Lossy redirects are redirect configurations that fail to transfer the full SEO value — commonly called link equity or PageRank — that would pass through a clean, direct 301 permanent redirect. The term encompasses several scenarios: redirect chains in which equity diminishes across multiple hops; JavaScript-only redirects that some crawlers do not follow reliably; meta-refresh redirects with a non-zero delay; and 302 or 307 temporary redirects where Google may or may not treat the destination as the canonical URL. The difference between a lossless 301 and a lossy implementation can materially affect how much authority a destination page inherits, particularly when inbound links from high-value domains are involved. Correcting lossy redirects — by replacing them with direct server-side 301s — is a common technical SEO remediation step during site migration audits.