Short answer
A crawl error happens when a search engine tries to fetch a page and does not get a normal answer. Every page reply carries a status code: 200 means fine, 3xx means redirected, 4xx means the page is missing or blocked, and 5xx means the server failed. Fix errors on pages that should work; a 404 on a page you deleted on purpose is normal.
Status codes in one list
- 200 OK: the page loaded. This is what every live page should return.
- 301 or 308: moved permanently. Fine, as long as it is one hop to a working page.
- 302 or 307: moved for now. Use for short-term changes only.
- 404 Not Found: no page at this address.
- 410 Gone: removed on purpose.
- 403 Forbidden: the server refuses access, sometimes because a firewall is blocking crawlers.
- 429 Too Many Requests: the server is asking crawlers to slow down.
- 500, 502, 503, 504: the server or something in front of it failed or timed out.
Errors that need attention
- 5xx errors on important pages. Repeated server errors make Google crawl less often.
- 403 errors on pages you want in search, often caused by a security plugin or host firewall blocking Googlebot.
- 404s on pages that should exist, such as a service page linked from your menu.
- Redirect errors: loops, very long chains, or redirects to broken pages.
- Soft 404s: pages that look empty or say "not found" but return 200.
Errors you can usually leave
- 404s for pages you deleted on purpose with no replacement.
- 404s for strange addresses that no one links to, such as made-up paths from spam bots.
- Errors on pages blocked in robots.txt that you do not want crawled.
Reading the Search Console page indexing report
Search Console's Pages report groups addresses by reason, such as "Not found (404)", "Server error (5xx)", "Redirect error", "Blocked by robots.txt" and "Crawled - currently not indexed". Open a reason to see example addresses, fix the cause, then use "Validate fix" so Google re-checks.
"Crawled - currently not indexed" and "Discovered - currently not indexed" are not errors in the technical sense. They usually mean Google did not find the page valuable enough yet, or has not got round to it.
A quick triage routine
- Sort by importance: is this a page customers need?
- Check the address yourself on a phone to see what a visitor sees.
- Fix internal links first, then add redirects for moved pages.
- Raise repeated 5xx or 403 errors with your host.
- Re-crawl and validate.
Where AI Marketing Master helps
The website audit crawls your site and reports broken links and redirects it finds, with the page they sit on and a plain-English fix. With Search Console connected, the app also shows clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position, so you know which pages matter most. The detailed page indexing report stays inside Search Console, and the app points you there when you need it.
What it does not do
- The audit sees errors on pages it can reach by crawling. Search Console may know about addresses the crawler never finds.
- AI Marketing Master shows Search Console search numbers, not the full page indexing report.
Questions people ask
Do 404 errors hurt my whole site?
No. 404s for pages that do not exist are normal and do not harm other pages. Fix the ones that affect real visitors, such as broken menu links.
Why does Google say server error when my site works for me?
The error may have been short, or your host may block or slow down crawlers. Check your host's logs and firewall settings for the time shown in Search Console.
What does a 503 mean?
Service unavailable. It is the right code during planned maintenance; Google will try again later. If it lasts days, pages can start dropping out.
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