Every extra redirect costs a browser request, a crawl budget slot, and a small amount of link equity. Two hops is fine. Five hops is a hidden performance problem you can only see with a trace.
This tool follows each hop manually so you can see the status code the server returned, how long it took, and whether the chain terminates with 200 OK on a single canonical HTTPS URL.
Where this tool actually helps
Post-migration cleanup
After a site rebuild, check your top 10 URLs. Any old URL still routing through 2+ 301s should be collapsed to a single hop.
Debugging "page not indexed"
If GSC reports a URL as "Redirect error", trace it here. A loop or mixed HTTP/HTTPS chain shows up immediately.
Audit competitor URL structure
See how a competitor handles their canonical URLs. Long chains hint at technical debt worth exploiting in your own SEO.
How to read the result
301 and 308 are permanent — Google passes link equity. 302 and 307 are temporary — treat as a bug unless truly temporary.
Aim for one hop and a final 200. Two is acceptable. Three or more warrants a fix.
Common mistakes we see
- Chaining redirects instead of updating internal links to the final URL. Update the links.
- Using 302 for a permanent move. Google won't forward authority on a 302.
- Redirecting HTTPS back to HTTP. Never intentional; always a config error.
FAQs
- How many hops does the tool follow?
- Up to 10. If a chain exceeds 10, that's a bug — humans and crawlers will bail out too.
- Does it obey robots.txt?
- No. It sends a labeled User-Agent and issues one GET per hop, exactly like a browser.
- Why is my status 0?
- The server refused the connection, the request timed out, or DNS failed. The message column shows why.
A note from Nimitt
A tool gives you a number. A person tells you what to do with it. If you want a straight answer on your site, send it over. I read every one myself.