A "Redirect error" in Google Search Console's Page indexing report means Googlebot could not follow your redirects to a final page, so the URL could not be processed. Google's own help lists only four causes: a redirect chain that was too long, a redirect loop, a redirect URL that exceeded the max URL length, or a bad or empty URL in the chain. On small business sites, a pattern we often see is an http→https rule and a www→non-www rule set up in two different places that end up bouncing the request back and forth.
This guide shows how to tell it apart from the similar-looking "Page with redirect" status (usually not a problem), how to trace the redirect path, and how to use Validate fix once you've fixed it.
"Redirect error" vs. "Page with redirect"
Status | What it means (per Google's help) | Action |
|---|---|---|
Redirect error | Google failed while following the redirect: chain too long, loop, URL too long, or a bad/empty URL | Fix it. The target page is not reached either |
Page with redirect | A non-canonical URL that redirects to another page. It isn't indexed, but the target may be | Nothing to do if the redirect is intentional |
If you moved an old URL to a new one with a 301, the old URL showing up under "Page with redirect" is expected. Removing that redirect would throw away the links pointing to the old URL.
The four official causes
Cause | What's happening | Common source |
|---|---|---|
Redirect chain too long | A→B→C→D… several hops in a row | Redirects added on top of each other after every site move; http, www and trailing-slash rules handled in separate steps |
Redirect loop | A→B→A, never ending | The server and a CDN (or a CMS plugin) redirecting in opposite directions |
URL exceeded max length | Each hop appends parameters until the URL grows without limit | A rule that re-adds the query string on every redirect |
Bad or empty URL | The Location target is broken or blank | A typo in the rule or a variable that didn't expand |
According to Google's documentation on how HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers, Google's crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops by default. In practice, aim for every old URL to reach its final destination in one hop.
Trace the redirect path before you change anything
1. Open one affected URL in a private window
Click "Redirect error" in the report to see example URLs (the list shows up to 1,000 examples). If Chrome says the page "redirected you too many times", you have a loop. If the page loads normally, suspect a long chain or a temporary problem. A private window removes old cookies and cache from the picture.
2. Write down every hop
Open Chrome DevTools, go to the Network tab, turn on "Preserve log" and reload. Each 301 or 302 appears in order. Noting from which URL, to which URL, with which status makes duplicate rules obvious.
3. Test all four entry points
- http:// with www
- http:// without www
- https:// with www
- https:// without www
Each should land on the same final URL in a single redirect.
Three patterns behind most redirect errors
HTTPS redirect configured twice
"Force HTTPS" is switched on in the hosting control panel, and another HTTPS rule lives in a CMS plugin or .htaccess. If both point the same way you only get extra hops; if one sends traffic back to http, you get a loop. Keep the redirect in one place and turn the others off.
CDN and origin disagree
The CDN redirects http→https, while the origin server sees the CDN's request as http and redirects again. That mismatch creates an A→B→A loop. If errors spike right after adding or removing a CDN, check this first.
Redirects stacked after each site move
Old domain → new domain, then a redesign that changed URL structure, can leave old URLs three or four hops from their final page. The fix is to point the old rules directly at today's final URLs, not to delete them (deleting turns old URLs into 404s and loses their links).
A real example from our own migration
When this site (mihata.jp) moved hosting in August 2026, we found during the migration that the www→non-www 301 had been issued automatically by the old host and did not exist on the new one. Switching over as-is would have exposed the www hostname as a duplicate copy of the site. When we moved the old-domain redirect, our first version also dropped the path and sent everything to the home page, which we caught by testing locally.
Neither problem would have shown up as an obvious error. Whenever you change servers or CDNs, don't just copy redirect rules over: measure the actual redirect path from all four entry points before switching.
If you'd like help planning redirects for a site move or redesign, this is part of the website work we do. Sorry for the interruption mid-article, but feel free to take a look.
After fixing: click Validate fix (about two weeks)
- Fix every instance of the issue on the site. If Google finds a single remaining instance, validation stops.
- Open the "Redirect error" issue from the report's issue list.
- Click Validate fix, and don't click it again until validation succeeds or fails.
Google's Page indexing report help says validation typically takes up to about two weeks, and you get a notification when it finishes. If it fails, click See details to find the URL that caused it, fix it, and restart validation.
To check a single page, use the URL Inspection tool rather than the report. Note that, per Google's documentation, Google's inspection tools don't follow redirects, so inspect the final URL rather than the redirecting one.
Summary
- "Redirect error" needs fixing; "Page with redirect" is fine when the redirect is intentional
- Google lists four causes: chain too long, loop, URL too long, bad or empty URL
- Google's crawlers follow up to 10 hops by default; aim for one hop to the final URL
- Typical culprits: duplicate HTTPS/www rules, CDN vs. origin conflicts, stacked migration redirects
- Fix all instances, then click Validate fix; it usually takes up to about two weeks
FAQ
What does Redirect error mean in Google Search Console?
Google could not follow the redirect to a final page. Google's help lists four causes: a redirect chain that was too long, a redirect loop, a redirect URL that exceeded the max URL length, or a bad or empty URL in the redirect chain.
Do I need to fix Page with redirect?
Not if the redirect is intentional. It is a non-canonical URL that redirects elsewhere, so it is not indexed, but the target URL can be. An old URL that 301-redirects to a new one is expected to appear there.
How many redirects does Googlebot follow?
By default, Google's crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops, according to Google's crawling documentation. In practice, each old URL should reach its final page in one hop.
How long does Validate fix take?
Google's help says validation typically takes up to about two weeks, sometimes longer, and you are notified when it succeeds or fails. Fix every instance of the issue before starting, because one remaining instance stops validation.