What are the most common Google Search Console errors?

The most common Google Search Console errors include submitted URL issues, 404 not found errors, server (5XX) errors, redirect loops, structured data markup problems, mobile usability errors, and exclusions from indexing.

How do I fix a submitted URL blocked by robots.txt?

You can fix this by editing your robots.txt file to allow Googlebot to crawl the page. Use the robots.txt tester in Google Search Console to identify and update blocking rules.

Why does Google show soft 404 errors?

Soft 404 errors occur when a page displays little or no content but doesn’t return a proper 404 status code. To fix, return the correct 404/410 code or set up a 301 redirect to a relevant page.

What causes 5XX server errors in Google Search Console?

5XX errors indicate server-side problems like overload, misconfiguration, gateway timeouts, or maintenance downtime. Solutions include optimising hosting, caching, fixing code issues, and using a CDN for performance.

How do I fix structured data markup issues on product pages?

Ensure your Product schema includes required fields like price, availability, reviewCount, and aggregateRating. Use Google’s Rich Results Test to validate and correct errors.

Why is my video not being indexed in Google?

Common reasons include missing or invalid thumbnail URLs, unsupported video formats, or videos being placed outside the viewport. Adding proper VideoObject schema and a crawlable thumbnail usually resolves the issue.

How do I fix mobile usability issues in Google Search Console?

Fix mobile usability errors by ensuring text is large enough to read, clickable elements are spaced properly, content fits within the viewport, and responsive design is applied.

What does 'Crawled – currently not indexed' mean?

This status means Google has crawled your page but decided not to index it. Causes may include thin or duplicate content. You can improve the page’s quality and resubmit it using the URL Inspection tool.

Mastering Google Search Console Errors

Last Updated on September 5, 2025 by Jessie Connor

If you own or manage a website, one of the most powerful free tools at your disposal is Google Search Console (GSC). It provides critical insights into how Google sees your site, highlights problems that might be holding you back, and gives you direct feedback about indexing, crawling, and performance in search results.

For many website owners, however, Google Search Console reports can feel overwhelming. Error messages like “Submitted URL not found (404)” or “Crawled – currently not indexed” may leave you scratching your head, wondering whether your SEO efforts are in jeopardy.

This guide will break down the most common Google Search Console errors, explain what they mean, why they matter, and—most importantly—how to fix them. By the end, you’ll not only understand these issues but also know how to transform them into opportunities for stronger visibility in Google search.

Table of Contents

Why Google Search Console Is Essential

If you think of your website as a shop, then Google Search Console (GSC) is the window into how customers find you, what they see when they arrive, and which doors might be jammed shut without you realising it. While many website owners rely heavily on Google Analytics for traffic stats, GSC goes a step further—it shows you how Google itself views your site.

Here are the key reasons why GSC is indispensable:

1. It Shows You How People Find You in Search

Google Analytics tells you what visitors do once they’re on your site, but it doesn’t reveal the exact search queries that brought them there. GSC fills this gap. In the Performance Report, you can see:

The queries your site appeared for.
The number of impressions and clicks you earned.
Your average ranking position for each query.

This insight is priceless. For example, if you run a travel blog and discover that you rank on page two for “best hidden beaches in Greece,” you know where to focus your optimisation efforts to climb higher.

2. It Highlights Indexing and Crawling Issues

Your content can only generate traffic if it’s indexed by Google. GSC alerts you when something blocks that process. The Coverage Report shows whether pages are indexed, excluded, or returning errors.

For instance:

If hundreds of pages are excluded with the status “Crawled – currently not indexed,” it may be a sign of thin or duplicate content.
If “Server errors (5xx)” appear, your hosting may be struggling, preventing Googlebot from accessing your site.

Without GSC, you might never know these problems exist until your rankings drop.

3. It Provides Crucial Enhancement Reports

Modern SEO isn’t just about keywords—it’s also about experience. Google wants to reward sites that provide users with the best possible experience. That’s where GSC’s Enhancements Reports come in.

You’ll find:

Mobile Usability Report – Are your fonts readable on mobile? Are your buttons too close together?
Core Web Vitals – Do your pages load fast enough? Are they visually stable?
Structured Data Reports – Does Google understand your products, articles, videos, or events?

For example, if your ecommerce store has schema errors on product pages, you may be missing out on rich snippets like star ratings or prices—features that directly improve click-through rates.

