14 Expert Tips To Improve Website Crawlability

Improving website crawlability is necessary, even if you have qualitative content, your site won’t appear in search if crawlers can’t access it. Poor crawlability lets competitors capture your traffic.

Before diving into these 14 strategies, consider how each step ties into building a healthy, search-friendly website. Next, you’ll see how to assess your crawl status, identify common issues, and take practical action – setting the stage for effective search engine indexing.

Table of Contents

What Is Crawlability And Indexability?

Crawlability means search engine bots can easily access and read your site by following links, retrieving content, and analyzing pages.

Indexability follows crawlability. After crawling your pages, Google determines whether to include them in its search index. A page may be crawlable but not indexable if it contains a ‘noindex’ tag or if Google determines that the content is of low quality. (Block Search Indexing with `noindex`, 2025) Crawlability opens the door for Google; indexability is Google’s choice to enter.

Why Crawlability Drives Search Rankings?

When crawlers can’t access your pages, those pages stay invisible in search results. You might have written the perfect guide that answers exactly what people are searching for, but if Google’s bots can’t reach it, your rankings won’t budge.

Poor crawlability wastes crawl budget. (Crawl Budget Optimization – What is it? Why It’s Important?, 2023) If crawlers encounter dead ends or errors, they may miss valuable content, resulting in a reduction of indexed and ranked pages. (Enhance Website Ranking With Broken Link Building, 2025)

How To Check Website Crawlability And Index Status?

Google Search Console Coverage Report

In Google Search Console, after opening your property, click on the ‘Coverage’ tab to view error types: errors, valid with warnings, valid pages, and excluded pages. Review these categories to spot crawlability issues.

Pay attention to messages like “Crawled – currently not indexed” or “Discovered – currently not indexed”. Click on these for details regarding which specific pages are affected and what Google recommends as fixes.

Log File Analysis For Crawl Budget

Server logs show which pages Google visits and how often. (How Often Does Google Crawl a Site for Updates?, 2025) This reveals issues such as redirect loops or excessive crawling of unimportant pages, which Google Search Console may not be able to detect.

For large sites, this analysis is crucial in determining whether Google’s crawl budget is allocated to important or unimportant pages. (Crawl Budget Management For Large Sites | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers, n.d.)

Screaming Frog Crawlability Test

Open Screaming Frog and enter your website URL. Start the crawl and wait for it to finish. Review the crawl report to spot blocked pages, broken links, or redirection chains. The free version allows up to 500 URLs to be crawled.

Export crawl results to a spreadsheet for analysis. Group pages by error type to address batches of similar issues together. Focus on patterns to efficiently correct widespread errors.

On-Demand URL Inspection And Submit

In Google Search Console, enter any site URL in the search bar of the URL Inspection tool. Review the displayed crawl and index status, and check for specific errors or blocked resources flagged for that page.

After fixing an issue on your page, return to the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console. Click the ‘Request Indexing’ button to ask Google to recrawl the updated page. This often triggers a new crawl within one to two days.

Common Crawlability Issues To Fix First

Robots.txt Blocks

Your robots.txt file, located at yoursite.com/robots.txt, instructs crawlers on which parts of your site they can access. A single wrong line in this file can block your entire site from Google.

Review your robots.txt file first when diagnosing crawl issues. Many site owners unintentionally block CSS, JavaScript, or entire sections of content.

Slow Page Speed And Core Web Vitals

Crawlers have limited time on your site. Slow-loading pages or slow server response can cause crawlers to leave before indexing.

Fast-loading pages are crawled more efficiently, allowing more of your content to be indexed. Page speed directly affects search visibility.

Duplicate Or Canonical Conflicts

Duplicate content across URLs confuses search engines and wastes crawl budget, often due to parameters or domain variations.

Canonical tags tell Google which version to index. Without them, Google may select the wrong version or split ranking signals across multiple URLs.

Redirect Chains And Loops

A redirect chain occurs when URL A redirects to URL B, which in turn redirects to URL C. Each extra step slows crawling and wastes crawl budget.

Redirect loops are more problematic because they create endless cycles that trap crawlers. Resolve these by ensuring redirects point directly to the final destination.

Broken Internal Links

Each 404 error is a dead end that wastes crawl budget. When crawlers follow links to non-existent pages, they miss your actual content.

Internal broken links indicate poor site maintenance. Update navigation and content links to point only to existing pages.

Orphan Pages

Orphan pages exist on your server but lack internal links. Crawlers cannot access them through standard navigation.

Connect orphaned content by adding contextual links from related pages. This ensures crawlers can reach every important page on your site.

