You’re browsing your site analytics when you notice some redirect errors popping up in Google Search Console. Uh oh. As any seasoned SEO pro knows, redirect errors can wreak havoc on your site’s performance. But don’t freak out just yet. With a few tweaks, you can get those pesky redirects sorted out in no time. In this guide, we’ll walk through the common causes of redirect errors and show you step-by-step how to fix them. We’ll look at ways to identify and correct invalid or missing redirects using tools like Screaming Frog. Whether you’re a total newbie or a seasoned webmaster, you’ll learn the basics of redirect troubleshooting. Let’s dig in and tame those out-of-control redirects!
What is a Redirect Error in Google Search Console?
A redirect error means that when the Google bot crawls your site, it encounters a redirect – a 301, 302, or 307 HTTP status code – that sends users and search engines to a web page with an invalid URL or to a page that no longer exists. This redirect is causing an indexing error, preventing Google from properly indexing your content.
To fix redirect errors in Google Search Console, you’ll need to:
- Check your site for invalid URLs and 404 (page not found) errors. Run a crawl of your site using a tool like Screaming Frog to find URLs that return 404 status codes. These URLs may be the target of redirects, so they need to be fixed or removed.
- Find and fix any broken redirects. Look for redirects that are pointing users to invalid pages or URLs. Update them to point to valid, working pages on your site. You may need to check your .htaccess file or use a redirect manager plugin if you’re on WordPress.
- Submit a new sitemap to Google. Once you’ve fixed any issues with invalid URLs or broken redirects on your site, resubmit your sitemap to Google Search Console. This will prompt Google’s crawler to re-crawl your site and re-index any affected pages that were previously unavailable due to redirects. You can also manually request indexing after testing the live URL using the Google search console’s URL inspection tool.
- Check your coverage report. After a few days, check your coverage report in Google Search Console to ensure no remaining redirect errors or invalid URLs are being reported. If all is well, your site should now be properly indexed without any issues from bad redirects!
By auditing your site and fixing any broken redirects or invalid URLs, you can resolve redirect errors in Google Search Console and improve your search engine rankings. Staying on top of site issues like this is key to ensuring that important pages from your website stay on the Google index.
Common Causes of Redirect Errors
Redirect errors happen when there’s an issue with your site’s redirects. The most common underlying causes for redirection issues are:
1. Incorrect redirect configuration
If your redirects aren’t set up properly, Google may have trouble accessing your new content. Double-check that:
Your redirects actually point to live pages (not 404s!)
Redirects are permanent (301), not temporary (302)
Redirect chains don’t have more than 1 or 2 hops before reaching the target page
Your redirects don’t create any loops
2. Conflicting redirects
If you have multiple redirects pointing to the same URL, your redirect configuration is conflicting and needs to be cleaned up. Review your .htaccess file, web server config files, and anywhere else you have redirects set up. Remove or consolidate any duplicate URLs.
3. Redirects to non-canonical URLs
Make sure any redirects you have in place lead to the canonical version of a page. For example, don’t redirect from example.com/page/ to example.com/page. Redirect to the version of the page that you intend to be indexed.
4. JavaScript redirects
If you’re using JavaScript to handle any redirects on your site, they won’t be followed by search engines. Use server-side redirects instead. By auditing your redirects and ensuring they’re configured properly, you should be able to resolve any redirect errors in Search Console and get your site back on track.
How to Identify Redirect Chains
To fix redirect errors reported in Google Search Console, you first need to identify any redirect chains on your site. A redirect chain occurs when a URL redirects to another URL, which then redirects to another URL, creating a chain of multiple redirects before landing on a final target page.
Google recommends limiting redirects to a maximum of two or three hops. Too many redirects make for a poor user experience and can negatively impact rankings in Google search results. Here are a few ways to detect redirect chains:
Check your server logs
Examine your web server logs to look for a series of 301 (permanent redirect) or 302 (temporary redirect) status codes for the same URL path. For example, you may see:
“`
/old-page-URL 301 /redirected-URL
/redirected-url 301 /another-redirect
/another-redirect 301 /final-destination
“`
This indicates a redirect chain with three hops before reaching the final target page.
Use a crawling tool
Crawl your entire site with a tool like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Lumar. These tools will report any redirect chains they discover in the crawl. Look for URLs with multiple “hops” or “redirects” noted next to them.