4. It Alerts You to Security and Manual Actions

Few things are scarier than waking up to find your site hacked or penalised. With GSC, you’ll receive immediate alerts if:

Google detects hacked content.
Your site hosts malware or deceptive downloads.
You’ve violated Google’s Webmaster Guidelines (e.g., spammy backlinks or cloaking).

Think of it as an early-warning system. The sooner you know, the sooner you can fix it before your rankings suffer permanent damage.

5. It Helps You Measure SEO Success Over Time

SEO is a long game. What you do today—whether it’s publishing a blog post, fixing technical errors, or improving structured data—may not show results immediately. GSC allows you to measure progress across months and years.

Did your average position improve after you optimised your title tags?
Did clicks from mobile search rise after you fixed mobile usability errors?
Did impressions grow after you expanded content around certain keywords?

Without these metrics, you’d be flying blind.

6. It’s Free, Yet Incredibly Powerful

Perhaps the most underrated aspect of GSC is that it doesn’t cost a cent. Many SEO tools charge hefty monthly fees, but none have the direct connection to Google’s search engine like GSC does. It’s the closest you’ll get to hearing from Google what’s working and what isn’t.

Google Search Console is more than a diagnostic tool—it’s your SEO compass. It helps you spot errors before they become crises, uncover hidden opportunities for growth, and align your site with what Google values most.

Unraveling Submitted URL Errors: A Roadblock to Indexation

When you submit a sitemap, you’re essentially telling Google, “Here are the pages I want you to index.” But sometimes, those submitted pages can’t be indexed for one reason or another.

1. Pages Blocked by robots.txt

Cause: This happens when your robots.txt file explicitly tells search engines not to crawl a page, but you’ve also included that page in your sitemap. It’s like inviting Google to dinner while locking the front door.
Solution:
1. Open the robots.txt tester inside GSC.
2. Check whether you’ve accidentally blocked important pages with a broad rule (e.g., Disallow: /).
3. Adjust either the robots.txt file or your sitemap so both align with your true intentions.
Example: Suppose your robots.txt contains:
User-agent: * Disallow: /blog/
Yet, your sitemap lists /blog/my-latest-article. In this case, the sitemap is giving a green light, while robots.txt flashes red. Decide whether that article should be indexed. If yes, remove the disallow line.

2. Page Marked “No Index”

Cause: The page is included in your sitemap but carries a <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> tag or a x-robots-tag: noindex HTTP header. This tells Google, “Don’t index this,” creating a conflict.
Solution: If you want the page indexed, remove the “noindex” directive. If you don’t want it indexed, remove it from your sitemap.
Example: Many sites add “noindex” to thank-you pages, admin pages, or thin content. That’s perfectly fine—but those URLs shouldn’t live in your sitemap.

3. Page Crawl Issues

Cause: Sometimes, Google simply cannot crawl a page due to technical hiccups—server timeouts, faulty redirects, or resource-heavy scripts.
Solution:
1. Use the URL Inspection Tool to see details of the crawl failure.
2. Work with your developer to identify whether it’s a server-side issue, redirect problem, or blocked resource.
3. Once fixed, request a re-crawl in GSC.
Example: A common scenario occurs with ecommerce product pages that generate dynamic URLs. If your server struggles to load them quickly, Googlebot may give up before completing the crawl.

Navigating 404 Errors: Strategies for Seamless User Experience

Few things are as frustrating for users as clicking a link only to land on a dead page. Google differentiates between “soft 404” and “hard 404” errors. Understanding both is crucial.

1. Submitted URL as a Soft 404

Cause: A soft 404 happens when your server returns a “200 OK” response (meaning the page exists), but the content is essentially empty—maybe a placeholder or “product not available” message.
Solution:
- If the page is truly gone, configure your server to return a proper 404 or 410 response.
- If the page has moved, set up a 301 redirect to the new location.
Example: An online shop shows “This product is out of stock” with no alternatives. To Google, that looks like a thin or useless page. A better approach is to redirect users to a similar product or category.

2. Submitted URL Not Found (404)

Cause: This is a genuine 404: the URL doesn’t exist anymore, yet it’s still in your sitemap or linked internally.
Solution:
- Redirect important, high-value 404 pages to relevant alternatives.
- Ignore trivial 404s (like typos or old campaign URLs). Google will eventually stop requesting them.
Example: If you had /best-smartphones-2022 and now run /best-smartphones-2023, redirect the old page to the new one to preserve SEO equity.

