What it is
A redirect loop is a dead end. The URL never resolves, so neither users nor crawlers ever reach content, and the page is effectively gone. Redirects cycle endlessly. The page is unreachable, so it cannot be indexed or served. Fix the loop logic.
Why does redirect loop matter for AI search?
The page is unreachable, so it cannot be indexed or served.
How do you fix it?
Fix the loop logic.
How do you find it on your site?
- Run curl -IL on the URL and watch for a cycle that never reaches 200.
- Crawl the site, which will flag URLs that exceed the redirect limit.
- Identify the conflicting rules, often a mix of server, CDN and application redirects.
- Fix the rules so the URL terminates at a single 200 response.
Which ranking and citation factors does it touch?
A looping URL cannot be crawled, indexed, ranked or cited. This is a hard blocker that I fix immediately.
What is the impact?
Severe/blocking for the URL. Direct.
What is the evidence?
Loops make a URL uncrawlable. Google Search Central, Redirects and Google Search; Google Search Central, How HTTP status codes affect Google Search
Sources
Frequently asked questions about redirect loop
What does "Redirect loop" mean?
Redirects cycle endlessly.
How do you fix redirect loop?
Fix the loop logic.