A redirect chain often appears when one migration lands on an earlier migration. An old product address first reaches a newer catalogue path and then today’s product page. Each extra hop requires another request before the content becomes available.
Inspect the entire route first. A fictional finding might be:
/old/lamp/ → 301 → /catalogue/lamp/
/catalogue/lamp/ → 301 → /products/lamp/
/products/lamp/ → 200
If the final document is the correct permanent destination, the first address can point there directly. Do not remove the intermediate address blindly: other inbound links may still use it.
Compare more than hop counts
Record the starting URL, each response status and every complete destination. Test a language version and, where relevant, an address containing permitted campaign parameters. A shorter route is not an improvement if it changes language or loses necessary parameters. Keep personal data out of test URLs.
Use the redirect checker for individual chains. A larger migration also needs a maintained mapping list; check that complete list for wrong destinations and loops after changing the rules.
Change one controllable rule first and test both its destination and another historical entry point. Then update internal links to the final address. Retain intentional redirects for known old URLs while they remain useful, and preserve a way to restore the previous rule.