norahe0304-art/30x-seo/30x-seo-redirects

Redirect Audit

What This Skill Does

Analyzes website redirects to find problems that hurt SEO and user experience.

Why Redirects Matter

• Every redirect = delay: 301 redirects add 100-500ms latency
• Chains lose link equity: Google follows max ~5 hops, then stops
• Wrong type = lost ranking: 302 (temporary) doesn't pass full link juice
• Loops = crawl waste: Googlebot hits loop, gives up, page not indexed

Check Categories

1. Redirect Chains

A redirect pointing to another redirect, pointing to another...

BAD:  /old → /old-2 → /old-3 → /final  (3 hops, slow, loses equity)
GOOD: /old → /final                     (1 hop, fast, full equity)

Rule: Maximum 1 redirect hop. More than 1 = fix immediately.

2. Redirect Loops

Page A redirects to B, B redirects back to A. Infinite loop.

BAD:  /page-a → /page-b → /page-a  (loop!)

Detection: Follow redirects up to 10 hops. If same URL appears twice = loop.

3. Redirect Type Audit

Rule: Permanent moves must use 301 or 308. Using 302 for permanent = error.

4. Protocol Issues

BAD:  https://site.com → http://site.com  (downgrade, security warning)
BAD:  http → https → http                 (mixed, confusing)
GOOD: http://site.com → https://site.com  (upgrade, correct)

5. Domain Consistency

BAD:  www.site.com → site.com → www.site.com  (inconsistent)
GOOD: Pick ONE (www or non-www) and redirect all others to it

6. Trailing Slash Consistency

BAD:  /page → /page/ → /page  (loop risk)
GOOD: Pick ONE pattern (/page or /page/) and redirect all others

7. Post-Migration Orphans

After site migration/redesign:

• Old URLs that redirect to 404 or homepage (should go to equivalent new page)
• Important pages with no redirect (losing all link equity)

8. Soft 404s via Redirect

Redirecting deleted pages to homepage = soft 404 penalty risk.

BAD:  /deleted-product → /  (Google sees this as soft 404)
GOOD: /deleted-product → 410 Gone (or related category page)

How to Run Audit

Method 1: Crawl-based (recommended)

Use squirrel audit or similar crawler to:

1. Crawl entire site
2. Follow all internal links
3. Record redirect chains

Method 2: Log-based (for large sites)

Analyze server access logs for:

• All 301/302 responses
• Most-hit redirect URLs
• External referrers hitting redirects

Method 3: URL list

If you have a list of old URLs (from migration):

1. Check each URL
2. Record final destination
3. Flag chains, loops, 404s

Output Format

Redirect Health Score: XX/100

Critical Issues (Fix Immediately)

High Priority (Fix This Week)

Medium Priority (Fix This Month)

Redirect Map

Top 20 most-accessed redirects and their chains:

Recommendations

1. [Specific fix instructions based on findings]

[PROTOCOL]: Update this header on changes, then check CLAUDE.md