Tackling Server Error (5XX): Optimising Website Performance

When Google Search Console reports 5XX server errors, it signals that your website’s server failed to fulfil a request made by Googlebot. Unlike 404 errors, which tell Google that a page doesn’t exist, 5XX errors imply that something went wrong on your server’s side. This makes them more serious, because Googlebot may temporarily stop crawling your site if these errors persist.

Think of it this way: if a shop door is locked every time a customer visits, they’ll eventually stop trying to enter. Google reacts the same way—too many failed requests and your crawl frequency may decrease, directly harming indexing and visibility.

Common Types of 5XX Errors

500 – Internal Server Error
- A generic error when the server encounters an unexpected condition.
- Often linked to misconfigured code, memory overloads, or faulty plugins.
502 – Bad Gateway
- Happens when one server acting as a gateway or proxy receives an invalid response from another server.
- Common in setups with CDNs, reverse proxies, or load balancers.
503 – Service Unavailable
- Indicates the server is overloaded or temporarily down for maintenance.
- Googlebot interprets this as a temporary error and may retry later, but repeated 503s can harm crawl trust.
504 – Gateway Timeout
- Occurs when the server acting as a gateway doesn’t receive a timely response from an upstream server.
- Often linked to slow databases or long-running scripts.

Why 5XX Errors Hurt SEO

Crawling disrupted: Googlebot can’t access or render affected pages.
Indexing gaps: If Google can’t consistently crawl your site, important pages may drop out of the index.
Ranking drops: Search engines prefer stable, reliable sites. Repeated server issues may lead to lower rankings.
User trust: If users also experience downtime, bounce rates rise, conversions fall, and brand trust suffers.

Diagnosing 5XX Errors

Before jumping into fixes, you need to pinpoint the exact cause. Useful tools and approaches include:

Google Search Console Coverage Report – Highlights the affected URLs and error type.
Server logs – Show whether the errors occurred during Googlebot requests or general user traffic.
Uptime monitoring tools (Pingdom, UptimeRobot, Datadog) – Detect outages in real time.
Load testing tools (Apache JMeter, k6) – Simulate heavy traffic to uncover bottlenecks.
Hosting provider dashboards – Sometimes the issue lies at the hosting level, not in your site’s code.

Practical Solutions for Resolving 5XX Errors

Optimise Server Resources
- Upgrade hosting plans if your site has outgrown shared hosting.
- Use caching (server-side and browser-side) to reduce load on dynamic requests.
- Implement a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to distribute traffic geographically and reduce latency.
Debug Application Code
- Check for faulty scripts, misconfigured plugins, or resource-heavy functions.
- In WordPress, poorly coded plugins are a common culprit—disable them one by one to identify the cause.
Monitor Database Performance
- Optimise SQL queries and ensure indexes are in place.
- Clear out bloated tables like WordPress wp_options or logs that aren’t being pruned.
- Consider database caching layers like Redis or Memcached.
Fix Configuration Issues
- Review .htaccess or NGINX configuration files for errors.
- Ensure proxy or load balancer rules are correctly defined.
- Check SSL/TLS certificates if secure connections are failing.
Plan for Traffic Spikes
- During sales, product launches, or viral events, unexpected surges can crash servers.
- Auto-scaling infrastructure (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) allows resources to scale up temporarily.
Handle Maintenance Smartly
- If taking your site offline for updates, serve a 503 status code with a Retry-After header.
- Example:
  HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable Retry-After: 3600
- This tells Google the downtime is temporary and it should try again later, preventing indexing issues.

Proactive Steps to Avoid 5XX Errors in the Future

Set up automated monitoring – Get alerts via email, SMS, or Slack whenever downtime is detected.
Schedule regular server audits – Check disk usage, memory consumption, and CPU load.
Optimise images and assets – Large uncompressed images increase server strain.
Limit crawl rate if necessary – In GSC’s settings, you can adjust crawl rate to avoid server overload.
Work with your host – If issues are frequent, escalate to your hosting provider or consider switching to a more reliable service.

Key takeaway: 5XX server errors are not just technical hiccups—they directly affect how Google sees and ranks your site. By ensuring server stability, optimising performance, and planning for traffic demands, you protect both your SEO and your visitors’ experience.

Streamlining Redirect Errors: Preventing Common Pitfalls

Redirects are normal in SEO, but messy ones create problems.

