Free tool by Kunal Dabi — Google Certified SEO Expert in India

HTTP Status Code Checker — Free URL Status & Redirect Chain Analyzer

Verify HTTP status codes for any URL, trace complete redirect chains, inspect SEO-critical response headers, and bulk-check up to 10,000 URLs — including import from XML sitemaps. Used by technical SEOs, developers, and marketers. 100% free, no sign-up required.

  • 100% Free
  • No sign-up
  • Sitemap import
  • Redirect chain tracer
  • Bulk URL checker
  • Header inspector
  • Multi user-agent
  • 429 rate-limit handling
10,000
URLs per bulk check
20
Redirect hops traced
4
User agents tested
0s
Setup time

Enter a URL to get its HTTP status code, response time, and SEO note. Test as Googlebot to see what search engines receive.

Enter a URL above and click Check to get status code, response time, and SEO notes.

Paste up to 10,000 URLs or import from sitemaps. Results stream in real time. Use 500ms delay for large single-domain scans (2500+ URLs tested).

Load URLs from Sitemap(s) Optional ▼

Enter one or more sitemap URLs. We'll fetch them, extract all page URLs, and load them into the checker below. Supports XML sitemaps and sitemap index files.

Paste URLs manually, or use the sitemap loader above to import them automatically.

Paste URLs above (or import from sitemap) and click Check to scan up to 10,000 URLs.

Trace every redirect hop from URL to final destination. Detects redirect loops and chains. Keep chains to 1 hop for SEO.

Enter a URL and click Trace to follow the redirect chain.

See all HTTP response headers including X-Robots-Tag, Location, Cache-Control, canonical Link, and SEO-critical headers.

Enter a URL and click Inspect to view response headers.

Check the same URL with Googlebot, Bingbot, Chrome, and Safari — detect cloaking or different responses per user agent.

Enter a URL and click Compare to see how different user agents get different responses.

What is an HTTP status code?

Every time a browser or search engine bot requests a URL, the web server responds with a 3-digit HTTP status code. This code tells the requester what happened: was the page found (200 OK), moved permanently (301), not found (404), or did the server crash (500)?

HTTP status codes are foundational to both web infrastructure and SEO. Google's Googlebot reads these codes to decide whether to index a page, remove it from search results, or follow a redirect. Crawl budget — the finite number of pages Googlebot will crawl per site — is wasted on 404s, broken redirect chains, and slow responses. Getting status codes right is one of the most impactful technical SEO tasks.

Key HTTP status codes at a glance

Quick reference for the most common status codes you will encounter when checking URLs — with SEO implications.

200OKPage is live and indexable. Ideal for all content you want in search results.
301Moved PermanentlyPermanent redirect — PageRank passes to destination. Use for URL changes, domain moves, canonical consolidation.
302Found (Temporary)Temporary redirect — PageRank may not pass. Avoid for permanent moves; use 301 instead.
403ForbiddenServer refuses access. Check robots.txt, IP blocks, authentication. Googlebot cannot index.
404Not FoundPage does not exist. Wastes crawl budget. Fix or redirect to relevant content.
410GonePermanently removed. Signals immediate deindex. Prefer over 404 for intentionally deleted content.
429Too Many RequestsRate limiting — you sent too many requests. Add delay between requests per domain.
500Internal Server ErrorServer crashed. Googlebot retries but may reduce crawl rate. Fix urgently.
503Service UnavailableTemporary unavailability. Use Retry-After header during maintenance so Googlebot waits.

What this tool checks

HTTP Status Code

Get the exact status code returned by the server — 200, 301, 404, 500 and everything in between, with full description and SEO implications.

Redirect Chain Tracer

Follow every hop in a redirect chain — 301→302→200 — to detect redirect chains, loops, and unnecessary hops that dilute PageRank.

Bulk URL Checker

Paste up to 10,000 URLs or import from XML sitemaps. Check all in parallel with per-domain rate limiting. Results stream in real time with SEO notes — export to CSV.

Response Header Inspector

See all HTTP response headers including X-Robots-Tag, Cache-Control, Canonical, Strict-Transport-Security, and other SEO-critical headers.

User Agent Comparison

Check the same URL as Googlebot, Bingbot, Chrome desktop, and mobile Safari simultaneously to spot cloaking or agent-specific responses.

Response Time Measurement

Measure actual server response time in milliseconds for every URL checked. Slow responses hurt crawl rate and rankings.

HTTP Status Code Reference

Complete guide to HTTP status codes, their meanings, and SEO implications — sorted by category.

Loading status codes…

Why HTTP status codes matter for SEO

Crawl budget — the finite number of pages Googlebot will crawl per site — is influenced by status codes. 404s, long redirect chains, and slow responses waste crawl budget. 200, 301, and 410 (for removed content) help preserve it.

