Does 301 redirecting a site multiple times keep the value of the original site?

[debi_zyx]

Hi, All!

If I 301 redirect site www.abc.com to www.def.com, it should pass (almost) all linkjuice, rank, trust, etc.  What happens if I then redirect site www.def.com to www.ghi.com?  Does the value of the original site pass indefinitely as long as you do the redirects correctly?  Or does it start to be devalued at some point?

If anyone's had experience redirecting a site more than once and they've seen reportable good/bad/neutral results, that would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance!

-Aviva B

[debi_zyx]

Thanks, John.  Information right from the mouth of Google.  Much appreciated.

-Aviva B

[john4math]

Yeah, it's a bad idea to chain multiple redirects.  From the whiteboard Friday a little over a year ago where Rand talked with Matt Cutts:

Is It a Bad Idea to Chain Redirects (e.g. 301-->301-->301)?

"It is, yeah."

Matt was very clear that Google can and usually will deal with one or two redirects in a series, but three is pushing it and anything beyond that probably won't be followed.  He also reiterated that 302s should only be used for temporary redirects...but you already knew that, right?

Also, here's a similar Q&A question with some good answers.