How to Fix Redirect Error in Google Search Console: A Comprehensive Guide

Redirect errors in Google Search Console (GSC) can be a frustrating roadblock for website owners and SEO professionals. These errors indicate that Googlebot encountered issues while following a redirect, which can prevent your pages from being indexed and harm your site’s visibility in search results. Whether you’re managing a blog on Blogger or a custom website, understanding and resolving redirect errors is crucial for maintaining a healthy SEO strategy. This detailed guide will walk you through the causes of redirect errors, how to identify them in Google Search Console, and step-by-step solutions to fix them, with a special focus on Blogger users where applicable.

What is a Redirect Error in Google Search Console?

A redirect error occurs when Googlebot tries to follow a redirect but is unable to do so successfully. Redirects are used to guide users and search engines from one URL to another, often during site migrations, URL restructuring, or to consolidate duplicate content. However, if a redirect is misconfigured, it can lead to issues like redirect chains, loops, or broken links, resulting in a "Redirect Error" status in GSC’s Page Indexing report. These errors can:

Prevent pages from being indexed.
Reduce your site’s crawl budget, as Googlebot wastes resources on faulty redirects.
Negatively impact your search engine rankings and organic traffic.

Common causes of redirect errors include:

Redirect chains: Too many redirects in a sequence (e.g., URL A → URL B → URL C).
Redirect loops: A URL redirects back to itself or another URL in a circular pattern (e.g., URL A → URL B → URL A).
Incorrect redirect URLs: Redirects pointing to non-existent or inaccessible pages (e.g., 404 errors).
Improper redirect types: Using temporary (302) redirects when permanent (301) redirects are needed, or vice versa.
Server configuration issues: Misconfigured .htaccess files or CMS settings.
Blocked URLs: Redirected URLs blocked by robots.txt or requiring authentication.

For Blogger users, redirect errors may also stem from platform-specific issues, such as custom domain setups or HTTP-to-HTTPS transitions.

Why Fixing Redirect Errors is Important

Redirect errors can disrupt your website’s SEO performance by:

Blocking Indexing: Affected pages won’t appear in search results, reducing visibility.
Wasting Crawl Budget: Googlebot may stop crawling your site efficiently if it encounters too many errors.
Hurting User Experience: Broken redirects can lead users to error pages, increasing bounce rates.
Lowering Rankings: Poor site health signals to search engines that your content may not be reliable.

By addressing redirect errors promptly, you ensure that Google can crawl and index your pages correctly, improving your site’s SEO and user experience.

Step-by-Step Guide to Fixing Redirect Errors in Google Search Console

Follow these steps to diagnose and resolve redirect errors in Google Search Console, with tailored advice for Blogger users where relevant.

1. Identify Redirect Errors in Google Search Console

The first step is to locate the affected URLs in GSC.

Access the Page Indexing Report:
- Log in to your Google Search Console account.
- Navigate to Indexing > Pages in the left-hand menu.
- Scroll to the “Why pages aren’t indexed” section and look for URLs marked with “Redirect error.”
- Click on “Redirect error” to view a list of affected URLs.
Export the Data:
- Export the list of URLs to Google Sheets, Excel, or CSV for easier analysis. This is especially helpful for large websites with many errors.
Look for Patterns:
- Analyze the URLs to identify common issues, such as errors related to a specific section of the site (e.g., blog posts, product pages) or URL patterns (e.g., HTTP vs. HTTPS, www vs. non-www).

For Blogger Users:

Blogger sites often encounter redirect errors during domain changes (e.g., from blogspot.com to a custom domain) or HTTP-to-HTTPS migrations. Check if the affected URLs include your old blogspot.com domain or non-secure HTTP versions.

2. Understand the Cause of the Redirect Error

To fix the error, you need to pinpoint its cause. Use the following methods to investigate:

Use the URL Inspection Tool:
- In GSC, go to URL Inspection and enter one of the affected URLs.
- Check the “Coverage” section to see if Googlebot can follow the redirect. Look for details like the redirect destination, HTTP status code (e.g., 301, 302), or any errors (e.g., “Redirect error”).
- View the “Crawled page” HTML or screenshot to confirm if the redirect destination matches your intent.
Test Redirects Manually:
- Open a browser and enter the affected URL to see where it redirects. If it leads to an error page (e.g., 404) or loops back, you’ve identified a problem.
- Use tools like httpstatus.io or Redirect Checker to trace the redirect path and identify chains or loops. These tools show the sequence of URLs and HTTP status codes.
Check for Redirect Chains or Loops:
- A redirect chain occurs when there are multiple redirects (e.g., URL A → URL B → URL C). Googlebot may stop following chains if they’re too long (typically more than 5 redirects).
- A redirect loop happens when URLs redirect to each other (e.g., URL A → URL B → URL A). Use a tool like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb to crawl your site and detect chains or loops.
Verify Redirect Types:
- Ensure you’re using the correct redirect type:
  - 301 Redirect: For permanent moves (e.g., a page has moved to a new URL permanently).
  - 302 Redirect: For temporary moves (e.g., a page is temporarily unavailable).
- Google may treat long-standing 302 redirects as 301s, which can cause indexing issues if unintended. Use a tool like Link Redirect Trace (browser extension) to confirm the redirect type.
Check Robots.txt and Accessibility:
- Ensure the redirected URLs are not blocked by your robots.txt file. Use GSC’s Robots.txt Tester to verify.
- Confirm that Googlebot can access the URLs (e.g., no authentication or firewall is blocking it).

