
Google Console: Understanding Common SEO Errors and Messages
Mobile-first indexing means Google primarily uses your site's mobile version for ranking and indexing. If you received this notification, it's positive - your site is well-optimized for mobile devices.
Mobile usability alerts indicate elements that need optimization like:
- Clickable elements too close together
- Text too small to read
- Content wider than screen
Common Google Search Console messages explained:
Robots.txt and Indexing Issues
- Robots.txt tells search engines which pages not to crawl
- Some restricted pages are normal (admin, search, tag pages)
- You can ignore messages about restricted URLs
Crawling Status Messages
- "Crawled but not indexed": Normal for checkout/cart pages
- "Page alternates with canonical": Common for homepages with multiple URLs
- "Discovered - not indexed": Page found but pending crawl
- "404 errors": Appear when pages are deleted or URLs changed without redirects
Structured Data and HTML
- Structured data warnings don't affect indexing
- HTML improvement suggestions can be ignored if not relevant
- Sites still qualify for rich snippets
Troubleshooting Steps
- For 404 errors: Set up 301/302 redirects
- For deceptive behavior warnings:
- Verify site in Search Console
- Remove flagged content
- Request Google review
Redirect Issues
- HTTP to HTTPS redirects are normal
- Domain redirects (example.com to www.example.com) are expected
- Most redirect errors can be ignored
Third-Party Tools Results from tools like SEMrush, MOZ, or AHREFS may not be relevant for CMS-based sites and can be misleading.
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