A redirect chain occurs when multiple redirects happen in sequence (A→B→C→D). These slow page loads and dilute link equity. Fix by redirecting directly to the final destination.
Ever feel like your website’s performance is slow, and you do not know why? It can be so frustrating, and it is often caused by a hidden SEO problem. I am here to talk about something called a redirect chain. I have been in this game for 15 years, and I have seen firsthand how much of a difference fixing this can make. I am going to explain exactly what is a redirect chain and give you some simple, actionable tips to fix it. You will walk away with a clear plan to clean up your website and boost your SEO and site speed.
So, what is a redirect chain? It is when a user or a search engine is redirected from one URL to another, and then to another, and then to another. For example, a person might try to visit `site.com/old-page`, which redirects them to `site.com/new-page`, which then redirects them to `site.com/final-page`. This is a big problem because it adds extra time to your page load and can hurt your SEO.
A redirect chain is a bad thing because it slows down your website. Each redirect adds a few milliseconds to your page load, which can add up to a lot of time. It also confuses search engines and can hurt your SEO. A search engine has to follow all the redirects to get to the final page, which can waste your crawl budget and hurt your ranking. The goal is to always have a direct redirect from one URL to another.
How a Redirect Chain Impacts Different CMS Platforms
The principles of a redirect chain apply to every website, no matter the CMS. Your platform is just the tool you use to create and manage the redirects. I am going to show you how to think about this with some of the most popular platforms. The goal is to make sure you are not losing any of your SEO power.
WordPress
WordPress can be a major source of redirect chains, especially if you have been using it for a while and have changed a lot of URLs. I recommend you use a plugin like Redirection or Yoast SEO to manage your redirects. You should check your site often for redirect chains and fix them by pointing the old URL directly to the final URL, not to a middle page.
Shopify
For Shopify, you can get redirect chains if you change a product’s URL and then change it again. Shopify has a built-in redirect manager, but you need to be careful. You should always redirect the old URL to the final URL, not to a middle page. This is a great way to handle products that are out of stock or that you have changed the URL for.
Wix
Wix makes it easy to set up a redirect in their SEO settings, but you need to be careful not to create a redirect chain. I would recommend you check your site for any broken links and fix them. You should also check your site with a redirect checker to make sure you do not have any redirect chains.
Webflow
Webflow has a very simple and easy-to-use redirect manager. You can set up a redirect from an old page to a new one in a few clicks. I would also recommend you check a page in Google’s Search Console to make sure the redirect is working correctly and that there are no errors.
Custom CMS
With a custom CMS, you have the most control to manage redirects. You can build a system that automatically creates a redirect when you change a page’s URL. I would also recommend you build in a way to easily check for broken links and a way to redirect them to a new, relevant page.
How a Redirect Chain Applies to Different Industries
The concept of a redirect chain is the same for every business, but the way you use it changes depending on what you do. It is all about making sure you are not losing any of your hard-earned SEO power. I am going to show you how to do this for a few key sectors.
Ecommerce
In ecommerce, a redirect chain can happen when a product is out of stock or you have changed the URL a few times. You should always redirect the old URL to a new, relevant product or a category page. This helps you keep all the SEO power from the old page and guide your customers to a new one.
Local Businesses
For a local business, a redirect chain can happen when you change a service page or a location page a few times. You should redirect the old URL to the new, relevant page. This helps you keep all the SEO power from the old page and not lose any of your local traffic.
SaaS
For a SaaS company, a redirect chain can happen when you change the URL of a blog post or a landing page a few times. You should redirect the old URL to the new, relevant page. This helps you keep all the SEO power from the old page and not lose any of your qualified leads.
Blogs
For a blog, a redirect chain is a perfect example of bad SEO. I recommend you go back and check all of your old articles for redirect chains and fix them. This will help your site load faster and get more of your old articles ranking again.
FAQ Section
What is the difference between a redirect chain and a redirect loop?
A redirect chain is a series of redirects from one URL to another. A redirect loop is when a series of redirects sends a user back to a page they have already been on. Both are bad for SEO, but a redirect loop is even worse as it can lead to an error page.
How can I check my website for redirect chains?
You can use a few simple tools. Ahrefs and Semrush have site audit tools that can find all the redirect chains on your site. You can also use a free online tool to check a URL’s redirect status to see if it is a direct redirect or if it is part of a chain.
What is “crawl budget” and how does a redirect chain impact it?
Crawl budget is the number of pages a search engine will crawl on your website in a given period of time. A redirect chain wastes your crawl budget because the search engine has to follow all the redirects to get to the final page. This means the search engine might not crawl all of your important pages.
Should I fix all of my redirect chains at once?
Yes, I would recommend you fix them as soon as you find them. A redirect chain is a major SEO problem that can hurt your site’s performance and rankings. Fixing them is a great quick win for your business, as it can help your site load faster and get more traffic.