For Blogger Users:

Blogger handles redirects automatically for HTTP-to-HTTPS and blogspot.com-to-custom-domain transitions. However, errors can occur if the custom domain is misconfigured. Check your Blogger dashboard under Settings > Basic to ensure your custom domain is set up correctly and HTTPS is enabled.

3. Fix Common Redirect Error Causes

Once you’ve identified the cause, apply the appropriate fix. Here are solutions for the most common issues:

Fix Redirect Chains

Problem: Too many redirects in a sequence.
Solution:
- Simplify the redirect path to go directly from the original URL to the final destination (e.g., URL A → URL C instead of URL A → URL B → URL C).
- In your CMS (e.g., WordPress), go to the redirect settings or use a plugin like Yoast SEO or Redirection to update the redirect rules.
- For server-side redirects, edit your .htaccess file (Apache) or server configuration (e.g., Nginx). Example for .htaccess:
```
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^old-page$ /new-page [R=301,L]
```
- Use a crawler like Screaming Frog to verify that the chain is resolved.

Fix Redirect Loops

Problem: URLs redirecting to each other in a loop.
Solution:
- Identify the loop using a tool like httpstatus.io or Screaming Frog.
- Update the redirect rules in your CMS or server configuration to break the loop. For example, ensure URL A redirects to URL C and not back to URL A.
- Example for .htaccess:
```
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^/old-page$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ /new-page [R=301,L]
```
- Test the URL to confirm the loop is gone.

Fix Incorrect Redirect URLs

Problem: Redirects pointing to non-existent pages (e.g., 404 errors).
Solution:
- Check your CMS redirect settings or server configuration to ensure the destination URL exists and returns a 200 status code.
- Update the redirect to point to a valid page. For example, in WordPress, use a plugin like Redirection to correct the target URL.
- If the page no longer exists, consider redirecting to a relevant alternative or allowing a 404 error (if intentional).

Use the Correct Redirect Type

Problem: Using 302 redirects for permanent moves or vice versa.
Solution:
- Replace 302 redirects with 301 redirects for permanent changes to preserve SEO value.
- In your CMS, update the redirect type. For example, in WordPress with Yoast SEO, edit the redirect in the Redirects section.
- For server-side redirects, ensure the correct status code is used (e.g., R=301 for permanent redirects in .htaccess).

Fix Redirects to Error Pages

Problem: Redirects leading to 404 or 500 error pages.
Solution:
- Verify that the destination URL is accessible and returns a 200 status code.
- Update the redirect rule in your CMS or server configuration to point to a valid page.
- Use a tool like Screaming Frog to crawl your site and identify redirects to error pages.

Check Server and CMS Configurations

Problem: Misconfigured server settings or CMS issues.
Solution:
- For Apache servers, review your .htaccess file for incorrect redirect rules.
- For Nginx, check the server block configuration for redirect directives.
- In your CMS, ensure plugins or themes aren’t causing unintended redirects. For example, in WordPress, deactivate plugins temporarily to identify conflicts.
- Contact your hosting provider if you suspect server-level issues (e.g., SSL misconfiguration).

For Blogger Users:

Blogger redirect errors often arise from domain or HTTPS settings. To fix:
- Go to Settings > Basic in your Blogger dashboard.
- Ensure your custom domain is correctly set (e.g., www.yourdomain.com).
- Enable HTTPS and HTTPS Redirect to force all traffic to the secure version.
- If you recently changed domains, ensure the old blogspot.com URLs redirect to your custom domain. Blogger handles this automatically, but you can verify by testing the URLs.
- If errors persist, check for broken links in your posts or sidebar widgets pointing to old URLs.

4. Update Your XML Sitemap

Redirected URLs should not be included in your XML sitemap, as they can confuse Googlebot. To update your sitemap:

Ensure your sitemap only includes canonical URLs that return a 200 status code.
In GSC, go to Sitemaps and verify that your sitemap doesn’t list URLs with redirect errors.
For WordPress, use a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to generate an updated sitemap.
For Blogger:
- Blogger automatically generates a sitemap (e.g., yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml or yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml).
- Ensure your custom domain is correctly configured to avoid including old blogspot.com URLs.
- Submit the sitemap in GSC under Sitemaps > Add a new sitemap.

