Welcome! Google Search Console is an essential tool for monitoring how your site interacts with Google Search. It is common to see errors in Google Search Console, but they are often not a cause for alarm. This article will help you understand some of the most frequent issues that can arise and determine which ones need your attention. We’ll cover indexing and crawling, how to identify non-indexed pages, and provide guidance on troubleshooting indexing issues. By the end of this article, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how to address common Google Search Console errors, optimizing your site’s performance in search results.

Common symptoms of issues with Google Search Console usually revolve around indexing and crawling errors. These are some examples:

1. Pages Not Indexed: The "Pages" section in Google Search Console shows a number of pages that have been discovered but not indexed. This can happen for various reasons, such as duplicate URLs, alternative versions of a page, or issues with the page content.
2. Error Messages: You might see error messages like "Blocked due to forbidden access (403)", "Not Found (404)", "Crawled - currently not indexed", and "Discovered - currently not indexed". These indicate specific issues that prevent pages from being indexed.

These symptoms help in identifying and diagnosing issues related to indexing and crawling in Google Search Console.

What is indexing and crawling?

The "Pages" section of Google Search Console will show you the number of pages that have been indexed on your site, as well as a list of all the pages that have not been indexed.

A page being "indexed" means that you are able to find that page inside of Google Search. For example, if I were to search "Ezoic How to Link Search Console", I would find a relevant page that had been indexed by Google.

This is different to "crawling", which is the process of Google searching your site and seeing what it can find. Google needs to crawl a page for it to be indexed, but not every page that Google crawls will be indexed.

If it helps, let's think of the internet as a big city, and Google as a tour guide:

• "Discovering" is Google's tour guide exploring the city and looking at every building (website) and every room (webpage) inside those buildings, making notes on what exists and where it is.
• "Crawling" is the tour guide visiting the attraction and evaluating how good it is at meeting certain needs.
• "Indexing" is when the tour guide notes the attraction down, as one that it could potentially recommend to visitors. These notes (the Index) are then used when someone asks the tour guide (makes a Google search) for a specific place or thing, like "Where can I find the best pizza?" or "Show me the museums".

So, in simple terms, "discovering" is Google finding and exploring websites; "crawling" is Google evaluating websites; and "indexing" is Google making a list of what it found so it can quickly find it again later when someone searches for it.

1. Finding Non-Indexed Pages:

• Navigate to the "Pages" section of Google Search Console.
• Review the list of pages that have been found but not indexed by Google.

• Select a reason for non-indexing to get a full breakdown of every impacted page.
• Inspect a given URL for further information.

2. Determine the Necessity of Indexing:

• Do you want this URL to appear on Google?
  • When crawling a site, Google will crawl any link it finds (even if it's for a different site), including JavaScript. It's not uncommon to see Google crawling Ezoic's placeholder scripts or tracking scripts (such as /detroitchicago/).
  • These are not pages that a site visitor should be able to see on Google Search, which Google is aware of, so it won't index those pages. This will be reported as an error in Google Search Console. These errors are not a cause for concern; they indicate that Google knows the pages exist but won't include them in search results.
    • Example errors: "Blocked due to forbidden access (403)", "Not Found (404)", "Crawled - currently not indexed", "Discovered - currently not indexed"
  • There is no penalty for these scripts being crawled and giving a 404 error because Google will expect to find scripts on your site. These scripts also shouldn't impact the crawl budget since they are orphans, which means they are pages that aren't internally linked to.
  • If you are concerned, you can edit your robots.txt file to stop Google from crawling those pages. This will not impact Ezoic's functionality but will stop Googlebot from accessing those pages.
    • To do this, open your robots.txt file with FTP. Alternatively, some plugins may allow you to edit the robots.txt file within your WordPress dashboard if you use WordPress. Add the following code to your robots.txt file

      User-agent: *
      Disallow: /detroitchicago/
      /porpoiseant/
      /beardeddragon/
      /tardisrocinante/
      /parsonsmaize/
      /edomontonalberta/
      /ezais/

• Does an alternative version of this page already exist on Google?
  
  • Google will only index one version of a page, which means that if you have two pages with slight variations in the URL, only one URL will be indexed. Don't worry if you see the other URL in your indexing errors list. The best way to check that everything is fine is to search the page URL in Google and see if it comes up.
    • Example URLs that may be flagged as duplicates:
      • ezoic.com & ezoic.com?nocache
      • ezoic.com/home & ezoic.com (where ezoic.com/home redirects to ezoic.com)
      • ezoic.com & ezoic.com/ (notice the '/')
  • Additionally, if you have two pages that have identical content but completely different URLs, Google will recognize this and will only index one of the two. The URL that Google chooses to index is known as the "canonical URL."
  • Example errors: "Redirect error", "Alternative page with proper canonical tag"

3. Fix the Indexing Issue:

If you think your page should be indexed:

Use URL Inspection Tool:

• Use the URL Inspection tool to analyze the reason for non-indexing.
• Key things to check:
  1. 1. robots.txt Restrictions:
        • Access your robots.txt file at yoursite.com/robots.txt.
        • Look for disallow rules blocking the missed page and remove them if necessary.
        • Have Google recrawl the page.
        • Example error: "Blocked by robots.txt".
     2. Noindex Meta Tag:
        • Check the HTML of your webpage for the "meta robots" tag.
          • If you're using Google Chrome, you can access the HTML of the page by pressing "Ctrl" + "U".
        • If it includes a "noindex" directive, Google will not index the page.
        • Example error: "Submitted URL marked 'noindex'".
     3. Page Accessibility:
        • Ensure the page is accessible and has working links.
        • If the page is not accessible for you, it's not accessible for Googlebot.
        • Example errors: "Submitted URL not found (404)", "Blocked due to forbidden access (403)".
     4. Content Quality:
        • Ensure the content is high quality and useful for searcher intent.
        • It's possible Google crawled the page and decided the content didn't need to be indexed.
        • If changes have been made to increase content value, request Google to reindex the page using the URL Inspection tool.
        • Example error: "Crawled - currently not indexed".

To prevent and maintain optimal performance in Google Search Console, adhere to the following practices:

1. Regularly Monitor Your Site:
   • Frequently check the "Pages" section in Google Search Console to stay updated on which pages are indexed and which are not. This proactive approach helps in identifying issues early.
   • Use the URL Inspection tool periodically to ensure URLs are correctly indexed and address any issues promptly.
2. Optimize Your Content:
   • Ensure your content is of high quality and valuable to users. Google prefers to index content that meets searcher intent, so regularly review and update your content to keep it relevant and informative.
3. Check for Duplicate Content:
   • Avoid having multiple URLs with identical content. Regularly audit your site for duplicate pages and use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page to Google.
4. Manage Your Robots.txt:
   • Keep your robots.txt file updated to prevent Google from crawling unnecessary pages, such as scripts or placeholder pages. Regularly review the file to ensure important pages are not inadvertently blocked.
5. Maintain Accessible URLs:
   • Ensure all your URLs are accessible and not giving 404 or 403 errors. Regularly test your site’s links to confirm they are functioning correctly and fix any broken links quickly.
6. Use Meta Tags Wisely:
   • Avoid using "noindex" meta tags on pages you want Google to index. Regularly review your web pages' HTML to ensure that meta directives are correctly set up.

By following these tips, you can maintain a healthy and effective presence in Google Search, minimizing indexing issues and promoting optimal site performance.

If you need further assistance with Google Search Console errors, please log in via https://support.ezoic.com/ to make use of our dedicated resources for support. We're here to help!