Story Based Question
You’ve been adding fresh content and optimizing your site, but you’re starting to wonder: Are search engines able to crawl all my pages properly? You’ve heard about crawl errors but aren’t sure how to identify them or why they’re important. You want to ensure that no valuable pages are being missed by Google. So, you decide to dive into Google Search Console to find and fix any crawl errors.
Exact Answer
To find crawl errors in Google Search Console, go to the “Coverage” report, where you can view pages with errors, such as 404s or server issues. Review the details, fix the errors, and request a re-crawl.
Explanation
Crawl errors are issues that prevent search engines like Google from accessing and indexing certain pages of your website. If Google can’t crawl a page, it won’t appear in search results, which can hurt your SEO. Google Search Console gives you a detailed look at any crawl issues so you can fix them. Here’s how you can use it:
- Access the Coverage Report: The Coverage report in Google Search Console shows all the pages Google has crawled, along with any issues it encountered. You can find this report on the left-hand side of your Search Console dashboard under the “Index” section, then click on “Coverage.”
- Review Crawl Errors: In the Coverage report, you’ll see three categories: Error, Valid with warnings, and Valid. The Error section shows pages that couldn’t be crawled properly. Google typically lists issues like 404 errors (page not found), 500 errors (server errors), or redirect loops. Click on each error type to learn more details.
- Fix the Errors: Once you’ve identified the problematic pages, you can start fixing the errors:
- 404 Errors: If a page is returning a 404 (page not found) error, it means the URL no longer exists or was misspelled. You can either restore the page, create a redirect to another relevant page, or remove internal links pointing to it.
- 500 Errors: A server error may mean your server is down or experiencing issues. Check with your hosting provider to resolve server-side problems.
- Redirect Issues: If there are endless redirects, make sure the pages are pointing to the correct destination without creating a loop.
- Request a Re-Crawl: After fixing the errors, go back to the Coverage report and click on the “Validate Fix” button next to each fixed issue. This tells Google to re-crawl those pages to ensure the issue has been resolved. You can also use the URL Inspection Tool to request a re-crawl of individual pages.
- Monitor for New Errors: Crawl errors can pop up at any time, so it’s important to regularly monitor the Coverage report. Keeping an eye on errors ensures your site remains crawlable and that no important pages are overlooked by Google.
Example
Imagine you’re managing a tech blog, and you notice that some of your latest articles aren’t appearing in search results. You suspect something might be wrong, so you head to Google Search Console and check the Coverage report. Sure enough, you find that several of your posts are returning 404 errors, meaning Google can’t find them.
Upon investigation, you realize that a few of the posts were accidentally deleted, and others had broken links pointing to them. You quickly restore the deleted pages and set up 301 redirects for the broken links to relevant, existing posts on your site. After fixing these issues, you click on “Validate Fix” in Google Search Console. A few days later, you check again, and those pages are now indexed and showing up in search results.
Google Search Console’s Coverage report is a powerful tool to identify and fix crawl errors. By regularly monitoring for issues like 404s, server errors, and redirects, you can ensure that Google crawls and indexes your pages properly. Fixing these issues will help improve your site’s visibility in search results.