Fix Redirects in Google Search Console

When auditing your Page Indexing report, you will likely encounter URLs excluded under the "Page with redirect" status. While this sounds like an error, it is actually Google Search Console functioning exactly as it should.

​When Googlebot tries to crawl a specific URL and encounters a redirect (like a 301 or 302), it follows the new path to the final destination. To avoid cluttering the search results, Google excludes the original, redirected URL from its index. However, if your active, important pages are getting flagged with this status, you have a structural problem on your website that needs to be resolved.

​Here is why this happens and how to clean up your link structure for better SEO.

​Key Takeaways

• ​This status means Googlebot hit a detour sign and forwarded to a different URL.
• ​Google will not index the original URL because the content now lives elsewhere.
• ​The most common cause is linking to old, outdated URLs within your own blog posts.
• ​Fixing this requires updating your internal links to point directly to the final destination.

​Why This Status Appears

​When you delete a page or change a URL, setting up a 301 redirect is the correct SEO best practice.

​However, the "Page with redirect" status starts piling up when you forget to update the existing links on your website. If Blog Post A links to Blog Post B, but Blog Post B was redirected to Blog Post C, you force Googlebot to run through a maze just to find your content.

​Quick Note: Forcing search engines through unnecessary redirects wastes their time. To understand why this slows down your website's indexing, read our guide on [what crawl budget is and how to optimize it. 

​How to Fix Redirect Issues

​To resolve this and keep your technical SEO perfectly clean, you need to ensure Googlebot can reach your final pages in a single, direct hop.

​1. Update Your Internal Links

​The best way to fix this is to eliminate the middleman. Go into your Google Search Console report and click on the "Page with redirect" error. Look at the specific URLs listed. Find where those old links are embedded inside your existing blog posts, and manually edit them to point to the new, final URL.

​2. Break Redirect Chains

​Sometimes, a URL redirects to another URL, which redirects to a third URL. This is called a redirect chain, and search engines hate them. Ensure that any old links point directly to the final, live destination without bouncing through multiple pages first.

​Important Detail: If you are dealing with identical content rather than moved content, a redirect might not be the right choice. Learn more in our tutorial on using [canonical tags to fix duplicate content for SEO. 

​3. Validate the Fix

​Once you have updated your internal links so they point directly to the active pages, you want search engines to crawl those pages again to see the clean, updated paths.

​Next Steps: Don't wait for the crawler to find these updates naturally. Follow our exact blueprint on [how to reindex a page fast in Google. to force an update.

​Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)

​Does a redirect error hurt SEO?

Having redirected URLs does not trigger a manual penalty. However, excessive redirects slow down page loading times and dilute the SEO authority passed between your internal pages.

​Should I remove redirects from my site?

No. If an old page has backlinks pointing to it from other websites, you absolutely need to keep the 301 redirect active so you do not lose that traffic. You only need to fix the internal links that you control within your own Blogger dashboard.

​How long does it take GSC to update?

Once you update your internal links and click "Validate Fix" in your dashboard, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for the reporting dashboard to reflect your changes.