Redirect Chain

Definition

A Redirect Chain happens when a URL requires multiple 301 or 302 redirects to reach its final destination (e.g., A→B→C→D). Each hop adds HTTP round-trip time, slows page loading, and wastes search engine crawl budget. Google recommends collapsing redirect chains to a single hop (A→D) for optimal crawl efficiency and user experience. Redirect chains commonly occur during site migrations, URL structure changes, or when multiple marketing tracking parameters accumulate.

Why it matters

• Increases TTFB (Time to First Byte) by 100-500ms per redirect hop
• Wastes Googlebot's crawl budget, reducing crawling of valuable pages
• May cause PageRank dilution (approximately 10-15% loss per hop)
• Degrades Core Web Vitals scores, especially LCP and FCP
• Complex chains make debugging and traffic source tracking difficult
• Chains longer than 5 hops may be abandoned by search engines
• Hurts mobile UX, especially on slower network connections

How to implement

• Use Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Ahrefs Site Audit to scan for redirect chains
• Point directly to final URL in .htaccess or nginx: RewriteRule ^old-url$ https://example.com/final-url [R=301,L]
• Update all internal links to point to final destination URLs
• Only submit final URLs in sitemap.xml, exclude redirected URLs
• Use Google Search Console URL Inspection tool to verify redirect behavior
• Maintain a redirect map document tracking all redirect rules
• Regularly audit old redirect rules and remove unnecessary ones

Examples

# .htaccess - Avoid redirect chains, point directly to final URL
# Wrong: A → B → C (redirect chain)
# RewriteRule ^page-a$ /page-b [R=301,L]
# RewriteRule ^page-b$ /page-c [R=301,L]

# Correct: A → C (single hop)
RewriteRule ^page-a$ https://example.com/page-c [R=301,L]
RewriteRule ^page-b$ https://example.com/page-c [R=301,L]

# nginx.conf - Correct single-hop redirect configuration
server {
    # Redirect all old URLs directly to final destination
    rewrite ^/old-page-1$ https://example.com/new-page permanent;
    rewrite ^/old-page-2$ https://example.com/new-page permanent;
    
    # Use map for bulk redirects
    # map $uri $new_uri { include /etc/nginx/redirects.map; }
}

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