How to Fix Google Search Console Errors: A Comprehensive Guide

Getting Started with Google Search Console

What is Google Search Console?

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool provided by Google to help website owners monitor and maintain their site’s presence in Google Search results. It offers detailed reports on the performance of your website, provides insights into what keywords bring visitors to your site, and highlights errors that might hinder your site’s performance in search results. GSC is essential for any website as it allows you to identify critical technical issues, optimize your content for better visibility, and ensure that your SEO strategies are effective.

How to Set Up and Verify Your Domain

Sign in to Google Search Console: Go to the Google Search Console website and sign in using your Google account.
Add a Property: Click on the ‘Add Property’ button and enter the URL of your website. You will have two options to add a property: Domain and URL-prefix. The domain property is broader and covers all subdomains, while URL-prefix is more specific to the entered URL.
Verify Ownership: Choose a verification method to prove you own the website. Common methods include:

HTML File Upload: Download a verification file and upload it to your website’s root directory.
HTML Tag: Add a meta tag provided by GSC to your site’s HTML.
DNS Record: Add a specific DNS record to your domain’s DNS configuration.
Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager: Link your GSC with existing Google Analytics or Tag Manager accounts.

Confirm Verification: Once the verification method is implemented, click ‘Verify’ in GSC. A successful verification grants you access to your site’s data.
Explore Your Dashboard: After verification, you can start exploring the various reports and tools within GSC to improve your site’s search performance.

Identifying Common Google Search Console Errors

Navigate the Index Coverage Report

The Index Coverage Report in Google Search Console is a crucial tool for identifying and understanding various issues that might affect your site’s visibility in search results. This report provides detailed information on which pages have been successfully indexed, which pages have errors, and which pages are excluded from indexing. Here’s how to navigate it:

Access the Report: Login to your Google Search Console account, select your property (website), and navigate to the ‘Index’ section on the left sidebar. Click on ‘Coverage’ to access the Index Coverage Report.
Understand the Report: The report is divided into four categories:

Error: Pages that couldn’t be indexed due to issues such as server errors (5xx) or redirects.
Valid with Warnings: Pages that are indexed but may have issues that need attention.
Valid: Pages that have been successfully indexed.
Excluded: Pages that were intentionally not indexed, usually due to noindex tags, robots.txt rules, or other reasons.

Identify Issues: Review the ‘Error’ and ‘Valid with Warnings’ sections to identify critical issues that require immediate attention. Click on specific issues to get more details and see affected URLs.

Inspect URLs with the URL Inspection Tool

The URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console allows you to review the index status and details of individual URLs. This tool is highly effective for troubleshooting specific URL issues. Here’s how to use it:

Enter URL: In the top bar of Google Search Console, enter the URL you want to inspect and press ‘Enter’.
Inspect Details: The tool will provide detailed information, including whether the URL is indexed, any detected issues, and the last crawl date. You can also view rendered screenshots of how Googlebot sees the page.
Request Indexing: If changes have been made to the URL or if it is not indexed, click on the ‘Request Indexing’ button. This will prompt Googlebot to re-crawl and re-index the URL.

By regularly using the Index Coverage Report and the URL Inspection Tool, you can effectively identify, diagnose, and resolve issues that affect your site’s performance in Google search results.

Fixing Specific Google Search Console Errors

How to Fix a Server Error (5xx)

Server errors, denoted by the 5xx status code, indicate problems with your server that prevent Googlebot from accessing your site. Here are steps to fix these errors:

Check Server Status: Ensure your server is running properly. You can contact your hosting provider for support or check server logs for any abnormalities.
Server Configuration: Verify that your server configuration files (e.g., .htaccess for Apache servers) are set up correctly. Misconfigurations can lead to server errors.
Resource Overload: Ensure your server is not overloaded with too many requests. This can be managed by optimizing server resources or considering an upgrade to your hosting plan.
Temporary Issues: Sometimes, server errors are temporary. Monitor the errors over a short period to see if they persist before taking further action.
Contact Hosting Support: If you’re unable to resolve the issues, contacting your hosting provider’s support team can provide additional insights and solutions.

How to Fix Redirect Errors

Redirect errors typically occur when a redirect loop or a chain is detected by Googlebot. Here’s how to address these issues:

Check Redirect Chains: Ensure that redirects point directly to the final destination URL without unnecessary intermediate steps. Use tools like Screaming Frog or online redirect checkers to map out the chains.
Avoid Redirect Loops: A redirect loop occurs when a URL redirects back to itself, causing an infinite loop. Ensure no URLs are redirecting in a circular pattern.
Use 301 Redirects: Ensure you’re using the appropriate status code for permanent redirects. Use a 301 status code for permanent moves.
Update Internal Links: Ensure that any internal links point directly to the final URL rather than a URL that is merely redirecting to another URL.

