Crawl errors are a type of error that occurs when search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo try to access and index your website but are unable to do so due to a problem with the website. These errors can occur for a variety of reasons, including broken links, server errors, or incorrect website configurations. When search engines encounter crawl errors, they may not be able to index all of the content on your website, which can negatively impact your search engine rankings and visibility.
Crawl errors matter because they can prevent search engines from fully indexing your website, which can hurt your website’s overall visibility and rankings. If search engines are unable to crawl and index your website properly, your website may not appear in search results for relevant keywords and phrases, which can result in lost traffic and potential customers.
There are several types of crawl errors, including:
- 404 errors: These errors occur when a page on your website cannot be found by the search engine because the URL has changed or the page no longer exists.
- Server errors: These errors occur when there is a problem with the server hosting your website, preventing search engines from accessing your site.
- Redirect errors: These errors occur when a redirect on your website is not functioning properly, preventing search engines from accessing the correct page.
- DNS errors: These errors occur when there is a problem with the domain name system (DNS), preventing search engines from accessing your website’s IP address.
To identify crawl errors on your website, you can use tools like Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools. These tools will provide you with a list of crawl errors and suggestions for how to fix them. It’s important to address crawl errors as quickly as possible to ensure that search engines are able to properly crawl and index your website.