Redirect errors in Google Search Console

Using Concrete / Help
1

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

2

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.

3

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

4

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?

5

Hi Jessica,

Thanks again for all the help!

  • Yes, mobile and desktop have the same urls
  • httpstatus.io shows one of the failed urls has a double redirect. That one redirects from /concrete/images to /concrete/images/ and then to /gallery
  • I have cleared the cache many times.
  • My System & Settings > SEO & Statistics > URLs and Redirection looks like this:

Screenshot 2025-04-22 at 9.43.04 AM
Screenshot 2025-04-22 at 9.43.04 AM2736×1848 258 KB

  • There are no domain or CDN rules but the hosting company did recently move the site to Cloudflare. (we have had the redirect issue since before the move to Cloudflare though)
  • I will check that and also the .htaccess.

Anything in particular that I am looking for?
(Since both the Chrome devtools and the httpstatus.io show normal redirects)

Adriaan

6

I’m not sure if you want to query your database for additional 301 URLs that might be in your website but here’s a query you can run on the PagePaths table that will reveal all the pages that have 301’s in your site. The ones with ppIsCanonical = 1 is the ‘mothership’ page and the pages where ppIsCanonical = 0 are the 301s from that main page.

SELECT *
FROM PagePaths
WHERE cID IN (
    SELECT cID
    FROM PagePaths
    GROUP BY cID
    HAVING COUNT(*) > 1
)
ORDER BY cID;