How to Fix Crawl Errors in Google Search Console: Step-by-Step Guide

Why Crawl Errors Matter (And Why You Should Fix Them Now)

If Google cannot crawl your pages, those pages will never appear in search results. It is that simple. Crawl errors act as roadblocks between your content and the people searching for it. The good news is that most crawl errors are straightforward to diagnose and fix once you know where to look.

In this guide, we walk you through every common crawl error reported in Google Search Console, explain what causes each one, and give you clear, actionable steps to resolve them. Whether you are a complete beginner or a seasoned site owner who just needs a refresher, this post has you covered.

Step 1: Find Your Crawl Errors in Google Search Console

Before you can fix anything, you need to see exactly what Google is reporting. Here is how to find your crawl errors:

1. Log in to Google Search Console.
2. Select your property (website) from the dropdown.
3. In the left sidebar, click Pages (previously called the “Coverage” report).
4. Look at the tabs labeled Not indexed and Error. These are the pages Google tried to crawl but could not process successfully.
5. For a broader picture, navigate to Settings > Crawl Stats to review how Googlebot has been interacting with your site over the past 90 days.

Pro tip: Use the URL Inspection tool at the top of Search Console to check the status of any individual URL. It will tell you whether the page was crawled, indexed, or blocked, and why.

Step 2: Understand the Types of Crawl Errors

Not all crawl errors are the same. Google groups them into different categories, and each one requires a different fix. Here is a quick overview:

Now let’s fix each one.

Step 3: Fix 404 (Not Found) Errors

404 errors are by far the most common crawl errors. They occur when Googlebot requests a URL that does not exist on your server.

Common Causes

• You deleted a page or product without setting up a redirect.
• A URL was changed (new slug or permalink structure) but old links still point to the old address.
• Another website or an internal page links to a mistyped URL.

How to Fix 404 Errors

1. Determine if the page should exist. If the URL was intentionally removed and has no replacement, a 404 or 410 response is perfectly fine. Google will eventually drop it from the index.
2. Restore the page if it was deleted by accident.
3. Set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the most relevant existing page. In WordPress, you can use a plugin like Redirection or do it manually in your .htaccess file.
4. Fix internal links. Search your site for any links pointing to the broken URL and update them to the correct destination.
5. Remove or update the URL in your XML sitemap so you are not telling Google to crawl a dead page.

Important: Do not redirect all 404 pages to your homepage. Google treats mass homepage redirects as soft 404s, which does not solve the problem.

Step 4: Fix Server Errors (5xx)

A 5xx error means your server failed to fulfill Googlebot’s request. This is more serious than a 404 because it can signal widespread problems that affect your entire site’s crawlability.

Common Causes

• Server overload or insufficient hosting resources.
• Misconfigured server software (Apache, Nginx, etc.).
• Broken PHP scripts or plugin conflicts (especially common in WordPress).
• Database connection failures.
• Firewall or security plugin blocking Googlebot by mistake.

How to Fix Server Errors

1. Check if the errors are intermittent or permanent. Visit the affected URLs yourself. If they load fine for you but fail for Googlebot, a firewall or CDN may be blocking the bot.
2. Review your server logs. Look for error entries (500, 502, 503) around the same timestamps Google reports the errors. This will point you to the root cause.
3. Make sure Googlebot is not blocked. Verify that your security plugins, CDN (such as Cloudflare or CloudFront), or hosting firewall are not rate-limiting or blocking Google’s IP ranges.
4. Upgrade your hosting if your server consistently runs out of memory or CPU under Googlebot’s crawl load.
5. Disable plugins one by one (if on WordPress) to identify a faulty plugin causing 500 errors.
6. Check your robots.txt for an excessive crawl-delay directive. While Googlebot does not officially honor crawl-delay, a misconfigured server that throttles requests too aggressively can cause timeouts.

Step 5: Fix Redirect Errors

Redirect errors happen when Googlebot follows a redirect but cannot reach a final, valid destination. These are sneaky because they often look fine in a browser but fail during a bot crawl.

Types of Redirect Errors

• Redirect loops: Page A redirects to Page B, and Page B redirects back to Page A.
• Too many redirects (redirect chains): Page A redirects to B, then to C, then to D, and so on. Google may give up after a few hops.
• Redirect to a broken page: The final destination returns a 404 or 5xx error.

How to Fix Redirect Errors

1. Map out your redirect chains. Use a tool like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or an online redirect checker to trace the full path of each redirect.
2. Simplify chains. Every redirect should go directly from the old URL to the final destination in a single hop (one 301 redirect).
3. Break loops. Identify the circular reference and update one of the redirects so it points to a real, live page.
4. Verify the final destination. Make sure the page at the end of the redirect actually returns a 200 OK status.
5. Update your internal links so they point directly to the final URL instead of relying on redirects at all.

Step 6: Fix “Blocked by robots.txt” Errors

If Google wants to crawl a URL but your robots.txt file says “no,” it shows up as a blocked resource. This is only a problem if you actually want those pages indexed.