Fix ‘Submitted URL Blocked by robots.txt’ Errors

This error indicates that the URLs you submitted for indexing are blocked by your robots.txt file. Here’s how to fix it:

Edit robots.txt File: Review your robots.txt file to ensure it doesn’t block any pages you want indexed. You can find the robots.txt file in the root directory of your website.
Remove Blocking Directive: Identify and remove any Disallow directives that are preventing Googlebot from accessing the submitted URLs.
Test robots.txt: Use the Google Search Console’s robots.txt Tester tool to ensure that your changes are correctly implemented and the URLs are accessible to Googlebot.
Request Reindexing: After making changes to your robots.txt file, use the URL Inspection Tool in GSC to request re-crawling and re-indexing of the affected URLs.

Managing Google Search Console Warnings and Excluded URLs

What are ‘Indexed, Though Blocked by robots.txt’ Warnings?

‘Indexed, Though Blocked by robots.txt’ warnings occur when Google has managed to index a page that is blocked by the robots.txt file. This happens because the robots.txt file instructs search engines not to crawl certain pages, but it does not prevent them from indexing those pages if they find URLs through other means, such as links from other websites.

Addressing ‘Indexed, Though Blocked by robots.txt’

Review robots.txt File: Ensure that the robots.txt directives are correctly set and understand their implications.
Keep or Remove Blocking: Decide whether you actually want these pages to be indexed. If the pages should be indexed, consider removing the blocking directives. If you don’t want them indexed, leave the directives as is.
Noindex Tag: For a stronger method, add a noindex tag to the HTML header of the page. This will prevent the page from being indexed even if Googlebot crawls it.
Request Removal: Use the URL removal tool in Google Search Console to request removal of pages that were indexed against your intention.

Address ‘Blocked by Noindex Tag’ and Other Exclusions

Pages blocked by a noindex tag are intentionally excluded from Google’s index. Here’s how to address this and other potential exclusions:

‘Blocked by Noindex Tag’

Evaluate Necessity: Determine if these pages should be indexed. If not, no further action is required.
Remove Noindex Tag: If they should be indexed, remove the noindex tag from the HTML header and request indexing via Google Search Console.

Common Exclusion Scenarios

‘Blocked by robots.txt’: If pages are excluded due to the robots.txt file, review the file and adjust the directives as needed.
‘Crawled – Currently Not Indexed’: Ensure these pages meet quality standards and enhance internal linking to improve their chance of being indexed.
‘Discovered – Currently Not Indexed’: Improve the content quality and popularize the page within your site to encourage indexing.

Regularly monitoring and addressing these warnings and exclusions helps maintain the health and visibility of your website in search results.

Validating and Communicating Fixes to Google

Use the ‘Validate Fix’ Feature

After resolving the issues identified in Google Search Console, the ‘Validate Fix’ feature allows you to inform Google that the errors have been fixed and request a re-crawl of the affected URLs. Here’s how to use it:

Navigate to Error Details: Go to the specific error in the Index Coverage Report in Google Search Console and click on it to view the detailed list of affected URLs.
Click ‘Validate Fix’: Once you’ve addressed the issues, click on the ‘Validate Fix’ button. Google will start the validation process, which can take several days as it re-crawls and assesses the affected URLs.
Monitor Progress: Keep an eye on the validation process status in GSC. You will receive updates on whether Google has confirmed the fix, or if additional issues are detected.

Submit a Reconsideration Request

If your site has received a manual action from Google, you need to submit a reconsideration request after addressing the issues. Here’s the process:

Resolve Issues: Make sure all problems identified in the manual action are thoroughly fixed.
Submit Request: Go to the ‘Manual Actions’ report in GSC. Click on the ‘Request Review’ button and provide a detailed explanation of the fixes you implemented.
Provide Evidence: Include any relevant evidence that supports the resolution of the issues, such as screenshots, documentation, or links to fixed content.
Wait for Response: Google will review your request, which can take several days or weeks. You will receive a notification once Google has made a decision on your reconsideration request.

Using the ‘Validate Fix’ feature and submitting a reconsideration request properly ensures that Google is promptly informed of the corrections, which can help restore and improve your site’s search performance.