--- title: "Backlink Redirect Statistics: 37% of Links Pass Through One" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/backlinks-through-redirects description: "Backlink redirect statistics for 231 small business sites: 36.6% of backlinks reach their page only through a redirect. See the data." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbacklinks-through-redirects&text=37%25%20of%20Small%20Business%20Backlinks%20Depend%20on%20a%20Redirect%20vs%2015%25%20for%20Established%20Brands Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbacklinks-through-redirects Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbacklinks-through-redirects Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fbacklinks-through-redirects&title=37%25%20of%20Small%20Business%20Backlinks%20Depend%20on%20a%20Redirect%20vs%2015%25%20for%20Established%20Brands **36.6%** of links from other websites to small business websites now reach their page only through a redirect, most often left behind by a www or HTTPS change. For 37.7% of small businesses, redirects carry half or more of all their backlinks. Analysis of 60,495 backlinks to 231 small business websites · backlink index data, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. **36.6%** of backlinks to small business websites reach their page only through a redirect. Copy stat 2. 2. **37.7%** of small business websites receive half or more of their backlinks through redirects. Copy stat 3. 3. The median established brand has **15%** of its backlinks passing through a redirect, against 22.7% for the median small business website. Copy stat 4. 4. **40%** of redirected backlinks to small business websites exist because the website switched between its www and non-www address, and 24% because it moved to HTTPS. Copy stat 5. 5. **91.7%** of redirected backlinks to small business websites use a permanent (301) redirect, the kind search engines treat as a lasting move. Copy stat ## Summary A local chamber of commerce linked to a landscaping company's website in 2015, back when the address started with http:// and had no www. The company has since moved to https://www and its old address redirects to the new one, so the link still works. It works only as long as that redirect survives, and the next host move or redesign is exactly when redirects get dropped. Backlinks, links from other websites to yours, are one of the main signals Google uses to rank pages, and they are slow to earn. A redirect passes a link's value on to the new address, but each one is another setting that can break. Knowing how much of your link profile depends on redirects tells you how careful the next change to your website needs to be. For small businesses the answer is: a lot. **36.6%** of backlinks to small business websites reach their page only through a redirect, and for 37.7% of small businesses, redirects carry half or more of their links. Established brands depend on them far less, with a median of 15%. ## What we measured On September 23, 2026 we collected up to 1,000 live backlinks for each of 231 randomly chosen US small business websites, 60,495 text and image links in all, and recorded the response of the address each link points at. For links that reach their page through a redirect, we compared the linked address with the final one to classify why the redirect exists. We ran a comparable measure for 472 established brands. A redirect automatically sends a visitor from one web address to another. A link "depends on a redirect" when the address it points at no longer holds the page and forwards visitors to where the page lives now. A 301 redirect is permanent and tells search engines to credit the new address; a 302 is temporary. ## More than a third of small business backlinks run through a redirect 36.6% of backlinks to small business websites reach their page only through a redirect. Half of all backlinks to small business websites, 50.1%, land directly on a working page. 36.6% go through a redirect, and 13.2% point at a page that returns an error and pass nothing at all. Half of all small business backlinks either depend on a redirect or are already broken. Share of backlinks by where the backlink lands Directly on a working page 50.1% Through a redirect 36.6% On an error page 13.2% Other 0.1% Source: Suff Digital analysis of 60,495 backlinks to 231 small business websites · backlink index data, September 2026 Established brands are far less exposed. The median established brand has 15% of its backlinks passing through a redirect, against 22.7% for the median small business website. A small business link profile has more riding on settings that one host move can erase. ## www and HTTPS changes cause most redirected links Most redirected links are a side effect of basic housekeeping. 40% exist because the website switched between its www and bare address, 24% because it moved from http:// to https:// and 4% because it did both. Another 24% point at a different domain entirely, usually after a rebrand or a domain change, and 8% at an old page address on the same website. Share of redirected backlinks by why the backlink redirects www or non-www change only 40% To a different domain 24% http to https only 24% Same website, different page address 8% http to https plus www change 4% Almost all of them use the right kind of redirect. 