Cause: Errors often come from redirect chains (URL A → B → C), loops (A → B → A), exceeding length limits, or linking to malformed URLs.
Solution:
- Keep redirects direct: A → B.
- Test using tools like Screaming Frog or the Ayima Redirect Path Chrome extension.
- Regularly audit your .htaccess or server rules.
Example: A blog rebrands from /seo-tips to /search-tips and later to /digital-tips. If each redirect points to the next, you end up with a chain. Better: Redirect /seo-tips straight to /digital-tips.

Elevating Product Pages: Addressing Structured Data Markup Issues

When it comes to ecommerce SEO, product pages are your money-makers. They’re often the first touchpoint potential buyers see in search results. Yet, without proper structured data, Google may struggle to interpret key details like pricing, availability, or customer ratings. This can prevent your pages from appearing as rich snippets, costing you clicks and sales.

Structured data markup (especially Product schema) ensures Google understands your product information and displays it attractively in search results—think star ratings, price ranges, and “In Stock” labels. But incorrect or incomplete markup is one of the most common issues reported in Google Search Console.

Let’s look at the typical problems you’ll encounter and how to resolve them.

1. Missing Field “price” or “availability”

Cause: The Product schema requires certain properties like price and availability. If these are missing, incomplete, or formatted incorrectly, Search Console will flag them.
Why It Matters: Without price and stock status, your product is less competitive in rich results. Users are more likely to click listings that show this data upfront.
Solution:
- Use the offers property inside Product schema.
- Format price with the correct currency (e.g., "priceCurrency": "USD").
- Use recognised values for availability like https://schema.org/InStock or https://schema.org/OutOfStock.
Example:

2. Missing “review” or “aggregateRating”

Cause: Many ecommerce sites encourage customer reviews but forget to reflect them in their structured data. Without this, star ratings won’t appear in SERPs.
Why It Matters: Rich snippets with reviews and ratings dramatically improve CTR. A product with 4.7 stars looks more trustworthy than one with no rating displayed.
Solution:
- Add the aggregateRating property within the product schema.
- Ensure the review data is real, visible on the page, and not fabricated (Google penalises fake markup).
Example:

3. Invalid or Inconsistent Identifiers

Cause: Fields like sku, gtin, or mpn are sometimes left empty or incorrectly formatted. Duplicate or conflicting identifiers across variations can also cause issues.
Why It Matters: Identifiers help Google distinguish between similar products and avoid confusion, especially in large catalogues.
Solution:
- Always include a unique SKU or MPN for each product.
- For global products, add GTIN (EAN/UPC) if available.
- Ensure consistency across your database and markup.

4. Missing “image” or Poor-Quality Thumbnails

Cause: Some product schema only references low-resolution or broken image URLs.
Why It Matters: Google prefers high-quality visuals in search results. Low-quality images can reduce clicks even if your product ranks well.
Solution:
- Use image in your schema with at least 1200 px width.
- Provide multiple images where possible.
- Host them on fast, crawlable servers.

5. Use of Deprecated or Incorrect Schema Types

Cause: Outdated markup (like OfferAvailability instead of availability) or use of schema.org types that Google no longer supports.
Solution:
- Check your structured data against the latest schema.org documentation.
- Regularly test with Google’s Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator.

Best Practices to Elevate Product Pages with Structured Data

Include all recommended fields, not just required ones – Beyond the basics, fields like color, material, and size give Google more context.
Keep markup consistent with visible content – Don’t mark up a product as “In Stock” if the page says “Out of Stock.” This inconsistency can lead to manual penalties.
Test often – Run structured data through Google’s testing tools whenever you update templates or product feeds.
Combine with other schema types – For ecommerce, consider nesting Product within BreadcrumbList or adding FAQPage schema for common product questions.
Use JSON-LD format – While microdata and RDFa are still valid, JSON-LD is Google’s recommended approach.

Structured data is the bridge between your product page and Google’s understanding of it. By fixing missing or invalid markup, you not only eliminate GSC errors but also unlock richer, more clickable search listings that directly impact sales.

Optimising Video Page Indexing

Videos are one of the most engaging forms of online content. They boost dwell time, improve conversions, and can even land you a coveted spot in Google’s video carousel or on YouTube search results. But here’s the catch: just uploading a video isn’t enough. If Google can’t properly crawl, index, and understand it, your hard work may never be seen.

That’s where Google Search Console’s Video Indexing Report comes in. It shows whether Google can index the videos on your site, highlights issues with structured data, and points out why some videos might not be appearing in search. Let’s break down the most common errors and how to fix them.

