GSC is flooding my inbox with errors – what should I do?
So, you’ve just made a Google Search Console account and are ready to take advantage of the advanced analytic tools to boost your organic search traffic. But when you check your inbox, it’s mail after mail saying your pages aren’t being indexed!
Fear not– we’ll go over how to fix Google Search Console errors so you can improve your website’s performance in Google’s search results.
What does “index coverage” mean?
To discover pages to add to its database, Google crawls sites all across the internet using bots. The bots determine if the page is suitable to be added to Google’s index– if it is, it’ll eventually appear in the search results. Index coverage is a useful report that lets you know if there are any crawl or indexing errors. It helps uncover redirect loop problems, structured data issues, mobile usability troubles, and other common Search Console errors.
You can also view non-indexed pages within Google Search Console. These could be due to the page having a noindex tag or not having the proper meta robots tags. While this can often be intentional, it’s important to fix crawl errors to ensure you aren’t obscuring any pages you want to be found in the Google search results.
What's a server error? And how do I fix it?
5xx errors are issues with your site on the server side. There are hundreds of reasons why server errors might occur. Sometimes, you just need to refresh the page to fix the error. But if it’s still not resolved, check if Google’s bots are blocked by robots.txt or otherwise unable to access your site due to configurations and code errors. You could also contact your IT team or web hosting company to check for any recent server outages
What is a soft 404? How is it different from a normal “404” status?
When you try to access a page that doesn’t exist or has been moved, the server sends your browser a 404 status code indicating that the page is “not found”.
Soft 404s refer to a similar situation where a page has no content. However, in these instances, the server still indicates that the page is valid by returning a 2xx (success) status code. Essentially, a soft 404 is when Google believes the page is using the incorrect status code.
If Google’s crawler runs into too many soft 404s, it could affect your ability to rank in search engines. Thus, it’s vital to avoid these common Search Console errors by ensuring you have no broken links on your site or setting up the correct redirect URL for your page. If your page is intended to be a 404, then you should also make sure that the status code properly reflects that instead of returning a 2xx code.
How do I use the URL Inspection tool to check a page?
- To discover the in-depth details of what search engine crawlers have recorded for a specific page, use the Google Search Console search bar. Important points to look at for search engine visibility include:
- Referring page(s): These are the pages Google accessed your submitted URL from through internal links.
- Last crawl: This is the last time Google’s crawler checked your page. If you’ve recently updated your page’s content, you can manually Request Indexing so that Google will access the latest version of your site.
- Indexing allowed?: This shows if Google can index the page or not. If it can’t be indexed, it won’t appear in the search engines.
- Google and user-selected canonical: Sometimes, duplicate pages may have the same or very similar content. An example includes variations of a page based on the user’s language or if they’re on mobile devices. The proper canonical tag refers to the primary URL of the page that Google indexes for its search results.
Use GSC to get the best out of your organic search marketing.
Google Search Console is essential for every webmaster’s toolkit. Knowing how to track page speed health, troubleshoot indexing issues, and analyse click data will let you make the most of this powerful tool– enabling you to identify where to optimise your site.
Search Republic are experts in GSC and managing its common errors. Contact us via our form for help with GSC setup, basic training, and integrations with other SEO actions. Explore our blog for more search engine marketing tips.