Test URLs manually
Enter some of your old URLs or URLs you suspect may be redirecting into your browser. Check the page source to view the redirect path and see if multiple redirects are occurring before landing on a page with actual content.
Check for multiple canonical tags
If you have multiple canonical tags on a single page pointing to different URLs, this indicates a redirect loop and needs to be fixed.
Once you’ve identified any redirect chains, you’ll need to streamline them by removing unnecessary hops in the chain. The fewer redirects, the better for both users and search engines. With some cleanup of your site’s redirect structure, you’ll be well on your way to resolving those redirect errors.
Fixing Incorrect Server Redirects
Server redirects are a common issue that can cause errors in Google Search Console. A redirect happens when a URL sends users to a different URL. If these redirects are set up incorrectly, it can confuse Google and result in errors. The good news is that fixing redirects is usually an easy fix.
To diagnose redirect issues in Search Console, go to the “Redirect errors” report by Clicking on the Pages tab on the right-hand side of your page, which will take you to the index coverage report, then click “Redirects”. This will show you any affected URLs Google has detected, along with the source URL, final URL, and status code. Look for any redirects with a status code of 301 or 302 and a target URL that’s different from what you expect.
To fix incorrect redirects, you’ll need to access your server configuration or work with your web host. Locate the redirect rules and update or remove any that are pointing to the wrong target URL or have an inappropriate status code. Be extremely careful making any changes here, as incorrectly editing server rules can cause issues across your entire site.
Once you’ve updated the redirect rules, clear your site’s cache to ensure the changes take effect immediately. Test your URLs using the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to make sure that there are no more issues, and then resubmit your sitemap in Search Console. Google should crawl your site again shortly to detect the new redirect rules. Check the “Redirects” report again in a few days to confirm all errors have been resolved.
If you continue to see issues, double-check for any other technical problems on your site that could be causing errors. Make sure all pages are returning 200 status codes, your XML sitemap is valid, and your site architecture is clean and easy to crawl. Fixing redirects is often a quick win, but other technical SEO issues may require further investigation.
Using 301 Permanent Redirects Properly
To fix redirection errors in Google Search Console, you’ll want to set up 301 redirects to properly redirect old or invalid URLs to their new destinations. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that passes on the link equity from the old page to the new page. This means that the new page will inherit the old page’s ranking and authority.
To set up a 301 redirect, you’ll need to access your site’s .htaccess file or redirect plugin/module. In the .htaccess file, use the following syntax:
Redirect 301 /oldpage.html /newpage.html
So if your old page was /products/widgets.html and the new page is /shop/widgets.html, you’d use:
Redirect 301 /products/widgets.html /shop/widgets.html
Some key things to keep in mind with 301 redirects:
Don’t redirect to temporary pages
Only redirect to permanent new URLs. Don’t redirect to pages that might change in the future.
Redirect chains are bad
Don’t set up a redirect chain where one page redirects to another, which then redirects to another. This can hurt your authority and rankings. Redirect directly to the final destination page.
Update internal links
Make sure to update any internal links on your site that point to the old page so they link to the new page. This helps search engines discover your new page.
Monitor redirect errors
Check the Search Console regularly for any redirect errors or warnings. Fix any redirection error you find as soon as possible to avoid losing any link equity or authority.
Consider 404 errors
If you delete a page without setting up a redirect, it can result in a 404 error. Be sure to either set up a 301 redirect or return a 404 status code with a 404 page to avoid confusion.
By properly implementing 301 redirects and fixing any redirect errors that come up, you can successfully migrate old content to new URLs without losing search ranking or traffic.
Avoiding Redirect Loops
One of the most common redirect errors is a redirect loop. This happens when you have multiple redirects chained together that ultimately point back to the original page. Google will detect this loop and not crawl any of the pages involved.
To fix redirect loops, you’ll need to break the chain of redirects by removing some of them. Here are some steps to resolve redirect loops:
- Review your site’s redirect structure. Look for pages that redirect to other pages, which then redirect again. These “chains” of redirects often end up looping back.
- Determine which redirects are unnecessary. Not all redirects need to remain in place. See if any can be removed without impacting user experience or SEO. Removing just one redirect in the loop is enough to break the chain.
- Point redirects to the final destination. If possible, have all redirects in the loop point directly to the page you ultimately want users and search engines to land on. This avoids a tangled web of redirects.