How to Fix It

1. Open your robots.txt file (usually at https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt).
2. Look for Disallow rules that might be blocking the URLs in question.
3. Use the robots.txt Tester in Google Search Console (under Settings) to test specific URLs against your rules.
4. Remove or modify the Disallow rule if the page should be crawlable.
5. Save the updated file and ask Google to recrawl the affected URLs.

Warning: Be careful when editing robots.txt. Accidentally removing a necessary Disallow rule can expose admin pages, staging content, or duplicate pages to Google.

Step 7: Fix Soft 404 Errors

A soft 404 occurs when a page returns an HTTP 200 (OK) status but the content looks like an error page to Google. Common examples include empty category pages, search result pages with no results, or thin placeholder content.

How to Fix Soft 404 Errors

• If the page genuinely has no content, return a proper 404 or 410 HTTP status code instead of 200.
• If the page should exist, add meaningful, unique content so Google recognizes it as a real page.
• For empty category or tag pages, either populate them with content or noindex them until they have enough substance.

Step 8: Fix “Submitted URL Has Crawl Issue”

This specific error appears when a URL included in your XML sitemap encounters any crawl problem (404, 5xx, redirect error, etc.). Google is essentially saying: “You told me to crawl this, but I could not.”

How to Fix It

1. Identify the underlying error using the URL Inspection tool.
2. Apply the appropriate fix from the sections above (fix the 404, server error, redirect, etc.).
3. Clean up your XML sitemap. Only include URLs that return a 200 status, are not redirected, and are not blocked by robots.txt or a noindex tag.
4. Resubmit your sitemap in Google Search Console under Sitemaps.

Step 9: Fix 401/403 (Unauthorized/Forbidden) Errors

These errors mean Googlebot was denied access to the page due to authentication requirements or permission restrictions.

How to Fix It

• If the page requires a login and should not be indexed, this is expected behavior. No fix needed.
• If the page should be publicly accessible, remove the authentication requirement or adjust your server permissions.
• Check that your CDN or hosting provider is not requiring CAPTCHAs or login prompts for bot traffic.

Step 10: Validate Your Fixes and Request Re-Crawling

After applying fixes, you need to tell Google to check again. Here is the process:

1. In Google Search Console, go to the Pages report.
2. Click on the specific error category you fixed.
3. Click the Validate Fix button. Google will re-crawl the affected URLs over the following days.
4. For individual URLs, use the URL Inspection tool and click Request Indexing.

Be patient. Validation can take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks depending on your site’s size and crawl frequency.

Crawl Error Prevention Checklist

Fixing errors is important, but preventing them saves you time and protects your SEO long term. Use this checklist regularly:

• Audit your site monthly with a crawler tool (Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Ahrefs Site Audit).
• Always set up 301 redirects when you change URLs or delete pages that have backlinks or traffic.
• Keep your XML sitemap clean. Regenerate it after major site changes and remove dead URLs.
• Monitor your Crawl Stats report in Google Search Console for sudden spikes in errors.
• Test your robots.txt after every edit.
• Check server health and uptime using a monitoring tool like UptimeRobot or Pingdom.
• Review internal links whenever you restructure your site or migrate content.

Quick Reference: Error Types and Fixes at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I fix crawl errors in Google Search Console?

Start by navigating to the Pages report in Google Search Console. Identify the error type (404, 5xx, redirect, etc.), then apply the specific fix for that error: set up 301 redirects for missing pages, resolve server issues for 5xx errors, simplify redirect chains, or update your robots.txt for blocked pages. After fixing, click Validate Fix so Google rechecks the affected URLs.

How do I fix “crawled, currently not indexed” in Google Search Console?

This status means Google crawled the page but chose not to index it. Common reasons include thin or duplicate content, low perceived quality, or a noindex tag. To fix it, improve the content quality, make sure the page is unique and valuable, remove any accidental noindex directives, and build internal links pointing to the page. Then request indexing via the URL Inspection tool.

How do I force Google to crawl my site?

You cannot literally force Google to crawl your site, but you can strongly encourage it. Use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console and click Request Indexing for specific URLs. You can also submit an updated XML sitemap. For large-scale changes, keep your sitemap fresh and ensure your site has strong internal linking and fast server response times.

Do 404 errors hurt my SEO?

A few 404 errors on genuinely deleted pages will not harm your rankings. However, if important pages with backlinks or traffic return 404s, you are losing SEO value. Always redirect high-value deleted pages to relevant alternatives using 301 redirects.

How often should I check for crawl errors?

At a minimum, review your crawl errors in Google Search Console once a month. If you make frequent site changes, publish new content often, or recently migrated your site, check weekly until things stabilize.

What tools can help me find crawl errors beyond Google Search Console?

Several tools complement Google Search Console for crawl error detection:

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider (desktop crawler)
• Sitebulb (visual website auditor)
• Ahrefs Site Audit (cloud-based)
• Semrush Site Audit (cloud-based)
• Your own server access logs for raw crawl data

Final Thoughts

Crawl errors are one of those technical SEO fundamentals that can quietly undermine your rankings if left unchecked. The process of fixing them is not complicated, but it does require consistency. Make it a habit to review your Google Search Console reports, fix issues as they appear, and maintain a clean sitemap and redirect structure.

Your content deserves to be found. Do not let a stale 404 or a misconfigured server stand in the way.