What's the difference between a 301 and 302 redirect?

A 301 means the page has permanently moved — search engines transfer ranking power to the new URL. A 302 means the move is temporary, so search engines keep the original URL in their index. Use 301 for permanent changes and 302 only when you plan to bring the old URL back.

How many redirects is too many?

One redirect is ideal. Two is fine. Three or more in a chain starts adding noticeable latency and can dilute your SEO value. Google will follow up to 10 hops, but most browsers give up after 20. Keep your chains as short as possible — ideally a single hop.

Do redirects hurt SEO?

A single, properly configured 301 redirect doesn't hurt SEO — Google has confirmed it passes full PageRank. What does hurt is long redirect chains, redirect loops, or using 302s when you should use 301s. Audit your redirects regularly to keep things clean.

What is a redirect chain and how do I fix it?

A redirect chain happens when URL A redirects to B, which redirects to C, and so on. Each hop adds latency and can lose link equity. Fix it by updating the first redirect to point directly to the final destination URL, cutting out the middlemen.

Should I use a 301 redirect or a canonical tag?

Use a 301 redirect when the old page should no longer be accessible — visitors get sent to the new URL automatically. Use a canonical tag when both pages need to stay live but you want search engines to treat one as the preferred version. Redirects are stronger signals than canonicals.

How do I check if my redirects are working correctly?

Paste your URL into our redirect checker above. It traces every hop in the chain, shows status codes and latency for each step, analyzes security headers, and gives you a health score from 0 to 100. You can also test how different bots see your redirects using the user-agent selector.

Does Google follow JavaScript redirects?

Google can follow JavaScript redirects, but it's not guaranteed and it takes longer because Googlebot has to render the page first. Server-side redirects (301, 302) are always preferred because they're faster and more reliable. Avoid JavaScript redirects for SEO-critical pages.

How do I set up a redirect on Apache or NGINX?

On Apache, add a line like 'Redirect 301 /old-page https://example.com/new-page' to your .htaccess file. On NGINX, use 'return 301 /new-page;' inside a location block in your server config. Check our redirect code generator below for ready-to-use snippets.

What is the health score and how is it calculated?

The health score is a 0–100 rating based on five factors: HTTPS usage, redirect chain length, total response time, security headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options), and HTTP status codes. A score above 80 means your URL is in good shape.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, 100% free with no sign-up required. You can check individual URLs, run canonical tests, analyze security headers, and simulate different user agents — all without creating an account or hitting any limits.

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