Identifying the types of redirect chains and loops you can use on your website is the first step to improving your search engine rankings and conversion rates. Whether you are looking to redirect your visitors to a different page on your site or to redirect users to a temporary offer, sales, or landing page, you need to know the types of redirect chains and loops you can use to accomplish this goal.

Server-side redirects

Whether new to SEO or have worked on your website for years, you should understand how to identify and avoid redirect chains and loops. These issues can harm your website’s search engine rankings and user engagement. However, identifying these problems manually is difficult, so consider using a third-party tool.

A redirect loop occurs when a back follows a sequence of redirects to the beginning of the redirect chain. This results in the user being unable to access a page they were trying to reach. This may also cause errors on the website.

The most common types of redirects are 301 and 302 redirects. These are HTTP 1.1 versions that redirect users to another URL. However, these are not the only types of redirects. There are also 307 and 308 redirects. These are less common but have a few advantages over 301s and 302s.

Typically, redirects move users away from content that is no longer relevant. In addition, a redirect can help prevent URL issues, such as 404 error pages. When used correctly, redirects can also provide users with a better user experience and ensure SEO.

Temporary offers, sales, or landing pages

Any user-friendly website must use redirects to guide the visitor’s journey. These are excellent ways to retain link equity and keep content accessible. For instance, if a store sells red dresses but doesn’t have a page dedicated to them, they can redirect visitors to the top-level dress category. However, the most effective redirects should be tailored to the specific site and user.

For instance, a redesign might require redirecting visitors to a new landing page. You can also use a redirect to redirect users to a secure HTTPS page. A redirect to a secure HTTPS page can help to improve your site’s SEO ranking.

Using a redirect is not just for the sake of being fancy; it can also help to reduce a page’s load time. For example, a redirect is a good way to get around a 404 page not found error. It can also be an excellent way to eliminate duplicate pages, which can confuse bots.

An excellent way to determine whether your site has a redirect chain is to perform a site audit. A site audit can be done manually, but you can use a tool like Semrush to achieve the same test.

Problems with redirect chains and loops

Having a redirect chain or loop can be an inconvenience. They can frustrate users, slow your website, and hurt your search engine rankings. The good news is that fixing redirect chains and loops is quick and easy.

The first step in fixing redirect chains and loops is to clear your cookies. This is because cookies help your website load faster. The next step is to look at your redirects. This may mean deleting some old ones and redirecting them.

The Screaming Frog website crawler has a tool to identify redirect chains and loops. The device can also allow you to export the data in spreadsheet formats. In addition, you can see the chain’s source and where the redirects came from.

A redirect chain is the chain of redirects that comes before and after the final URL on your website. Usually, a redirect chain is made up of three or more redirects, although this can vary depending on the size and nature of your website.

A professional SEO audit can help you find and fix redirect chains. You can also flag them on your own. This will allow you to monitor them and see where they are coming from and how long they are.

Referrer masking

Redirection services can hide the referrer by placing an intermediate page between the page the link is on and its destination. Although these are conceptually similar to other URL redirection services, they serve a different purpose and rarely attempt to shorten or obfuscate the destination URL (as their only intended side-effect is to hide referrer information and provide a transparent gateway between other websites.) This redirection is often used to prevent potentially-malicious links from gaining knowledge using the referrer, for example, a session ID in the query string. Many prominent community websites use link redirection on external links to lessen the chance of an exploit that could be used to steal account information and make it clear when a user leaves service to reduce the possibility of effective phishing.