A Guide to Enhancing Indexability and Avoid Common Crawl Errors

COMMON CRAWL ERRORS AND HOW TO FIX THEM FOR BETTER INDEXABILITY

Search engines crawl websites to understand and index their content, but what happens when these virtual spiders encounter roadblocks? They throw up crawl errors. Crawl errors can hinder your website's indexability, consequently affecting your visibility in search engine results. Here are some typical crawl issues and successful solutions for get Google to crawl your site.

1. 404 Not Found Error: This is probably the most frequently encountered crawl error. It happens when a page that was once available on your website is now absent. The search engine's crawler, hence, can't find the page it's looking to index.

Fix: Regularly monitor your website using tools like Google Search Console to identify any 404 errors. If a page has been permanently removed, use a 301 redirect to send users and crawlers to a relevant existing page. In cases where the page has just been moved, update your site map and internal links to reflect this change.

2. DNS Errors: If a search engine's crawler cannot resolve your website's DNS (Domain Name System), a DNS error is flagged. This could be because of server issues, or the website might be down.

Fix: Ensure your DNS settings are correctly configured, and your website is consistently live. Consult with your hosting provider if necessary.

3. Server Errors: Server errors typically arise due to issues with your server. A common one is the "500 Internal Server Error," indicating that the server cannot process the request for an unspecified reason.

Fix: Ensure your servers are well-equipped to handle the traffic your website receives. Regularly monitor your server's health, and implement robust error handling mechanisms.

4. Robots.txt Fetch Errors: If your robots.txt file is incorrectly configured or cannot be accessed, search engines won't know which pages to crawl and which ones to ignore, leading to a fetch error.

Fix: Always robots.txt file and ensure it doesn't contain any errors. Use Google's robots.txt Tester to test and validate your file.

5. Blocked by Robots.txt: Search engines respect the directives in the robots.txt file, so if a resource or a page is disallowed, it won't be crawled or indexed.

Fix: If you want the page to be indexed, update your robots.txt file, removing the disallow rule for that particular page.

6. URL Errors: These errors occur when there's a problem with a specific webpage's URL. The URL might be too long, non-ASCII, or contain unsafe characters.

Fix: Stick to standard URL structures and formats. Avoid using special characters, keep your URLs concise, and use a URL encoding method if you need to use non-ASCII characters.

By addressing these common crawl errors, you can make your website more accessible and appealing to both users and search engines. Remember, a website that's easy to crawl is easier to index, leading to better visibility in search engine results. Regular site audits and monitoring can go a long way in maintaining the health of your site and its indexability. The key is to keep your website in top-notch condition, ensuring it's easily navigable, whether by human users or by search engine crawlers.

With a proactive approach and the right fixes, you can turn crawl errors into opportunities for improving your website's SEO performance. Happy fixing!