Google Search Console can often give messages that may be a bit confusing. In this guide, we'll help you navigate and understand these messages, ensuring a smoother experience in optimizing your website for search engines.
Please Note: Zibster is not affiliated with Google. Our Support Team can show you how to install your Google Search Console validation code but for questions specifically about Google Search Console, you'll want to refer to Google Search Console Help.
PRO TIP!
While you may see a number of web pages within Search Console that aren't currently being indexed, it's essential to keep in mind that you can observe and monitor what is actively being indexed by Google.
Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag
This page is marked as an alternate of another page. Think of it as an AMP page that's related to a regular desktop page, or maybe it's a mobile version of a desktop page, or even the regular desktop version of a mobile page. The good news is that this page is doing its job correctly; it's connected to the main page that Google knows about, and that main page is already listed in Google's search results. So, relax, there's no action needed here. Google Search Console doesn't pay attention to these special language versions, so you can keep on doing your thing!
Duplicate Without User-Selected Canonical
This page is a duplicate to another page, but Google hasn't indicated a canonical one. Google decided to go with the other page as the main one, so you won't find this page in search results. You can check which page Google considers canonical by using the "Inspect this URL" feature.
Don't worry; this isn't an error. It's just how Google makes sure you don't see the same thing twice in search results. But if you think Google got it wrong and you want to pick a favorite page, you can do that. Or, if you believe these pages are genuinely different, just make sure the content on both pages is noticeably unique.
Duplicate, Google Chose Different Canonical Than User
This page was meant to be the main one for a group of pages, but Google believes that another URL is a better choice as the main one. Google has gone ahead and listed the page it thinks is the best fit, rather than this one. You can see which one Google chose by following the steps below.
- Inspect this URL to see the Google-selected canonical URL under Page indexing > Google-selected canonical.
- Look at the canonical you chose under Page indexing > User-declared canonical.
- In your browser, look at the current page, the user-declared canonical, and the Google-selected canonical.
- This error means that Google thinks that the tested page isn't a duplicate of the user-declared canonical. Instead, Google thinks that the tested page is a duplicate of the Google-selected canonical.
- If the Google-selected canonical is the tested page, then Google thinks that the tested page isn't similar to any other pages.
- If the user-declared canonical is not similar to the current page, then Google won't ever choose that URL as canonical. A duplicate page must be similar to the canonical. (That's what duplicate means.)
Not Found (404)
This indicates that a page on your website returned a 404 error when Google attempted to index it. This typically happens when a URL is changed or a page is deleted.
To correct this, you can set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the updated one.
For more detailed instructions, please refer to our guide at the following link:
https://support.zibster.com/blog-post/how-to-fix-not-found-404-pages-in-google-search-console
Soft 404
Similar to a 404 Not Found error, this indicates that a page on your website is not being indexed. The key difference is that while the page itself isn't missing, its content is.
You can resolve this issue by using our 301 redirect tool.
For detailed instructions, please refer to our guide at the link below:
https://support.zibster.com/blog-post/how-to-fix-not-found-404-pages-in-google-search-console
Page with Redirect
This occurs quite often and is nothing to worry about. Google is notifying you that you have multiple URL's pointing to the same page on your website, and at least one URL is being redirected. Often times it is the same URL except one has a / at the end of it. Only one URL will be indexed while the other redirects to the URL that is being indexed by Google.
Server Error (5xx)
Server error (5xx) can be caused by a number of reasons, but ultimately it is Google not being able to index a page because it is unavailable for Google's website crawler. Below is what each error message refers to.
- 500 – Internal Server Error
- 501 – Not Implemented
- 502 – Bad Gateway
- 503 – Service Unavailable
- 504 – Gateway Timeout
- 505 – HTTP Version Not Supported
- 506 – Variant Also Negotiates
- 507 – Insufficient Storage
- 508 – Loop Detected
- 509 – Bandwidth Limit Exceeded
- 510 – Not Extended (RFC 2774)
- 511 – Network Authentication Required
Crawled - Currently Not Indexed
Google's webpage crawler looked over the page, but it was not indexed. It is possible it may or may not be indexed in the future.
Discovered - Currently Not Indexed
The webpage has been found online by Google, but it hasn't been crawled yet. It is possible Google intended to crawl it but this was expected to overload the site and rescheduled indexing the page. You can use the URL inspection tool to request indexing manually.
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