91.7% return a permanent 301, which search engines treat as a lasting move and credit to the new address, and 5.1% use a temporary 302. The weakness is not the type of redirect but where it lives: www and HTTPS redirects usually sit in server settings, not in the website itself, so they are easy to lose in a move. ## For 37.7% of small businesses, redirects carry half their links 37.7% of small business websites receive half or more of their backlinks through redirects. The median small business website has 22.7% of its backlinks going through redirects, but the average is 38.8%, because a large group depends on them heavily. For the 37.7% of small businesses that get half or more of their links this way, a lost redirect would cut off most of their backlinks in one step. That risk is highest at the moments small businesses change their websites most: a new host, a new website builder or a new domain. Each of those can reset server settings, and the redirects that keep old links working go with them unless someone carries them over. ## What this means for businesses planning a website move Keep every existing redirect when you change hosts, platforms or designers. The http to https and www redirects are the easiest to forget because they live in server settings, not in your website builder. After launch, test them by clicking a few of your oldest backlinks and checking that each lands on the right page. Where you control the linking page, such as a directory listing, a supplier's partner page or your own social profiles, update the link to point at your current address and remove the dependency. Our seo migration services (https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-migration/seo-migration-services) list every redirect your backlinks rely on before a move, so none of them disappears with the old server. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. 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Source: 37% of Small Business Backlinks Depend on a Redirect vs 15% for Established Brands - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). 37% of Small Business Backlinks Depend on a Redirect vs 15% for Established Brands. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/backlinks-through-redirects Plain link 37% of Small Business Backlinks Depend on a Redirect vs 15% for Established Brands - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/backlinks-through-redirects ## Frequently asked questions ### What share of backlinks go through a redirect? ### Do redirected backlinks still help SEO? ### Why do so many backlinks redirect? ### How many small businesses depend on redirects for most of their links? ## Related studies - Website Migration 98% of Established Websites Have Backlinks Pointing to Pages That No Longer Exist: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/backlinks-to-dead-pages - SEO 26.9% of Small Business Websites Link to Their Own Redirects vs 0.9% With Redirect Chains: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/small-business-technical-seo-housekeeping - Website Migration 64% of Websites Hold Fewer Page-One Google Rankings After Switching Platforms: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/organic-traffic-after-platform-switch - Website Migration 20.8% of Real Estate Websites Still Load Without HTTPS vs 9.5% of Small Business Websites: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/small-business-https-redirect ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization", "name": "Suff Digital", "alternateName": "Suff Digital Marketing", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "contentUrl": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "caption": "Suff Digital" }, "image": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo" }, "description": "Suff Digital is a full-stack digital marketing agency that turns websites into predictable revenue engines, SEO, paid media, content, CRO, and web design built around revenue, not vanity metrics.", "slogan": "Digital marketing built for what's next.", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "foundingDate": "2022", "founder": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Suffoletto", "jobTitle": "Founder & CEO" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "contactType": "sales", "areaServed": "US", "availableLanguage": [ "en" ] } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Nashville", "addressRegion": "TN", "postalCode": "37219", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/suff-digital/", "https://www.instagram.com/suffdigital/", "https://www.youtube.com/@suffdigitalmarketing", "https://www.tiktok.com/@suffdigital" ], "knowsAbout": [ "Search Engine Optimization", "Pay-Per-Click Advertising", "Paid Social Advertising", "Conversion Rate Optimization", "Web Design", "Digital PR", "Link Building", "Website Migration", "Website Maintenance and Support", "Technical SEO", "Local SEO", "AI Search Optimization" ], "hasOfferCatalog": { "@type": "OfferCatalog", "name": "Suff Digital Services", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/ppc" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Paid Social Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/paid-social" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/cro" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Web Design", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/web-design" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Digital PR & Link Building", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/digital-pr" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Migration", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-migration" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Maintenance & Support", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-maintenance" } } ] } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#website", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "name": "Suff Digital", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/backlinks-through-redirects#article", "headline": "37% of Small Business Backlinks Depend on a Redirect vs 15% for Established Brands", "description": "36.6% of links from other websites to small business websites now reach their page only through a redirect, most often left behind by a www or HTTPS change. 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