Why a quick look in the browser isn't enough
Picture an online store in Tashkent that changed its domain and rebuilt its catalogue. Someone opens three old links, sees the new pages and closes the task. A month later it turns out that some URLs return a temporary 302, some pass through three hops, and pages for discontinued products all land on the homepage. The browser hides this. The visitor sees the final page, while the status code and the steps in between stay out of sight.
Search engines behave differently. A bot reads the status code and the Location header, then decides whether to pass the old page's value to the new one and which address to keep in its index. That is why redirects need checking after a migration, a redesign, a URL structure change, a move to https, or when merging www and non-www versions. Old links also live in your Instagram bio, Telegram channels, OLX and Uzum listings and ad campaigns, and losing them is costly.
What to verify for every redirect
For each old URL, you need clear answers to five questions. If any answer is no, the redirect needs work.
- Status code: 301 or 308 when the move is permanent; 302 and 307 signal a temporary one.
- Destination: the new page should match the old one in meaning, not merely exist.
- Number of hops: ideally one step from the old URL to the final one.
- Final response: the destination returns 200, not 404 or 500.
- No loops, where URLs keep sending visitors back to each other.
- Path and parameters preserved when they should be, for example UTM tags from your ads.
Four ways to check 301 redirects, from one URL to hundreds
Browser developer tools. Press F12, open the Network tab, enable log preservation and enter the old URL. The first row shows the status code and the Location header; several redirect rows in a row mean a chain. Browsers cache 301 responses, so repeat tests in an incognito window or with the cache disabled.
Command line. A curl request that prints headers shows the code and destination without browser caching, and the follow-redirects option prints the whole chain. A list of URLs is easy to run through a short script.
Online checkers. You paste a URL and see every step with its code, which is handy for showing a contractor or a manager. Yandex Webmaster also has a server response tool that shows what Yandex's bot receives.
A crawler in list mode. When redirects number in the hundreds, load the old URLs from the previous sitemap, a Search Console export or analytics. The report lists the code, final URL and chain length for each. Filter for 302s, chains of two or more hops, URLs ending in 404 or 500, and URLs that point to the homepage instead of a matching page.
Common errors and where they come from
Problems rarely come from a single bad rule. More often, rules written at different times by different people pile up on top of each other.
- Chains: first the site moved to https, then the URL structure changed, then the domain, and the rules stacked. Rewrite them so each old URL goes straight to the final one.
- Loops: the CMS adds a trailing slash and the server strips it. The browser reports too many redirects.
- Everything to the homepage: a blanket rule for deleted pages. Google may treat this as a soft 404.
- Wrong code: a plugin or website builder sets a temporary redirect by default.
- Redirects that work only for the version with a trailing slash, or only without it.
Internal links and the search engine view
Even a correct 301 is no reason to leave old URLs in your menu, banners and internal links. A crawler will list every internal link that returns a 301, so replace them with the new addresses. Bots spend fewer requests and pages load a little faster.
Then compare with the search engines. In Search Console, URL Inspection shows which canonical address Google chose, and the "Page with redirect" status in the indexing report is not an error but a sign the redirect was recognised. In Yandex Webmaster, compare the code the bot sees with what your own tests returned.
Documenting results and knowing when to re-check
Put everything in a table: old URL, expected new URL, actual final URL, status code, number of hops, status and the person responsible for the fix. It is easy to hand to a developer, and after fixes you run the same list again and compare. Keep the old-to-new mapping table, because you will need it for the next site change.
Check right after launch, again a few days later, after CMS updates, hosting changes or server configuration changes, and whenever traffic to a group of pages drops without explanation. Redirect rules can quietly vanish when a plugin is disabled.
Where to start
If your site is about to move, or traffic fell after an update, begin by exporting the old URLs and running them through a crawler in list mode. That gives you a clear picture quickly. markdev provides SEO optimisation in Uzbekistan, including redirect audits and mapping tables. Tell us about your situation and we will work out what to check first.
FAQ
What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
A 301 says the page has moved permanently, so search engines transfer the old page's value to the new address. A 302 is temporary, which means the old URL may stay in the index. For migrations and URL changes, use 301 or 308.
Why does my browser still show the old result after I fixed a redirect?
Browsers cache 301 responses. Test again in an incognito window, with the cache disabled in the Network tab, or with curl, which doesn't use the browser cache.
Can I redirect all deleted pages to the homepage?
Avoid doing it in bulk. Google may treat it as a soft 404. Redirect to the closest matching page, and if there is no replacement, return 404 or 410.
How do I check hundreds of redirects at once?
Load the list of old URLs into a crawler in list mode. The report shows the code, final URL and number of hops for each one. Then filter for 302s, chains, and URLs ending in errors or on the homepage.
Let’s look at your task for free
Leave your contact — in a 15-minute call we’ll show where leads get lost and what to fix first.