A redirect chain happens when a link sends visitors through two or more stops before reaching the final page. For example, /old-page points to /newer-page, which then points to /final-page. Each stop is a separate hop the browser has to follow before anything loads.
Why it matters
Every extra hop adds a small delay for the visitor and a little wasted effort for search engines, which pass along slightly less ranking value with each step. On slow connections, especially mobile, several chained redirects can make a page feel sluggish before it even appears.
How to fix it
The goal is to point each redirect straight at the final destination, so there is only ever one hop. Find the intermediate steps and update the first redirect to skip them.
WordPress
If you use a plugin like Redirection or Rank Math, open your list of redirects and look for any source whose target is itself another redirect. Edit the first rule so its destination is the final URL.
/old-page → /final-page
Nginx
Update the return or rewrite so it points at the end destination, not an intermediate one.
location = /old-page {
return 301 https://example.com/final-page;
}
Apache
In your .htaccess file, set the target to the final URL.
Redirect 301 /old-page https://example.com/final-page
Cloudflare
Under Rules → Redirect Rules (or Page Rules), edit the rule so the target URL is the final page rather than one that redirects again.
How to check it worked
Visit the original link and confirm it lands on the final page in a single step, or use your browser's developer tools (Network tab) to see that only one redirect (301/302) occurs.