5. Validate the Fix in Google Search Console

After fixing the redirect errors, request Google to recrawl the affected URLs:

In GSC, go to the Page Indexing report and select the “Redirect error” issue.
Click Validate Fix. GSC will check a sample of the affected URLs to confirm the issue is resolved.
Monitor the validation status. If successful, the status will change to “Passing” or “Page with redirect” (indicating the redirect is working correctly).
Note that validation may take time, depending on Googlebot’s crawl schedule.

For Blogger Users:

If you’ve updated domain or HTTPS settings, use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing for key pages (e.g., your homepage or affected posts). Blogger’s automatic redirects should resolve most issues, but manual validation ensures Google picks up the changes.

6. Monitor and Prevent Future Errors

To avoid redirect errors in the future, adopt these best practices:

Regularly Audit Redirects:
- Use tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Ahrefs to crawl your site monthly and check for redirect chains, loops, or broken redirects.
- Review GSC’s Page Indexing report as part of your SEO checklist.
Use Permanent Redirects (301):
- Always use 301 redirects for permanent changes to maintain SEO value.
Minimize Redirects:
- Avoid unnecessary redirects to reduce crawl budget usage and improve page load times.
Test Redirects Before Implementation:
- Use tools like httpstatus.io or Redirect Checker to test redirects before submitting them to Google.
Maintain Consistent URL Structures:
- Ensure all URLs follow a consistent pattern (e.g., HTTPS, www or non-www, trailing slash or no trailing slash).
- For Blogger, stick to one domain version (e.g., www.yourdomain.com) and enable HTTPS redirects.
Monitor CMS and Server Settings:
- Regularly check your CMS plugins, themes, or server configurations for unintended redirects.
- For Blogger, keep your domain and HTTPS settings updated in the dashboard.
Use Redirect Management Tools:
- For WordPress, use plugins like Redirection or Yoast SEO.
- For other platforms, consider server-side redirect management or CMS-specific tools.

For Blogger Users:

Regularly check your blog’s links (e.g., in posts, widgets, or menus) to ensure they point to the correct domain and HTTPS version.
Avoid manual redirects in Blogger’s template unless absolutely necessary, as the platform handles most redirects automatically.

Tools to Help Fix Redirect Errors

The following tools can streamline the process of identifying and resolving redirect errors:

Google Search Console: Free tool to identify redirect errors and validate fixes.
Screaming Frog: SEO crawler to detect redirect chains, loops, and broken redirects.
Sitebulb: SEO auditing tool with visual reports for redirect issues.
httpstatus.io: Free tool to trace redirect paths and status codes.
Redirect Checker: Browser extension to analyze redirect types and destinations.
Ahrefs or SEMrush: Advanced tools for comprehensive site audits and redirect analysis.
Web Sniffer: Test redirects with Googlebot’s user agent to ensure compatibility.
Byte Check: Measure redirect speed to identify slow redirects.

Special Considerations for Blogger Users

Blogger’s simplicity makes it beginner-friendly, but its limited control over server-side configurations can complicate redirect management. Common redirect errors in Blogger include:

Domain Transition Issues: Moving from blogspot.com to a custom domain can leave old URLs in GSC, causing redirect errors. Ensure all redirects point to the new domain.
HTTP-to-HTTPS Errors: If HTTPS is not enabled, non-secure URLs may trigger redirect errors. Enable HTTPS in Settings > Basic and force HTTPS redirects.
Broken Links in Content: Old links in posts or widgets pointing to blogspot.com or HTTP URLs can cause errors. Update these manually in the Blogger editor.

To fix redirect errors in Blogger:

Verify your custom domain and HTTPS settings in the Blogger dashboard.
Use GSC’s URL Inspection tool to check affected URLs and request indexing.
Update internal links in posts, pages, and widgets to use the correct domain and HTTPS.
Submit your sitemap (yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) in GSC to ensure Google crawls the correct URLs.
If errors persist, check for template issues by reverting to a default Blogger theme temporarily.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring Redirect Errors: Even if some errors seem harmless, they can waste crawl budget and harm SEO.
Using Temporary Redirects for Permanent Moves: Always use 301 redirects for permanent changes.
Not Updating Sitemaps: Including redirected URLs in your sitemap can confuse Googlebot.
Overlooking Broken Links: Links to old or incorrect URLs can trigger redirect errors.
Not Testing Redirects: Always verify redirects before submitting to Google.

Conclusion

Fixing redirect errors in Google Search Console is a critical step in maintaining a healthy, SEO-friendly website. By identifying affected URLs, diagnosing the cause (e.g., chains, loops, incorrect URLs), and applying targeted fixes, you can ensure Googlebot crawls and indexes your pages correctly. For Blogger users, focus on domain and HTTPS settings, update internal links, and leverage GSC’s tools to resolve errors. Regular audits, proper redirect types, and a clean sitemap will help prevent future issues. Use tools like Screaming Frog, httpstatus.io, and GSC to streamline the process, and monitor your site’s health to keep your SEO performance on track.

Start tackling those redirect errors today to boost your site’s visibility and provide a seamless experience for users and search engines alike

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