'Page with Redirect' in Search Console: Is It a Problem?

“Page with redirect” in Google Search Console usually means exactly what it says — the URL redirects somewhere else, so Google indexed the destination instead of this URL. Most of the time it’s normal, expected, and nothing to fix. People panic because it appears under “Why pages aren’t indexed,” but a redirecting URL shouldn’t be indexed — its destination should. Here’s when it’s fine and the rare cases when it isn’t.

What “Page with redirect” means

When Google crawls a URL and finds it redirects to a different URL, it marks the original as “Page with redirect” and excludes it from the index — because the original isn’t the final destination. Google follows the redirect and indexes the target URL instead. So this status is Google telling you: “This URL points somewhere else, so I indexed the somewhere-else.”

That’s the correct behavior for a redirect. The status is descriptive, not an error.

When it’s completely normal (most of the time)

You should expect this status for every URL that legitimately redirects, including:

• HTTP → HTTPS redirects (every http:// version of your pages).
• non-www → www (or the reverse) — whichever you don’t use redirects to the one you do.
• Trailing-slash normalization and other canonical-URL redirects.
• Old URLs you 301’d to new ones after a move or restructure.
• Uppercase/lowercase or parameter normalization.

In all of these, the redirect is doing its job and the right (destination) page is indexed. Leave it alone. A big count here on a site with lots of legacy or protocol redirects is expected, not a warning.

When “Page with redirect” IS worth investigating

Only act when the redirect is unexpected or broken:

• Redirect chains (A → B → C). These waste crawl budget and dilute signals — collapse them to a single hop (A → C).
• Redirect loops (A → B → A). These break the page entirely; fix immediately.
• A page you want indexed showing up here. That means it’s redirecting when it shouldn’t — find and remove the accidental redirect (a stray rule, a plugin, a misconfigured canonical-to-redirect).
• Internal links pointing at redirecting URLs. Not an error, but update important internal links to point straight at the destination so Google and users skip the extra hop.
• Redirects to irrelevant pages (e.g. everything dumped on the homepage), which can also read as a soft 404.

How to check which case you’re in

In Search Console: Indexing → Pages → “Page with redirect.” Export the list and spot-check a few URLs with the URL Inspection tool or by loading them — confirm each redirects where you’d expect. If they all resolve to the right destinations, you’re done; this is housekeeping, not a fire. If some redirect somewhere wrong, or you find chains and loops, fix those specific ones.

The bottom line

“Page with redirect” is usually Google confirming your redirects work — the original URL is excluded and its destination is indexed, exactly as it should be. Don’t try to “fix” normal protocol, www, or 301 redirects. Only intervene for chains, loops, accidental redirects on pages you want indexed, or redirects sending users somewhere irrelevant. If you’re untangling several indexing statuses at once, the difference between crawling and indexing in noindex vs robots.txt disallow clears up half of them.

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Frequently asked questions

What does "Page with redirect" mean in Google Search Console?

It means the URL redirects to a different URL, so Google excluded the original from the index and indexed the destination instead. It is descriptive, not an error — a redirecting URL is not supposed to be indexed; its target is.

Is "Page with redirect" a problem?

Usually not. It is normal and expected for HTTP-to-HTTPS, www/non-www, trailing-slash, and 301 redirects — the redirect is working and the correct page is indexed. It only needs attention if you find redirect chains, loops, accidental redirects on pages you want indexed, or redirects to irrelevant pages.

How do I fix the "Page with redirect" status?

For normal redirects, you do not — leave them. Only fix problems: collapse redirect chains to a single hop, break redirect loops, remove accidental redirects from pages that should be indexed, and update internal links to point directly at the final destination.

Should redirecting pages be indexed?

No. A URL that redirects should not be indexed — its destination URL should be. That is why Google marks redirecting URLs as "Page with redirect" and excludes them; the status confirms the redirect is being followed correctly.