Hi,
There are a number of redirect errors in my Google Search Console that keep failing the validation. I have manually loaded each of the urls, and they redirect properly. Screaming Frog and Chrome dev tools also show a normal 301 redirect.
According to Google, a redirect error is caused by:
- A redirect chain that was too long
- A redirect loop
- A redirect URL that eventually exceeded the max URL length
- A bad or empty URL in the redirect chain
I have never encountered these with other website platforms.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
Adriaan
When Google flags redirect errors, one thing to look at is how many times each URL is redirecting. Even if everything looks like it’s working with a clean 301, there could still be subtle issues, especially if redirects have stacked up over time.
Here’s what to check:
- Is it going from
http://example.com
→ https://example.com
→ https://www.example.com
→ maybe even a language prefix like https://www.example.com/en
? Each hop counts.
- Or do you have legacy paths like
/pageA
→ /pageB
→ /pageC
? Even if those all 301, you’ll want to update the original /pageA
to point directly to /pageC
to reduce redirect chains.
You can use Screaming Frog’s “Redirect Chains” report to identify any URLs that hop more than once. Google tends to be stricter about this than other platforms, and long-standing chains (even if they technically work) can still trigger errors.
Thanks Jessica,
You are right. I have seen that issue on other websites too.
2 out of 15 failed urls did have a double redirect. The rest only redirects once, when checking with Screaming Frog and the browser.
I fixed the double redirects so let’s see what happens. Still, 13 urls showed as failed that only do one 301 redirect.
If you know wny other things I could check, it would be greatly appreciated!
Adriaan
Lets try
httpstatus.io check your urls under that tool
Clear Concrete CMS Cache
Dashboard
Check under System & Settings > SEO & Statistics > URLs and Redirection
.htaccess Rules
Look for Redirect 301
or RewriteRule
lines that may cause loops or chains.
confirm HTTPS and www settings align with how URLs are being accessed.
Domain/CDN Rules
Ensure registrar or services like Cloudflare aren’t adding extra redirects.
Do mobile and desktop have the same urls?