1. No Thumbnail URL Provided or Missing Field “thumbnailUrl”

Cause: Every video needs a preview image (thumbnail) that Google can display in search results. If you forget to provide one in your structured data, or if the thumbnail file path is incorrect, GSC will throw this error.
Why It Matters: The thumbnail is what entices users to click. Without one, your video is far less appealing and may not qualify for video-rich results at all.
Solution:
- Use the thumbnailUrl property in the VideoObject schema.
- Ensure the image file is accessible, ideally in JPG or PNG format.
- Choose a thumbnail that clearly represents the video’s content.
Example: A cooking tutorial about “How to Bake Chocolate Cake” should have a thumbnail showing the cake, not a random screenshot of your kitchen wall.

2. Video Outside the Viewport

Cause: This error happens when the video player is placed in a way that’s not fully visible to users—for example, hidden behind expandable tabs, loaded far below the fold, or pushed out of the main content area with CSS.
Why It Matters: Google wants videos to be immediately visible without requiring extra clicks or scrolling. If your video is tucked away, Google may decide it’s not the main content and skip indexing it.
Solution:
- Place videos in the primary content area of the page.
- Avoid hiding them behind accordions or requiring users to interact before the video loads.
- Test your pages with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see if the video is accessible on different devices.
Example: A product page featuring a video demo should display the video right under the product title and price—not hidden at the bottom of the page where few users scroll.

3. Unsupported Video Format

Cause: Google supports specific formats like .mp4, .mpeg, and .webm. If you use unusual file types (e.g., .avi, .mov) or embed the video in a way Google can’t parse, you’ll see this error.
Why It Matters: Unsupported formats mean your video won’t be indexed at all, no matter how good the content is.
Solution:
- Convert your video into a supported format, preferably .mp4 with H.264 encoding.
- Avoid unnecessary characters in filenames (spaces, symbols).
- Host the video in a stable location where Googlebot can access it.
Example: A fitness trainer uploads workout clips in .mov format from her iPhone. They look fine on her website but aren’t indexed by Google. By converting them to .mp4, they immediately become eligible for indexing.

4. Thumbnail Could Not Be Reached

Cause: Even if you specify a thumbnail, Google may not be able to fetch it due to broken links, blocked folders, or restricted permissions.
Solution:
- Check that the thumbnail URL is correct and live (test in your browser).
- Ensure the server returns a 200 OK response and isn’t blocking Googlebot.
- Avoid placing thumbnails in directories blocked by robots.txt.
Example: If your thumbnail URL is https://example.com/media/thumbnail.png but your robots.txt blocks /media/, Google won’t be able to fetch it.

5. Missing Field “uploadDate”

Cause: The uploadDate property is required in the VideoObject schema. Without it, Google may not know when the video was published, which affects how it’s displayed in search.
Solution:
- Always include the uploadDate in ISO 8601 format (e.g., 2023-11-25).
- Make sure the date matches the actual publication date of the video.
Example: For a tutorial published on October 1, 2023:

Best Practices for Video Indexing Success

Beyond fixing errors, here are some pro tips to maximise your video’s visibility:

Host videos on dedicated landing pages – Each video should have its own URL with descriptive titles and surrounding content.
Provide transcripts and captions – Not only do they improve accessibility, but they also give Google more text to understand what the video is about.
Submit a video sitemap – A sitemap specifically for videos makes it easier for Google to discover them.
Optimise page speed – Heavy video files can slow pages down. Use lazy loading where appropriate and serve videos through a CDN.
Test with the URL Inspection Tool – After fixing issues, request a re-crawl to ensure Google recognises the updates.

Optimising video indexing isn’t just about fixing technical errors—it’s about presenting your videos in a way that’s easy for both users and Google to understand. A well-optimised video can boost your visibility, improve click-through rates, and keep visitors on your site longer.

Navigating Mobile Usability Errors

Mobile devices have completely changed the way people interact with the web. Today, more than half of all searches happen on smartphones, and Google uses mobile-first indexing—meaning it primarily evaluates your site’s mobile version when deciding how to rank it.

If your site delivers a poor mobile experience, you risk losing both users and search visibility. This is why the Mobile Usability Report in Google Search Console is so valuable. It flags issues that may look minor on desktop but can be deal-breakers on mobile screens. Let’s break down the most common problems, their causes, and how to fix them.