14 Expert Tips To Make Your Site Crawlable

1. Speed Up Pages And Hosting

Shared hosting plans often struggle when multiple sites compete for server resources, resulting in slow response times that frustrate both crawlers and users. (Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting for SEO, 2024)

Upgrading to VPS or dedicated hosting provides more consistent performance. Additionally, compress files, enable caching, and reduce HTTP requests to optimize your server.

2. Compress And Lazy-Load Images

Large images are a primary cause of slow page loads. Converting images to the WebP format typically reduces file sizes by 25 to 35 percent without noticeable loss of quality. (An image format for the Web | WebP | Google for Developers, n.d.)

Lazy loading delays image loading until the user scrolls to them. This speeds up initial page load and allows crawlers to access text content more quickly.

3. Optimize Core Web Vitals Metrics

Core Web Vitals measure load speed, response time, and layout stability.

Use PageSpeed Insights to obtain specific recommendations. Improving these scores enhances both crawling efficiency and user satisfaction.

4. Generate And Submit An XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap lists all important pages in one file, helping crawlers discover content more efficiently, especially on new sites or those with deep hierarchies.

Submit your sitemap through Google Search Console and have it updated automatically whenever you publish new content. Include only pages you want indexed and exclude those blocked by robots.txt or noindex tags.

4. Keep Robots.txt Clean And Updated

Write clear directives in your robots.txt file. Allow access to important content and block crawlers from administrative pages, duplicate content, or resource-heavy sections.

Add your sitemap location to robots.txt so crawlers can find it immediately. Review your robots.txt file quarterly to ensure it reflects your current site structure.

5. Use Meta-Robots Correctly

Meta-robots tags provide page-level control over crawling and indexing. Use “noindex” for thin content. “nofollow” stops crawlers on that page from following links.

6. Strengthen Internal Linking Structure

Link from high-authority pages to new or deeper content. This helps crawlers find key pages and understand the relationships between your content. Use keyword-rich descriptions instead of generic phrases like “click here.”

7. Fix Duplicate Content With Canonical Tags

The rel=”canonical” tag specifies which version of a page you want indexed when multiple URLs have similar content. E-commerce sites often encounter this with product variations or URL parameters.

Add self-referencing canonicals to unique pages as a preventive measure. For duplicate pages, set the canonical to your preferred version. Your site to find redirect chains, then update them to point directly to the final URL. This removes unnecessary hops that slow down the crawling process.

8. Strengthen Your Internal Linking

Update your internal links to bypass redirects entirely. If you are linking to a redirected page, change the link to point directly to the destination.

Regularly audit your site using tools like Screaming Frog to identify 404 errors. When you find broken links, restore the content, redirect to a relevant alternative, or remove the link.

For deleted content with inbound links, set up 301 redirects to the most relevant existing page. If no suitable alternative exists, a 404 error is preferable to redirecting users to your homepage.

9. Eliminate Redirect Chains

Audit your site to find redirect chains, then update them to point directly to the final URL. This removes unnecessary hops that slow down crawling.

Update your internal links to bypass redirects completely. If you’re linking to a redirected page, change the link to point straight to the destination.

10. Remove Or Replace Broken Links

Run regular audits using tools like Screaming Frog to identify 404 errors. When you find broken links, restore the content, redirect to a relevant alternative, or remove the link.

For deleted content with inbound links, set up 301 redirects to the most relevant existing page. If no suitable alternative exists, a 404 is preferable to redirecting users to your homepage.

11. Implement Structured Data Markup

Schema.org markup helps search engines understand your content. Use JSON-LD format for articles, products, FAQs, and local business information.

While structured data does not directly impact crawlability, it enables search engines to process your content more efficiently. This can lead to rich results and improved search visibility.

12. Ensure Mobile Crawl Accessibility

Google now primarily uses mobile crawling to index websites. (Mobile-first Indexing Best Practices, n.d.) Your mobile version has a significant impact on search performance, so ensure it loads quickly and displays all content correctly.

Ensure mobile crawlers can access all resources, including CSS and JavaScript files. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to identify specific mobile crawling issues.

13. Secure Site With HTTPS And Proper Status Codes

HTTPS encrypts communication between your server and crawlers. Sites without SSL certificates are crawled less frequently and display “Not Secure” warnings in browsers. (Tigwell & Ollie, 2025)

Return the right HTTP status codes for different situations:

200 for successful pages: Tells crawlers the page loaded correctly
301 for permanent redirects: Signals content has moved permanently
404 for deleted content: Indicates the page no longer exists
503 for temporary issues: Shows the server is temporarily unavailable

14. Optimize Crawl Budget For Large Sites

Sites with thousands of pages may reach crawl budget limits, as Google will not crawl every page on each visit. (Crawl Budget Management For Large Sites | Google Search Central, n.d.) Prioritize important pages by linking to them from your homepage and other high-authority pages.

