Good vs. Bad Redirects: Best Practices for SEO and UX

Redirects are essential tools in web development and SEO. They help guide users and search engines from outdated or changed URLs to relevant, live pages. But while good redirects can preserve SEO value and improve user experience, bad redirects can tank rankings, confuse crawlers, and even break your site.

In this post, we’ll cover:

• The difference between good and bad redirects
• Examples of each
• Best practices to avoid redirect loops and chains

🟢 What Is a Good Redirect?

A good redirect sends users and search engines from one URL to another in a clear, logical, and efficient way — typically using a 301 (permanent) or 302 (temporary) status code.

✅ Examples of Good Redirects

1. HTTP to HTTPS

Why it’s good: Improves security, essential for modern web standards

http://example.com → https://example.com (301)

2. Old URL to New URL (Post Migration)

Why it’s good: Preserves SEO value during site restructuring

https://example.com/old-page → https://example.com/new-page (301)

3. Non-WWW to WWW (or vice versa)

Why it’s good: Canonicalizes URLs for better SEO consistency

http://example.com → http://www.example.com (301)

4. Redirecting Deleted Content to Closest Match

Why it’s good: Prevents 404s and improves user experience

https://example.com/outdated-product → https://example.com/new-product (301)

5. Temporary Maintenance or A/B Testing

Why it’s good: Useful for short-term rerouting (use 302 or 307)

https://example.com → https://example.com/maintenance (302)

🔴 What Is a Bad Redirect?

A bad redirect causes confusion, traps users or bots in loops, or results in SEO issues like lost rankings, duplicate content, or crawl inefficiencies.

❌ Examples of Bad Redirects

1. Redirect Loops

Page A (301) → Page B  
Page B (301) → Page A  
Result: A → B → A → B → ...
  

2. Circular Redirect Chain

Page A (301) → Page B  
Page B (301) → Page C  
Page C (301) → Page A  
Result: A → B → C → A → ...
  

3. Self-Redirects

Page A (301) → Page A  
Result: A → A → A → ...
  

4. Mobile/Desktop Redirect Loop

Desktop version (301) → Mobile version  
Mobile version (301) → Desktop version  
Result: Infinite redirect switching based on user agent
  

5. Parameter-Based Loop

Page A (301) → Page A?ref=abc  
Page A?ref=abc (301) → Page A  
Result: Looping variant URLs
  

6. HTTP to HTTPS Loop

HTTP (301) → HTTPS  
HTTPS (301) → HTTP  
Result: Security downgrade + loop
  

7. Trailing Slash Redirect Loop

Page A/ (301) → Page A  
Page A (301) → Page A/  
Result: / → no-slash → / → ...
  

🚧 Why Bad Redirects Hurt SEO

• Wastes crawl budget — Bots may never reach your actual content
• Breaks user sessions — Users see endless loading or browser errors
• Hurts page rankings — Redirect chains dilute link equity (PageRank)
• Creates duplicate content — Search engines may index both versions

🛠️ Best Practices for Redirects

• ✅ Use 301 for permanent redirects
• ✅ Avoid chains (A → B → C) — go direct (A → C)
• ✅ Limit the number of redirects per page (ideally 1)
• ✅ Use consistent URL structure (trailing slash, lowercase, HTTPS)
• ✅ Audit redirects regularly with tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs

🔍 Tools to Test and Monitor Redirects

• HTTP Status Code Checker
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider
• Ahrefs Site Audit
• Google Search Console → Coverage Report
• Redirect Path (Chrome Extension)

Redirects are powerful — but with great power comes great responsibility. Clean, efficient redirects protect your site’s authority and ensure a smooth experience for users and search engines alike. Avoid loops, chains, and redirect traps by following the best practices outlined above.

Need help auditing your site’s redirects? Drop a comment or contact me!