Page with Redirect Failed

Page with redirect” Failed in Google Search Console (likely in the Page Indexing report under “Excluded” or “Not indexed”) is a common status. It usually means Googlebot tried to crawl a URL on your site, but it encountered a redirect (like a 301 or 302) to another page, so Google doesn’t index the original URL. This prevents duplicate content in search results.

This status is often not an error — it’s expected behavior for:

  • Old URLs redirected to new ones (e.g., after a site migration, URL changes, or removing trailing slashes).
  • HTTP → HTTPS redirects.
  • Non-www → www (or vice versa) canonical redirects.
  • Old pages you intentionally 301-redirected.

Google excludes these redirected URLs from indexing on purpose.

When It’s Actually a Problem (“Failed” or Validation Failed)

If you’re seeing validation failed after trying to fix/validate, or if it’s labeled as a “redirect error” (slightly different but related), it could indicate issues like:

  • Redirect loops (A → B → A).
  • Redirect chains that are too long (e.g., more than 5 hops — Google prefers short chains, ideally 1 step).
  • Broken redirects (target URL returns 404 or is inaccessible).
  • Redirect to an invalid/empty URL.
  • Inconsistent behavior (works in browser but not for Googlebot, perhaps due to user-agent detection or server rules).
  • Trailing slash mismatches (e.g., /page vs /page/) causing unnecessary redirects.

  • How to Check and Fix It

    1. Go to Google Search Console > Indexing > Pages report.
      • Look under “Excluded” for “Page with redirect”.
      • Click it to see the list of affected URLs.
    2. Use the URL Inspection tool:
      • Enter one affected URL.
      • Click “Test Live URL” — see what redirect happens, status code, and final URL.
      • Check if Google sees the same redirect as your browser.
    3. Test redirects externally:
      • Use free tools like httpstatus.io, redirect-checker.org, or wheregoes.com to trace the full chain.
      • Check for loops, too many hops, or broken targets.
    4. Common fixes:
      • If intentional and working correctly → usually safe to ignore (no action needed; Google handles it fine for SEO/link equity).
      • Fix chains/loops → Update .htaccess, server config, WordPress/.htaccess plugins (like Redirection, Yoast, Rank Math), or hosting rules to point directly to the final URL.
      • Trailing slash issue → Ensure consistent URL structure (decide on / or no /) and fix internal links/redirects.
      • Update sitemap → Submit only final/canonical URLs (200 OK status), not redirected ones.
      • After fixes → Click “Validate fix” in GSC for the issue group. Google rechecks (takes days to weeks).

    If many pages are affected (e.g., from a recent site change), it’s common — validation often passes once Google recrawls properly.

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