See where a link really goes
Redirect checker
Enter a URL and this page requests it from our server, follows each redirect one at a time, and lists every hop with its status code. At the end it reads the final page for its canonical tag, robots meta tag and X-Robots-Tag header, so you can see whether a moved or shortened link lands somewhere indexable.
Only public https and http addresses are followed. Each hop is validated again before it is requested, and private, local and IP-literal targets are refused. The URL you enter is used for this check and is not stored.
How to use it
- Paste the URL. Enter the address as people would meet it, including http:// if you want to see the move to https.
- Trace it. Press Trace redirects. The check follows up to ten redirects and stops at the first page that answers with a normal response.
- Read the chain. Check each hop's status. 301 and 308 are permanent moves; 302, 303 and 307 are temporary. Fewer hops is better.
- Check the landing page. Compare the final URL with the canonical shown, and look for noindex in the robots meta tag or the X-Robots-Tag header.
- Fix and trace again. Change the first redirect so it points straight at the final address, then run the trace again to confirm one hop.
How the trace works and what it can miss
The server requests the URL with a plain GET, reads the status and the Location header, and does not follow the redirect automatically. It then resolves the next address, applies the same public-address checks used by the public-link inspector on this site, and repeats. It stops after ten redirects, after fifteen seconds in total, when a URL repeats (a loop), or when a hop has no Location header.
Status codes are classified by their definition: 301 and 308 are permanent, 302, 303 and 307 are temporary. The findings are rules, not scores: more than one redirect is flagged because each hop adds a round trip; a temporary status is flagged because it does not say the move is permanent; a step from https down to http is an error; a canonical that differs from the final URL and a noindex directive are flagged as warnings.
Only HTTP redirects are followed. Redirects done with a meta refresh tag or by JavaScript are not seen, and a page can answer differently depending on the visitor's country, cookies, device or user agent. The request identifies itself as toolfoundbot, so a site that treats unknown bots differently may show a different chain to this tool than to your browser.
Questions
What is the difference between 301, 302, 307 and 308?
301 and 308 say the resource has moved permanently; 302, 303 and 307 say the move is temporary. 307 and 308 additionally require the browser to repeat the same request method, while 301 and 302 historically let clients change a POST into a GET.
How many redirects are too many?
One is normal, for example http to https or a non-www to www move. Two or more in a row usually means a rule can be rewritten to point straight at the destination. This tool stops at ten, and a chain that long is slow and fragile whatever a given crawler tolerates.
Why does my browser show a different result?
Browsers cache permanent redirects, send cookies and a different user agent, and may be geo-located. This tool starts clean from our server. If the two differ, the difference itself is worth investigating, for example a bot or country rule.
Does it follow JavaScript or meta refresh redirects?
No. Only redirects sent as HTTP status codes with a Location header are followed. A page that redirects with a script will appear as a normal final page.
What does the noindex check read?
It looks at the robots and googlebot meta tags in the final HTML and at the X-Robots-Tag response header, and reports noindex or none when it finds either.
Why was my URL refused?
The tool will not request addresses with credentials, explicit ports, IP literals, or hostnames that resolve to private or reserved space, and it will not follow a redirect that leads to one. This keeps it from being used to probe internal networks.