Google SEO Notifications & Console Errors Explained

Google Search Console may send various notifications about your site's SEO performance. Here's what these common messages mean and how to handle them:

Mobile-First Indexing

• Indicates your site is optimized for mobile devices
• Google will use mobile version for indexing and ranking
• No action needed if you receive this notification

Mobile Usability Issues

• Alerts about elements not optimized for mobile viewing
• Common issues: clickable elements too close, small text
• Follow responsive design guidelines to improve mobile-friendliness

Robots.txt Messages

• Controls which pages search engines should not crawl
• Common restricted pages include:
  • /search
  • /config
  • /api
  • Author, tag, and month view pages
• Normal to see "URL restricted" messages for these pages

Page Indexing Issues

• "Page crawled but not indexed": Normal for cart/checkout pages
• "Alternative pages with canonical tag": Common for homepage URLs
• "Discovered - Currently not indexed": Page is in Google's queue

Structured Data Warnings

• Indicates missing markup code
• Doesn't affect site indexing or rich snippets
• Use Google's Data Highlighter as a workaround

Crawl Errors Common types:

1. 404 Page Not Found

   • Set up 301/302 redirects for deleted/moved pages
   • Request reindexing after fixing

2. Soft 404 Errors

   • Check for phrases like "not available" or "out of stock"
   • Review page content for error-like messages

3. Redirect Errors

   • Usually related to HTTP to HTTPS redirects
   • Can typically be ignored

Deceptive Behavior Warnings If flagged:

1. Verify site in Search Console
2. Remove potentially malicious content
3. Request a site review from Google

Security and Performance

• Parallel tracking not supported for click measurement
• HTML improvement warnings can usually be ignored
• Focus on core SEO optimization practices

Remember: Not all Google notifications require immediate action. Focus on maintaining quality content and following SEO best practices for optimal results.

Related Articles

Previous Articles