- Use a redirect checker tool. Some SEO tools offer redirect chain analysis that can automatically detect loops and chains of redirects on your site. They will point out which redirects can be removed or optimized to avoid loops.
- Double-check after making changes. Once you optimize or remove some redirects to break loops, use a tool to crawl your site again and ensure all redirects are pointing to the proper final URLs and no new loops were created.
Redirects are an important part of any website, but managing them properly is key. By periodically auditing your site’s redirects and watching out for potential redirect loops, you can keep your site’s structure clean and avoid frustrating errors in Google Search Console. With some regular maintenance, redirect loops don’t have to be an ongoing thorn in your side.
Best Practices for Managing Redirects
To ensure a good user experience and SEO value, you’ll want to properly manage any redirects in your Google Search Console account. Here are some best practices to follow:
Check for any redirect errors reported in the Search Console. This report will notify you of any redirect issues Google has detected, like redirects that don’t work or redirect chains that are too long. Fix any errors right away to avoid negative impacts on your site’s performance.
- Use 301 (permanent) redirects whenever possible. These pass the majority of backlink juice to the redirected page. Use 302 (temporary) redirects only for short-term URL changes.
- Double-check that your redirects actually work by testing them yourself. Make sure each redirect takes you to the intended destination page. Broken redirects frustrate users and hurt your SEO.
- Watch out for redirect chains. This occurs when a URL redirects to another URL that also redirects, creating a chain of multiple redirects. Keep chains as short as possible, ideally 3 redirects or less. Long chains negatively impact user experience and search ranking.
- When reorganizing or renaming sections of your site, set up redirects from the old URLs to the new ones. This helps the Google search engine, and users find your content even after the changes have been made.
- For deleted pages, redirect to the most relevant existing content on your site. This passes link equity to active pages on your site. Do not use 404 (page not found) pages when possible.
By regularly monitoring and optimizing your redirects according to these best practices, you’ll create a better experience for users and search engines alike. Your site will be rewarded with higher search visibility and more relevant traffic. Staying on top of technical SEO issues like broken redirects and 404 pages shows Google that you value creating a useful, easy-to-navigate website.
FAQ: How to Fix Specific Redirect Errors in Search Console
So, you’ve checked your Search Console and noticed some redirect errors for various reasons. No worries, these are usually pretty easy to fix once you track down the source. Here are some of the common Google Search Console status codes you may encounter and how to resolve them:
404 (Page Not Found)
This means Googlebot tried to access a URL on your site but received a 404 error – the page was not found. To fix:
- Check your site’s log files to find the 404 URLs. See if the page was moved or deleted.
- If moved, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL.
- If deleted, set up a 410 redirect to inform Google the page is gone for good.
- Double-check that the redirect is working by testing it in your browser.
Soft 404
This means Googlebot received a 200 success response, but the content was not meaningful. (Eg.: crawl issue) To fix:
- Find the soft 404 URLs in your log files or Search Console.
- Set up a 301 or 410 redirect for each soft 404 URL as needed.
- Make sure all 200 responses have meaningful content to avoid future soft 404s.
Chain Redirects
This occurs when a URL redirects to another URL, which then redirects to another URL. Google will only follow a limited number of redirects before giving up. To fix:
- Look at your site’s redirect chain and condense the redirects.
- Set up a direct 301 redirect from the initial URL to the final destination URL.
- Test the new redirect in your browser to confirm it works.
Infinite Redirect Loop
This is when a URL gets stuck in an endless loop of redirects. Googlebot will give up after several redirects. To fix:
- Examine your site’s redirects to locate the infinite loop.
- Break the loop by removing or re-routing one of the redirects.
- Test in your browser to confirm the loop is now fixed.
If you follow these steps and continue monitoring your redirects, you’ll have those Search Console errors resolved in no time!
Conclusion
The bottom line is that redirect errors in Search Console can be annoying, but they’re usually pretty easy to fix if you know what to look for. The key is finding where the redirect is happening and updating it to point to the right place. Don’t stress if you see some 404s at first. Just take it one step at a time. Double-check your .htaccess file, make sure your site links are going where they should, and do a quick audit of any old URLs you may have forgotten about. We all deal with these annoying redirect issues from time to time. The good news is that a little sleuthing and maintenance can get your site back on track in no time. You’ve got this!