Crawl errors are one of those behind-the-scenes issues that can quietly impact your website’s performance—without much warning.
And while they might not be as flashy as ranking updates or content strategies, they’re just as important.
Because if search engines can’t access your content, they can’t index it. And if it’s not indexed, it’s not going to show up in search results.
Whether you are part of an SEO services company managing client websites or on an internal marketing team keeping your own site in shape, staying on top of crawl errors is essential to SEO success.
Let’s unpack what crawl errors are, how to identify them, and—most importantly—how to fix crawl errors effectively.
What Are Crawl Errors?
Crawl errors happen when search engine bots (like Googlebot) try to access a page on your site but hit a problem.
Sometimes it’s a dead link. Other times, it’s a server issue. It could even be a misconfiguration in your robots.txt file that’s blocking pages you didn’t intend to hide.
Regardless of the cause, the outcome is the same: search engines are unable to properly crawl your site effectively.
That means important pages might not get indexed—or worse, Google might begin to crawl your site less often, thinking it’s unreliable.
Now let’s look at the common types of crawl errors you’re likely to encounter.
Understanding the Different Types of Crawl Errors
Google generally splits crawl errors into two main categories: site-level errors and URL-level errors. Here’s what that means.
- Site-Level Errors
These impact your entire website and often signal larger infrastructure issues. The most common errors include:
- DNS errors – Googlebot can’t connect to your domain name server.
- Server errors (5xx) – The server fails to deliver the page. These include 500, 502, 503, and 504 errors.
- Robots.txt errors – Googlebot tries to access your robots.txt file but can’t, so it stops crawling altogether just to be safe.
Each of these errors requires urgent attention, especially if your site depends on consistent organic traffic.
- URL-Level Errors
These only affect individual pages rather than your whole domain. Common examples include:
- 404 errors (Not Found) – The bot is looking for a page that no longer exists.
- Soft 404s – Pages that return a “200 OK” status but have little or no content.
- Access denied – Pages are blocked by authentication or permissions.
- Redirect errors – Broken, looping, or excessively long redirect chains.
Even one or two of these won’t ruin your SEO—but left unchecked, they add up quickly and drag down your site’s overall crawlability.
Regular monitoring and timely resolution of crawl errors are essential for maintaining optimal site performance and making sure that search engines can index the content effectively.
Step-by-Step: How to Spot Crawl Errors
To fix crawl errors, start by logging into Google Search Console. The Coverage and Page Indexing reports will show a breakdown of indexing status and crawling issues Google has encountered.
You can also use tools like:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider to redirect chains, find broken links, and blocked resources.
- Ahrefs Site Audit to get insights into crawl errors and their impact on SEO.
- SEMemrush to receive comprehensive crawl reports and recommendations for fixes.
Each of these tools simulates how bots crawl your site and flags potential errors. They help you dig deeper into what’s going wrong and where.
But tools alone won’t solve the problem. It’s what you do next that matters.
Best Practices for Fixing Crawl Errors
Now that you’ve identified the errors, let’s talk fixes. Because not all crawl errors are created equal—and not every issue should be handled the same way.
Fixing 404 Errors
404 errors are common. Maybe you deleted an old blog post. Or someone mistyped a URL in a backlink.
If the page is truly gone and there’s no replacement, a 404 is fine. But if there’s a similar or newer version of the content, set up a 301 redirect to guide users and bots to the right destination.
Also, update any internal links that point to the dead page.
Fixing 5xx Server Errors
Server issues often indicate a deeper technical problem. Maybe your hosting environment is under-resourced, or a plugin crashed your CMS.
These should be escalated to your IT or development team. Check your server logs for clues, and work with your hosting provider to make sure your site is stable and has the bandwidth it needs.
Fixing Robots.txt and Noindex Errors
Sometimes we block content without realizing it. A simple “Disallow: /” line in your robots.txt can tell Googlebot to stop crawling your entire site.
Likewise, “noindex” meta tags on key pages can prevent indexing altogether.
Audit both regularly. Keep them clean and focused. Use robots.txt to block only sensitive or duplicate content—like login pages or internal test environments.
Maintenance: Keeping Crawl Errors from Coming Back
Fixing errors is just one part of the process. Preventing them is another.
Here’s how:
- After every site update or migration, run a crawl audit.
- Monitor your Google Search Console weekly, not just when traffic drops.
- Double-check new pages for crawlability before launch.
- Use a clear redirect strategy, avoid long redirect chains or loops.
- Test robots.txt and noindex tags before deploying to live.
Over time, these steps will become second nature to you and help save hours of cleanup work down the line.
For SEO Agencies: Scale Your Crawl Strategy
If you’re working in an SEO services company, multiply everything by ten.
That means:
- Centralized crawl error logs for each client for cross-site trend analysis.
- Scheduled technical audits every month to catch issues before they snowball
- Automate alerts for crawl errors using tools like Screaming Frog + Google Looker Studio
- A system for reporting fixes back to clients, so they see your value
Clients may not always notice crawl errors—but they definitely notice when leads dip. Staying ahead of these issues is a key part of the value you deliver.
For In-House Teams: Build Crawl Management into Content Ops
On the internal side, it helps to treat crawlability like part of the publishing checklist.
Before publishing content:
- Test the URL in Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool.
- Verify that no pages are blocked from crawling or indexing.
- Confirm that internal links are accurate and not pointing to retired URLs.
Integrating this into your workflow reduces surprises—and supports your content team’s performance in search.
Final Thoughts
Crawl errors are easy to overlook—but critical to fix.
They don’t make headlines. They don’t show up in content briefs. But they determine whether your content shows up at all.
With a consistent strategy, a few key tools, and a proactive mindset, both agencies and in-house teams can keep their websites visible, searchable, and SEO-friendly.
And that’s the real win.
