Troubleshooting Crawl Errors with Google Search Console
Troubleshooting Crawl Errors with Google Search Console
Google Search Console is an invaluable tool for website owners and developers. Not only does it provide access to detailed information about how Google’s search engine views your website, it also provides the ability to troubleshoot crawl errors. Crawl errors are errors that Google’s search engine encounters when attempting to crawl a web page. These errors can prevent the search engine from properly indexing a page and result in low search engine rankings or a lack of visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).
The first step to troubleshooting crawl errors with Google Search Console is to access the Crawl Errors report. This report provides detailed information about the type of crawl error encountered, the specific URL causing the error, and the date the error was encountered. The Crawl Error Report also provides suggestions on how to fix the error and links to pages where more information can be found.
Once the Crawl Errors report is accessed, the next step is to identify the root cause of the crawl errors. Common causes of crawl errors include broken links, incorrect redirects, faulty robots.txt files, faulty sitemaps, incorrect HTTP status codes, and incorrect canonical tags. In order to troubleshoot the issue, the webmaster must identify which of these causes is causing the error and take the necessary steps to fix the issue.
The webmaster must also pay attention to the type of crawl error encountered. There are different types of crawl errors, including Server Errors, Soft 404 Errors, and Not Found Errors. Server Errors indicate that the server is down or is responding with an error. Soft 404 Errors indicate that the URL is accessible, but the page does not contain unique content. Not Found Errors indicate that the URL referenced does not exist. Each of these types of errors requires different solutions.
Once the cause of the error has been identified and the type of error has been determined, the webmaster can take steps to fix the issue. The most common solution for Not Found Errors is to create a 301 redirect to a relevant page. For Server Errors, the webmaster may need to contact the hosting provider to determine the cause of the issue. For Soft 404 Errors, the webmaster may need to update the content of the page or create a 301 redirect to a relevant page.
Once the issue has been fixed, it is important to monitor the Crawl Errors report in Google Search Console to ensure that the issue does not reoccur. It is also important to keep an eye out for new errors that may arise from time to time as the website evolves.
Troubleshooting Crawl Errors with Google Search Console is an important skill for website owners and developers. By taking the time to familiarize themselves with the Crawl Errors report in Google Search Console, they can identify the cause of the errors, take the necessary steps to fix the issue, and monitor the report to ensure that the errors do not reoccur. This can help improve the website’s visibility in SERPs and ensure that the website is properly indexed.