301 Redirects Pass PageRank to the destination. Use for all permanent moves to preserve rankings. Consolidate chains to 1 hop.
404 Errors Waste crawl budget and may signal poor site quality. Fix or 301 redirect to relevant content. Remove from sitemaps.
410 Gone Tells Google to immediately deindex the page. Better than 404 for intentionally removed content.
503 Service Unavailable Use with Retry-After header during maintenance so Googlebot waits instead of deindexing.
Redirect Chains Each extra hop dilutes link equity. Keep redirect chains to 1 hop — direct 301 to final destination.
500 Server Errors Googlebot retries but may reduce crawl rate. Persistent 500s risk deindexing. Fix immediately.
Response time Slow pages (>3s) may reduce crawl rate. Bulk checker shows response time — prioritise slow URLs for optimisation.

Redirect best practices for SEO

Redirect TypeCodePageRank Passes?Use Case
Permanent Redirect301✓ YesPage moved permanently. Most common SEO redirect.
Temporary Redirect302✗ Maybe notTemporary move. Don't use for permanent changes.
Permanent (method-safe)308✓ YesLike 301 but preserves POST method. Rarely needed for SEO.
Temporary (method-safe)307✗ NoLike 302 but preserves POST. Avoid for SEO redirects.
Meta RefreshHTML tag✗ WeakAvoid — slow, poor PageRank transfer, bad UX.
JS RedirectJavaScript✗ UnreliableGooglebot may not execute JS. Always use server-side redirects.

404 vs 410 — when to use which

Both 404 Not Found and 410 Gone indicate the page is unavailable. The difference matters for SEO and crawl budget:

Attribute404 Not Found410 Gone
MeaningPage not found — server does not know if it ever existedPage existed but is permanently removed
Google's behaviourPeriodically re-crawls hoping the page comes backImmediately removes from index — no re-crawl
Crawl budgetWastes crawl budget on repeated checksFaster removal — crawl budget preserved
Use whenURL typo, broken link, temporary removalIntentional content deletion, discontinued product, outdated article
Fix options301 redirect to relevant content, fix links, or leave as 404Usually leave as 410 — signals deliberate removal

Rule of thumb: Use 410 when you intentionally remove content and do not want it reindexed. Use 404 for broken links or when you are unsure — or 301 to redirect if content moved.

HTTP headers for SEO

Beyond status codes, HTTP response headers control how search engines crawl, index, and display your pages. Use the Header Inspector tab to verify these on any URL.

X-Robots-Tag — Indexing directives (noindex, nofollow, noarchive). Applies to any file type including PDFs and images.
Location — Redirect destination for 3xx responses. Must be absolute or valid relative URL.
Link — Canonical and alternate URLs. rel="canonical" signals preferred indexable URL.
Cache-Control — Caching behaviour. Affects how often Googlebot re-fetches the page.
Retry-After — Used with 503 to tell bots when to retry. Reduces wasted crawl on maintenance pages.
Strict-Transport-Security — Enforces HTTPS. Signals security; may influence trust.
Content-Type — MIME type (text/html, application/json). Ensures correct rendering.
Vary — Content negotiation (e.g. mobile vs desktop). Affects caching and indexing.

Common workflows

Intent-based scenarios for using this HTTP status checker effectively:

Post-migration audit

Import URLs from sitemap → Bulk check → Filter 4xx/5xx → Export CSV. Verify old URLs redirect (301) and new URLs return 200. Use 500ms delay for large sites.

Finding 404s and broken links

Paste URL list (from backlink report, internal links, sitemap) → Bulk check → Filter 4xx. Export 404 URLs for fix list. Consider 301 to relevant content.

Redirect chain audit

Use Redirect Chain tab on key URLs. Aim for 1 hop — A → B. If A → B → C → D, consolidate to A → D. Each hop dilutes PageRank and wastes crawl budget.

User agent consistency (cloaking check)

Use User Agent Test tab. Compare Googlebot vs Chrome. Different status codes = potential cloaking. Ensure indexable pages return 200 to all agents.

Sitemap validation

Load URLs from sitemap → Bulk check. Confirm all sitemap URLs return 200 or 301. Remove 404/410 URLs from sitemap to preserve crawl budget.

Response time and crawl rate

Bulk check returns response time per URL. Slow pages (>3s) may reduce Googlebot crawl rate. Prioritise optimising slow URLs for technical SEO.

Who needs an HTTP status checker?

