Google Search Console Errors: What They Mean and How to Fix Them

Google Search Console errors look scary, but most have a plain cause and a short fix. Open the Page indexing report and you'll see a list of reasons Google didn't index some of your pages. Some need action. Others are normal, and you can leave them alone.

This guide covers the Google Search Console errors you'll meet most often. It goes in the order we'd check them, and it tells you when to fix something and when to walk away.

You don't need to be a developer to follow it. You do need access to your Search Console account and, for some fixes, to your website or hosting.

Where do you find the errors?

Open Search Console and pick your site. Click "Pages" under "Indexing" in the left menu. The report splits your URLs into indexed and not indexed. Click any reason under "Not indexed" to see the affected URLs.

For one page at a time, paste the URL into the bar at the top. That opens the URL Inspection tool, which shows how Google last saw the page. Google explains both tools in its Page indexing report help.

Do 404 errors always need fixing?

No. A page that doesn't exist should return a 404, and that's correct behavior. Google says 404s don't hurt the rest of your site.

Fix a 404 when the page should exist. That usually means a link has a typo, or a page moved and nothing points to the new address.

Check where the broken URL is linked from. If the link is on your own site, correct it. If the old page had visitors or links, send it to its closest match with a 301 redirect.

How do you fix a soft 404?

Soft 404s happen when a page tells Google "found" but looks empty or says "not found" to a reader. Google gets mixed signals, so it treats the page like a 404. Typical causes are thin pages with almost no content, empty search or category pages, and error pages that return a normal status.

Decide what the page should be. If it's gone for good, make it return a real 404 or 410. If it should exist, add real content.

If another page replaces it, redirect to that page. Don't redirect everything to the home page, because Google often treats that as a soft 404 too.

What do server errors (5xx) tell you?

A 5xx error means your server failed when Googlebot asked for the page. The usual causes are overloaded hosting, a crash, a broken update, or a firewall that blocks Googlebot by mistake.

Start with your hosting logs for the time Google reports. Check that your uptime is steady and that security tools aren't rate limiting Google.

If errors keep happening, Google slows down how often it visits. Once the cause is fixed, recheck the page with URL Inspection. Google's guide to HTTP status codes and network errors lists each code.

What does a redirect error mean?

It means Google followed a redirect and hit a problem. The common ones are loops, where page A sends you to B and B sends you back, and chains with too many steps. A redirect that ends on a broken page counts as well.

Point the old URL straight to the final page. Google follows up to 10 hops, but each extra hop slows things down, so fewer is better. Test the path in your browser or with a crawler like Screaming Frog.

Why is a page blocked by robots.txt?

Because a rule in your robots.txt file tells Google not to crawl it. That's fine for admin pages and private areas. It's a problem when the rule catches pages you want found.

Open your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt and look for broad rules like "Disallow: /". Remove the rule that blocks good pages.

Note that blocking a page doesn't remove it from search. To keep a page out of results, use a noindex tag, and let Google crawl the page so it can see the tag. See Google's robots.txt introduction.

What do "Crawled" and "Discovered" mean?

These two statuses confuse many people. "Crawled, currently not indexed" means Google visited and chose not to index the page. "Discovered, currently not indexed" means Google knows the URL but hasn't visited yet.

For "Crawled," the page is usually thin, close to a duplicate, or hard to tell apart from others. Improve it, merge it with a similar page, or link to it from your main pages.

For "Discovered," Google hasn't made the page a priority. Add internal links to it, keep your sitemap clean, and cut junk URLs that compete for attention. Google doesn't promise to index every page it finds, so a few of these are normal.

How do duplicate and canonical messages work?

You'll see messages like "Duplicate without user-selected canonical" and "Alternate page with proper canonical tag." The first one needs attention. The second one is usually fine.

A canonical tag tells Google which version of a page is the main one. If you don't set it, Google picks one for you, and it may pick the wrong one.

Add a canonical tag to each page that points to its own preferred URL. Make sure your sitemap lists only those preferred URLs. Google covers this in its guide to consolidating duplicate URLs.

Where did the mobile usability report go?

Google retired the Mobile Usability report and the Mobile-Friendly Test in late 2023. If you're looking for it, you won't find it. Mobile problems still matter, so check them another way.

Open your site on a real phone and tap around. Run the page through PageSpeed Insights, which shows mobile results. Then check the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console. Common mobile problems are tiny text, buttons packed too close together, and content wider than the screen.

Which errors should you fix first?

Start with whatever can hurt the most pages at once. Work down this list, and stop when you hit pages that don't matter:

• Server errors, because they can slow Google down across the whole site.
• Pages blocked by robots.txt or noindex that you want in search.
• Soft 404s and redirect errors on pages that bring in customers.
• Duplicate and canonical problems on your main pages.
• Everything else, including old 404s on pages you removed.

Don't judge a report by its size. Fifty old 404s matter less than one broken service page. Look at the page, ask whether a customer would want it, and let that decide how urgent it is.

How do you confirm a fix worked?

Fix the cause first. Then run the page through URL Inspection and test the live URL. If it passes, click "Request indexing" for your most important pages.

Back in the report, click "Validate fix" on the issue. Google then rechecks the affected pages over the next days or weeks. You'll get an email when it finishes. Don't validate until the fix is live, because a failed check just starts the wait again.

What should you check each week?

A short routine beats a big cleanup once a year. Here's one that takes ten minutes:

• Open the Pages report and look for new reasons or sudden jumps.
• Scan for 5xx errors, which are urgent.
• Check that your important pages are still indexed.
• Look at any page you changed in the last week.

What else do people ask?

Do Search Console errors hurt my rankings?

Not by themselves. Most reasons in the report describe pages that aren't in Google's index, which affects only those pages. Server errors are the exception, because a failing server can slow how often Google visits your whole site.

How long do fixes take to show up?

It varies. Recrawling can take days, and validation can take a couple of weeks. Requesting indexing for key pages can speed up the pages that matter most.

Should I fix every error in the report?

No. Fix errors on pages that should rank, and ignore the rest. Old pages that are gone for good should stay as 404s.

Can you fix these errors yourself?

Often, yes. Content and redirect fixes are easy on most website platforms. Server and robots.txt problems may need a developer, so ask for help when the cause isn't clear.

Want a second pair of eyes?

If the report feels like too much, we can go through it with you. Our SEO Audit is a one-time $397. See the details on our pricing page, or tell us about your site. If you run a salon or a med spa, our salon SEO checklist and med spa SEO checklist cover what to check next.