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Indexing
What is a meta-refresh redirect, and why does it cause harm?
A meta-refresh redirect is a command in the page content that sends the browser to another address after loading — unreliable for search engines, irritating for visitors. The same goes for redirects via JavaScript. The clean solution is a redirect the server itself issues, before any page even loads. The "Indexing" audit area searches the delivered HTML for both workaround patterns.
Two workarounds in the page content
With a meta-refresh redirect, a page loads first, with a command in its head: load this other address after a set time. With the JavaScript variant, a small script takes on the same job. Both routes only work if the browser actually executes the command — a search engine doesn't always do that. It then faces a page that's really just a signpost, and has to decide whether to assess that signpost or the target. This exact ambiguity is what makes both variants unreliable — and for visitors, the brief flash of the intermediate page feels like a glitch.
The server redirect as the clean solution
A redirect belongs at the server level. There, the server answers the request immediately with an unambiguous status code and the new address — before any page content even loads. Browsers and search engines understand this response with no room for interpretation: the content now lives there. For visitors, the difference is noticeable — instead of a briefly flashing intermediate page, the target appears directly. If our check finds a meta-refresh or a JavaScript redirect in the delivered HTML, that costs all 10 points of this rule; the finding names the variant found.
Tracking down old intermediate pages
Workaround redirects often come from earlier generations of a website: a "We've moved" page, a welcome page with a logo, an old campaign landing page. Pages like this get forgotten, but stay reachable and sometimes keep showing up in search results. Anyone who clicks on one briefly sees an outdated page flash by before being sent on — not a great first impression. Clear out relics like this: either remove the intermediate page entirely and replace it with a server redirect, or fully restore the content at the old address. Both are cleaner than the workaround in the page content.
- Open your most important addresses and watch for whether another page briefly flashes by before the target appears.
- Ask your agency to set up redirects exclusively at the server, not in the page content.
- Have old move and intermediate pages removed and replaced with server redirects.
- Always link directly to the target internally, so workaround redirects never become necessary in the first place.
FAQ
What is meta-refresh?
meta-refresh is a command in an HTML page's head that instructs the browser to load another address after a set time. Originally intended for self-updating pages, it's often repurposed as a redirect. Search engines treat it as an unreliable signal — our check treats it as a shortcoming.
What is a JavaScript redirect?
Here, a script on the page sends the browser to another address, via the window.location command, say. That only works if the script runs — a search engine doesn't always do that, and not immediately. Reliable redirects are therefore the server's job.
How do I set up a redirect correctly?
At the server, with a permanent status code (301). Your agency or hosting provider handles this in the server configuration; many website systems also offer their own settings for it. What matters is that the redirect responds before any content loads, and arrives at the target in a single step.