Technical SEOsAudit redirect chains, find 404s, check X-Robots-Tag and canonical header responses across large site sections. Validate sitemap URLs.
Web DevelopersVerify deployments return correct status codes, check API endpoints, debug server configurations and header responses.
Digital MarketersConfirm landing pages return 200, check that campaign URLs redirect correctly. Validate URL health before paid campaigns.
Content EditorsBefore removing content, understand 404 vs 410 and their SEO impact. Ensure redirects for moved content.
Agency TeamsBulk-check entire site URL lists post-migration. Validate sitemap URLs, export 4xx/5xx for fix lists. Crawl budget audits.
Site OwnersMonitor that important pages return 200 and old URLs redirect correctly. Detect user agent cloaking with multi-agent tests.
Migration & Redesign ProjectsPre- and post-migration bulk checks. Verify 301 redirect mapping from old to new URLs. Confirm no broken links in sitemaps.

Pro tips for accurate checks

  • Use the right user agent: Test as Googlebot to see what search engines receive — some sites block or redirect bots differently (cloaking).
  • Add delay for bulk scans: When checking thousands of URLs from one domain, use 500ms–1s delay per domain to avoid 429 rate-limiting. Proven for 2500+ URL scans.
  • Import from sitemaps: Paste sitemap URLs to load all page URLs automatically — faster than copying from Google Search Console. Supports sitemap index recursion.
  • Export filtered results: Filter by 4xx, 5xx, or 429 rate-limited — then export only filtered URLs for targeted fixes. Preserves crawl budget.
  • Validate sitemap URLs: Load sitemap → bulk check → remove 404/410 URLs from sitemap. Sitemaps should only list indexable or redirect URLs.

Frequently Asked Questions

HTTP 200 OK means the server successfully processed the request and returned the page. For SEO, this is the ideal status code for all indexable pages. It tells Googlebot the page exists and its content should be crawled and indexed.
A 301 (Moved Permanently) tells search engines the page has permanently moved. Link equity (PageRank) passes to the destination. A 302 (Found) is a temporary redirect — search engines may keep the original URL indexed and may not transfer PageRank. Always use 301 for permanent URL changes.
Use the Redirect Chain tab above and enter the URL. Our tool follows every hop and detects loops automatically. A redirect loop occurs when URL A redirects to URL B which redirects back to URL A — causing an infinite loop that browsers and Googlebot cannot resolve.
HTTP 410 tells Google the page is permanently gone and will never return. Unlike a 404 (which Google will periodically re-crawl hoping the page comes back), a 410 signals immediate removal from the index. Use 410 when you intentionally delete content and don't want it reindexed.
Yes — some servers are configured to return different responses based on the user agent (called "cloaking"). This is against Google's guidelines. Use the User Agent Test tab to check the same URL with Googlebot vs Chrome to detect any discrepancies.
The X-Robots-Tag is an HTTP response header that controls crawling and indexing directives — similar to the <meta name="robots"> tag but applicable to any file type including PDFs, images, and documents. Common values: noindex, nofollow, noarchive. Check it using the Header Inspector tab.
The Bulk Check tab supports up to 10,000 URLs per run. You can import URLs from XML sitemaps — single or multiple sitemaps. Results stream in real time with per-domain rate limiting to avoid 429 errors. Export results to CSV for analysis in Excel or Google Sheets.
Key SEO-relevant headers: X-Robots-Tag (indexing directives), Location (redirect destination), Cache-Control (caching behaviour), Strict-Transport-Security (HTTPS enforcement), Content-Type (content format), Link (alternate/canonical links), and Vary (content negotiation for mobile/desktop).
HTTP 429 means the server is rate-limiting your requests — you're sending too many too fast. When bulk-checking URLs from a single domain, use the Delay/domain option (500ms or 1s recommended). The tool will space requests to avoid rate limits. If you still see 429s, click Rescan 429s with 1s Delay to retry only those URLs.
HTTP 403 means the server understood the request but refuses to authorize access. Common causes: IP blocking (WAF, firewall), authentication required, robots.txt or .htaccess blocking, or server misconfiguration. Googlebot cannot index 403 pages. Use the Header Inspector to see if any blocking headers are present.
In the Bulk Check tab, expand Load URLs from Sitemap(s). Paste one or more sitemap URLs (XML format). Click Load URLs from Sitemap(s). The tool fetches the sitemap(s), extracts all page URLs (including sitemap index recursion), and loads them into the checker. Supports up to 10,000 URLs. Use Keep first N if you want a sample.
Keep redirect chains to 1 hop — URL A should 301 directly to final URL B. Multiple hops (A → B → C → D) dilute PageRank, waste crawl budget, and may slow page load. Use the Redirect Chain tab to trace hops. Consolidate: update A to redirect directly to D.
Yes. Slow response times (e.g. >3 seconds) can reduce Googlebot's crawl rate for your site. Crawl budget is finite — slow pages use more of it per URL. The bulk checker shows response time in milliseconds per URL. Prioritise fixing very slow pages for technical SEO.