, identify the original source and the final 200 URL. Rewrite every intermediate rule so it points directly to the final URL. Use the .htaccess redirect generator or the nginx redirect generator to author the flattened rules cleanly. Background and migration tactics in redirect chains killing link equity.

When to allow a chain

  • Apex → www → https is typically two unavoidable hops. Combine into one rule where possible.
  • HTTPS upgrade chains (http → https → www → final) should always be flattened to a single rule.
  • Cross-domain migrations (old.com → new.com) — ensure the chain stays at one hop in steady state.

FAQ

How many redirects can Google follow?

Google follows up to 10 hops in a chain. Beyond 10 it gives up and treats the final URL as inaccessible. Best practice: zero hops between source and final target - every chain hop costs latency and a small slice of link equity.

Do redirect chains hurt rankings?

Indirectly. Each hop adds latency (bad for Core Web Vitals), consumes crawl budget, and a small amount of PageRank may dissipate per hop (Google exact treatment is opaque). Flatten chains to one hop maximum.

Can I find chains in Search Console?

Indirectly. Index Coverage shows "Page with redirect" - investigate which redirects target other redirects. Tools like Screaming Frog or this visualiser are faster than reverse-engineering from Search Console.