
Malware Reports & Google SEO: Understanding Console Errors & Email Alerts
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:
-
404 Page Not Found
- Set up 301/302 redirects for deleted/moved pages
- Request reindexing after fixing
-
Soft 404 Errors
- Check for phrases like "not available" or "out of stock"
- Review page content for error-like messages
-
Redirect Errors
- Usually related to HTTP to HTTPS redirects
- Can typically be ignored
Deceptive Behavior Warnings If flagged:
- Verify site in Search Console
- Remove potentially malicious content
- 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.
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