1. Clickable Elements Too Close Together

Cause: On a small screen, links, buttons, or navigation items may be placed so closely together that users can’t easily tap the right one. This often happens with menus, checkout buttons, or call-to-action links in the footer.
Why It Matters: A user who accidentally clicks the wrong link may get frustrated and leave. Google knows this and interprets it as a negative user experience signal.
Solution:
- Follow Google’s Accessibility Guidelines: make touch targets at least 48 pixels tall/wide with 8 pixels of space between them.
- Use responsive design frameworks (like Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS) to automatically scale clickable elements.
- Test on real devices, not just in desktop view.
Example: Imagine a checkout page where the “Pay Now” and “Cancel Order” buttons sit side by side with no padding. On desktop, this looks fine. On a phone, one wrong tap could cost you a sale. By spacing them apart and enlarging the “Pay Now” button, you improve both conversions and usability.

2. Viewport Not Set

Cause: The viewport is what tells browsers how to adjust your page’s dimensions and scaling on different screen sizes. If it’s missing, the browser will default to a desktop width and shrink everything to fit, making the page unreadable.
Why It Matters: Without a defined viewport, text and images may appear tiny, forcing users to zoom in and out—something most visitors won’t tolerate.
Solution: Add this simple tag inside your <head>:
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
This instructs browsers to match the page width to the device screen, ensuring content adapts correctly.
Example: A blog without a viewport meta tag may look fine on desktop but appear as a tiny, unreadable column on mobile. With the viewport properly set, paragraphs automatically resize, creating a smooth reading experience.

3. Content Wider Than Screen

Cause: This happens when elements like images, tables, or div containers have fixed widths larger than the device’s screen width. CSS styles with absolute pixel values are usually the culprit.
Why It Matters: Users have to scroll sideways to see all the content, which feels awkward and dated. Google flags this as a mobile usability problem.
Solution:
- Use responsive CSS units (percentages, em, rem, or vw) instead of fixed pixels.
- Add max-width: 100% to images and tables so they shrink to fit the screen.
- Test across different devices to catch issues early.
Example: An ecommerce product page might display a product comparison table set to 1200px wide. On mobile, this forces users to scroll horizontally. By switching to a fluid grid system, the table stacks neatly for small screens.

4. Text Too Small to Read

Cause: Fonts designed for desktop layouts may appear tiny on smartphones if they don’t scale correctly.
Why It Matters: Reading should feel effortless. If visitors have to pinch-zoom to read your content, most will simply leave.
Solution:
- Set a base font size of 16px for body text.
- Use relative units like em or rem so text scales with screen size.
- Apply line height of at least 1.4 for readability.
Example: A recipe blog using 12px font might look sleek on a laptop but unreadable on an iPhone. Increasing the base font size and spacing not only fixes GSC’s error but also improves dwell time, since users can comfortably consume the content.

Bonus Tip: Test With Real Users

Tools and reports are helpful, but nothing replaces real-world testing. Open your site on different mobile devices and try performing key actions:

Can you easily navigate menus?
Do call-to-action buttons stand out?
Is text legible without zooming?

User frustration often reveals problems that reports can miss.

Mobile usability errors are less about technical glitches and more about ensuring your visitors have a frictionless experience on their phones. Fixing these issues not only resolves Google Search Console warnings but also directly boosts engagement, conversions, and SEO rankings.

Final Thoughts

Mastering Google Search Console is less about memorising error codes and more about developing a systematic troubleshooting mindset. Every error is a signal, pointing to an area where your website can improve.

By addressing these issues regularly—whether it’s fixing 404s, optimising structured data, or ensuring mobile usability—you’ll give your site the best possible chance to shine in Google’s search results.

When in doubt, remember: GSC doesn’t just highlight problems; it gives you the roadmap to fix them.

Resolving Excluded From Indexing Errors

Google sometimes decides not to index certain pages. The Coverage report will explain why.

1. Crawled – Currently Not Indexed

Often temporary; Google crawled but didn’t index yet.
If persistent, check for thin or duplicate content.

2. Crawl Anomaly

Usually server or access issues. Test in GSC and fix errors.

3. Duplicate without User-Selected Canonical

Always specify a canonical tag on duplicate or similar content.

4. Duplicate, Submitted URL Not Selected as Canonical

If Google prefers another version, check internal linking, canonical tags, and content signals.

5. Discovered – Currently Not Indexed

Google knows about the URL but hasn’t crawled it yet—often due to crawl budget limits. Improve site speed, internal linking, and authority.