Redirect error: Search Console report

✔️ Updated June 2026.

A frequently asked question in the Blogger Help Community is: Why does the "Page Indexing" report show a "Redirect Error" on URLs without ?m=1, and how can it be fixed?

The short answer is: there is nothing to fix.

How does Blogger work?

Blogger uses the separate URLs method to provide mobile-friendly pages to users on mobile devices: Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices

When Blogger detects a mobile device, it automatically creates 302 redirects to the same URL by appending ?m=1 to the end. This applies to both custom domains and *.blogspot.com sites.

rel='canonical' for clarity to Google

Blogger ensures that the correct canonical tags are included in the themes it provides by implementing rel='canonical'. This lets Google know that the desktop URL (without ?m=1) is the content's representative version.

You can verify this by checking the Theme HTML Editor for this code snippet:

<b:include data='blog' name='all-head-content'/>

If you are using a third-party theme, it is important to ensure it contains at least the following line of code:

<link expr:href='data:view.url.canonical' rel='canonical'/>

Why are these errors displayed?

Google predominantly crawls sites as a mobile user, so it notices the redirects.

For websites built on Blogger, the redirects are part of the platform's configuration and are expected to happen. Because of mobile-first indexing, the bot could become stuck in a loop:

1. The mobile bot tries to enter the desktop version.
2. Blogger redirects it to the mobile version (?m=1).
3. The mobile version has the canonical tag pointing back to the desktop version.
4. Googlebot gets confused by this circle and flags the "error".

Alternatively, it could be a matter of crawl budget. When Googlebot encounters the redirect, it might decide not to follow it immediately to save resources, dropping the crawl and flagging the redirect instead.

While there could be other factors at play, Googlebot Desktop will eventually crawl the site and index the correct version, as long as the content is valuable and relevant to users.

What steps should be taken?

The short answer is: perhaps one.

Verify that your theme is correctly generating the rel='canonical' tag. If it is not, be sure to fix it.

If you confirm the above is correct, keep in mind that when Google crawls your site as it would see it from a desktop, the URLs without ?m=1 will typically be the canonical version and so indexed. While this happens, it does not impact ranking if content with ?m=1 is being indexed, as long as the content is the same.

What actions should NOT be taken?

• Blocking URLs with ?m=1 in robots.txt: Prevents the crawling of the mobile version.
• Removing ?m=1 with scripts: Forces the load of desktop version, deteriorates the user experience, and creates redirect loops that block indexing.
• Using noindex tags on ?m=1: To manage duplicate content, use only the rel='canonical' tag.

These actions can stop the mobile/desktop relationship from working and can ultimately negatively affect your site. Avoid them.

If the inspected URL ends in ?m=1

If you see a URL ending in ?m=1 in the Redirect Error report, it generally means that the bot (Googlebot Smartphone) could not complete the navigation process. This could be a temporary communication issue or a "false positive."

In this situation, the important thing is to verify that the URL in question is indeed available for mobile devices. If it is not, make the necessary corrections.

"Similar" reports in Search Console

It may happen that you see two reports that are the reverse, i.e., the non-indexed URLs end in ?m=1:

• Page with redirect: Google tried to access the mobile version (?m=1), saw that it redirects to the desktop one, and respected that hierarchy. The action is triggered by the server (302/301 redirect).
• Alternative page with proper canonical tag: Google visited the mobile version (?m=1), read the rel='canonical' tag, saw that it pointed to the representative URL, and does not index the mobile one because it already has the main one indexed. The action is triggered by an instruction in the HTML (Canonical Tag).

It is important to understand that these reports are not indicating errors, but are informative statuses of how Google manages site variations and that the technical structure of the site works exactly as it should to avoid duplicate content problems.

For this reason, it is not necessary to click on "Validate Fix."

Technical note: Automatic ?m=1 redirection is standard Blogger behavior and does not affect your SEO. If you see redirect errors on URLs without this parameter, use "Test Live URL" to verify the redirect chain. Issues like redirect loops or blocked content require an audit of your links and domain configuration.