The “Page with redirect” status in Google Search Console indicates that a URL you submitted or that Google discovered redirects to a different URL. While redirects are a normal part of website management, understanding this report helps you identify issues that waste crawl budget, slow page loads, or leak link authority.
What Does “Page with Redirect” Mean?
When Google crawls a URL and encounters a redirect (301, 302, 307, or meta refresh), it follows the redirect to the destination URL. The original URL is reported as “Page with redirect” in the Index Coverage report. This is not an error — it is an informational status. However, excessive or misconfigured redirects can create SEO problems.
Types of Redirects and Their SEO Impact
| Type | Status Code | SEO Impact | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent | 301 | Passes most link equity to destination | URL permanently moved (site migration, slug change) |
| Temporary | 302 | Original URL retained in index; limited equity transfer | Temporary content changes, A/B tests |
| Temporary | 307 | Same as 302 but method-preserving | Temporary HTTPS enforcement or API redirects |
| Meta refresh | N/A | Slower, not recommended for SEO | Avoid when possible — use server-side redirects instead |
Common Redirect Issues
Redirect Chains
A redirect chain occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects to URL C (or longer). Each hop in the chain wastes crawl budget, adds latency, and dilutes link equity.
- How to identify: Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit to detect chains
- How to fix: Update all redirects to point directly to the final destination URL
Redirect Loops
A redirect loop occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which redirects back to URL A. This creates an infinite loop that prevents Google from indexing either page.
- How to identify: Search Console will show crawl errors; browser will display “too many redirects” error
- How to fix: Audit your redirect rules to eliminate circular references
Redirecting to Irrelevant Content
Redirecting a page about topic A to a page about topic B provides a poor user experience and wastes the original page’s link equity. Google may treat this as a soft 404.
- Best practice: Redirect pages to the most relevant alternative content, or return a 410 (Gone) status if no relevant page exists
Using 302 Instead of 301
A common mistake is using 302 (temporary) redirects for permanent URL changes. This signals to Google that the original URL should remain in the index, preventing proper consolidation of link signals.
- How to identify: Check redirect status codes with Screaming Frog or browser developer tools
- How to fix: Change 302 redirects to 301 for permanent moves
How to Audit Your Redirects in Search Console
- Navigate to Google Search Console → Pages (Index Coverage)
- Check the “Not indexed” section for “Page with redirect” entries
- Review the listed URLs to understand which pages are redirecting
- Click individual URLs to see the redirect destination
- Assess whether each redirect is intentional and properly configured
Crawl Budget Impact
Every redirect Google follows consumes crawl budget. For small sites this is rarely an issue, but for large sites with thousands of pages:
- Minimize unnecessary redirects — update internal links to point to final URLs
- Eliminate redirect chains — each chain multiplies crawl budget waste
- Remove redirect URLs from your XML sitemap — only include final destination URLs
- Monitor crawl stats in Search Console to detect crawl budget issues
Link Equity and Redirects
301 redirects pass most (but not 100%) of link equity to the destination URL. To maximize link value:
- Use 301 redirects for all permanent URL changes
- Update internal links to point to the final URL directly — do not rely on redirects for internal linking
- Reach out to external sites linking to your old URLs and request they update to the new URL
- Keep redirects in place indefinitely for URLs with significant external backlinks
When Redirects Are Expected
Not all “Page with redirect” entries need fixing. Expected scenarios include:
- HTTP to HTTPS redirects (standard security practice)
- Non-www to www redirects (or vice versa) for domain canonicalization
- Old URLs from a site migration with proper 301 redirects to new URLs
- Trailing slash normalization redirects
Focus your fix efforts on redirect chains, loops, and redirects to irrelevant content.