How to Troubleshoot 404 Errors with Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a strong tool delivered by Google that permits website proprietors to understand how their site is performing in Google's search results. The service offers various features, allowing users to monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their website's presence in Google Search results. It's especially handy for SEO professionals, marketers, web developers, and site administrators, providing key insights into a site's performance.

One of the key characteristics to apprehend about Google Search Console is its functionality regarding page indexing. Google's search engine operates by crawling and indexing the web, which essentially involves Google's bots reviewing a website's content and adding it to their index, a giant database used to retrieve relevant search results when a query is made.
Indexing is critical because it determines if and how well your page will appear in Google's search results. If your website page is not indexed, it will not appear in Google's search results, significantly reducing its visibility to potential visitors. The Google Search Console can allow you to view your site's index status, manually submit pages for indexing, and troubleshoot any problems preventing your pages from being indexed.
Google Search Console provides detailed reports on which of your pages are indexed and any issues it might have encountered during the process. For instance, it might alert you to problems with blocked resources (when Google can't access and hence can't index certain elements of your page) or issues with redirects.

Another important feature of Google Search Console is its ability to provide reports on 404 errors or "Not Found" errors. A 404 error occurs when a specific webpage cannot be found by a server, often because the page has been removed by the owner or moved and the URL link was not changed accordingly. These errors are a problem not only because they can lead to a poor user experience but also because they can impact your site's SEO performance.e
Google Search Console helps website owners to identify these issues, detailing any URLs that returned a 404 status. This allows website administrators to quickly locate and fix any broken links or misplaced redirects, which in the arc, helps sweeten the overall user experience and the site's performance in search rankings.

To address 404 errors, website owners can perform several actions. One common solution is redirecting the broken URL to a relevant live page. Alternatively, if the page is permanently gone with no suitable replacement, a best practice is to provide a custom 404 page that explains the situation to the user and offers options to navigate to other parts of the site.
Another function related to indexing is the ability to submit a sitemap to Google via the Search Console. Sitemaps are essentially a blueprint of your website that helps search engines can understand any structure of your site and find its content. A sitemap is especially important to ensure all pages are discovered and indexed if your site is particularly large or complex.

Additionally, Google Search Console offers tools and reports regarding mobile usability. As Google now uses mobile-first indexing, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly is crucial for its search performance. The Console can report on any issues hindering your site's mobile usability, such as viewport problems, use of incompatible plugins, or text that's too small to read.
With its array of tools and reports, Google Search Console is a priceless resource for any person managing a website. It offers unique insights into the indexing of pages, helping to troubleshoot and rectify issues that could negatively affect a site's visibility in search results. Identifying 404 errors also aids in maintaining a smooth user experience and a healthy site. In short, harnessing the power of Google Search Console can lead to a more effective and efficient website that appeals to users and search engines.
Beyond page indexing and 404 errors, Google Search Console offers a suite of additional features integral to a website's successful operation.

One of the standout features is the Core Web Vitals report. As Google prioritises the user experience in its ranking algorithm, Core Web Vitals have emerged as a crucial component of site performance. The metrics that Google considers important in a webpage's overall user experience include loading performance (Largest Contentful Paint), interactivity (First Input Delay), and visual stability (Cumulative Layout Shift). Google Search Console provides reports on these vitals, helping site owners identify potential areas of improvement.
Moreover, Google Search Console provides security issue reports. These reports are essential in identifying security issues like hacking or malware on your site. If Google detects a security issue with your website, it will flag it in this section, providing you with enough information to understand and fix the problem. This feature ensures your website remains safe and trustworthy, contributing significantly to your site's ranking and overall user experience.
Another essential aspect of Google Search Console is its function to check and test your robots.txt file. The robots.txt file is crucial because it will tell the search engine's AI which pages or sections of your site to crawl or not to crawl. Incorrect instructions in this file can lead to significant pages not being indexed or unnecessarily indexing unimportant pages. Google Search Console allows you to see if your robots.txt file is working as expected and lets you test changes before implementing them.

The URL Inspection tool is another useful feature of the Google Search Console. This tool provides information about Google's indexed version of a specific page. Information like the current index status, any crawling or indexing issues, and the canonical URL for the page can all be retrieved. It can even show you when the page was last crawled and what resources were loaded by Googlebot.
Finally, the Google Search Console can be linked with Google Analytics, creating a potent combination for understanding your site's performance. While Google Analytics focuses more on user behaviour, like how users interact with your site, Google Search Console provides data straight from the Google search engine, like indexing status, click-through rates from search results, and more. By combining the data from both, you can understand how well your site performs in search results and how users engage with your site.

In conclusion, Google Search Console is a multifaceted tool that offers insights into a site's visibility and performance on Google Search. Its capabilities extend beyond indexing and 404 errors to encompass a broader spectrum of functions necessary for maintaining an effective website. It provides valuable metrics, including core web vitals, security issues, and tools for managing robots.txt files and URL inspection. With its ability to integrate with Google Analytics, it plays an integral role in understanding and enhancing a site's presence on the web.