Use robots.txt to prevent crawling of low-value sections. Reduce URL parameters and filter combinations that create duplicate content, and consolidate or remove thin content pages to improve performance.

How To Prioritize Fixes When Time And Budget Are Tight

Start with quick wins that deliver immediate results. Fixing robots.txt blocks and broken links requires minimal time but can significantly improve crawlability.

Focus on pages that already drive traffic or have revenue potential. Your audit may reveal numerous issues, but addressing the top 20 percent of pages provides the most significant benefit. Create a checklist to address critical errors first, then systematically resolve warnings and optimizations.

Ongoing Crawlability Monitoring And Testing Workflow

Monthly Screaming Frog Or Sitebulb Crawl

Crawl your entire site monthly to identify new technical issues early. Compare current results with previous crawls to identify trends and recurring issues.

Track metrics such as crawl depth, response times, and error rates over time. This historical view indicates whether your crawlability is improving or declining.

Weekly Search Console Coverage Check

Check the Coverage report in Google Search Console weekly. Set up email notifications for critical errors to receive immediate alerts about problems.

Monitor your “Valid” pages count; sudden drops indicate new crawlability issues that require investigation. Regular monitoring helps you identify and resolve issues before they affect your traffic.

Real-Time Alerts For 5xx And 404 Spikes

Set up monitoring tools such as UptimeRobot or Pingdom to alert you when your server returns errors. Server errors (5xx codes) prevent crawling and can cause deindexing if they persist. (Website Error Checker – Find and Fix Website Errors, n.d.)

Unusual spikes in 404 errors often indicate broken redirects, deleted pages with inbound links, or issues with the CMS. (404 And Soft 404 Errors: Do They Hurt Your SEO?, 2025) Responding quickly minimizes the impact on your crawl budget and user experience.

Quarterly Log File Review

Analyze server logs quarterly to understand how search engines interact with your site over time. Look for patterns in frequently crawled pages and whether crawlers are accessing low-value pages excessively.

This deeper analysis reveals opportunities to optimize crawl budget by blocking or deprioritizing pages that consume resources without benefiting your SEO. Log files show activity not captured by Google Search Console.

Next Steps For Sustainable SEO Growth With SEOwithSiva

Technical SEO is not a one-time project; it requires ongoing maintenance and updates. As search engines evolve, your site’s technical health needs regular attention to maintain strong rankings.

Professional SEO audits can identify crawlability issues you may overlook and implement fixes efficiently. If you are ready to improve your site’s crawlability and search rankings, contact me for expert SEO services or to discuss your project requirements.

FAQ

1 How long does it take for Google to re-crawl fixed pages?

Google typically re-crawls popular pages within days to weeks after you fix issues, though timing varies based on your site's crawl frequency. You can request immediate re-crawling through Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool, which often triggers a crawl within 24-48 hours.

2 Do JavaScript sites need extra crawlability steps?

JavaScript-heavy sites face additional challenges because crawlers process JavaScript differently than static HTML. Server-side rendering or pre-rendering helps search engines access dynamic content more effectively. Test your JavaScript implementation using Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool to verify proper rendering.

3 What is a healthy crawl-to-index ratio?

A good crawl-to-index ratio means most crawled pages get indexed—typically above 80% for well-optimized sites. Low ratios indicate crawlability issues, content quality problems, or technical barriers preventing indexing. Monitor this metric in Google Search Console to gauge your site's overall crawlability health.

4 Are free tools enough for small websites?

Free tools like Google Search Console and Screaming Frog's limited version handle basic crawlability testing for smaller sites with fewer than 500 pages. Larger or more complex websites benefit from premium tools with advanced features like log file analysis, automated monitoring, and comprehensive reporting.

5 Is a crawlability test different from a crawl accessibility test?

Crawlability tests and crawl accessibility tests examine the same thing - whether search engines can reach and process your pages. The terms are used interchangeably in SEO, both referring to technical audits that identify barriers preventing proper crawling and indexing.

Author Bio

Sivaraj CMeet Sivaraj, an SEO Specialist and Growth Strategist with over 4 years of hands‑on experience driving organic growth, boosting website rankings, and transforming traffic into conversions. With a deep expertise in technical SEO, content optimisation, and AI‑driven strategies, Sivaraj continuously stays ahead of search‑engine trends and algorithm changes. His approach combines data‑driven insights with creative content solutions to ensure not only visibility but meaningful business impact. From auditing websites and implementing structured data to scaling content with AI‑powered workflows, Sivaraj excels at crafting end‑to‑end SEO solutions that align with both user needs and search‑engine standards. Whether you’re looking to increase rankings, amplify traffic, or improve conversion rates, Sivaraj is committed to unlocking growth and delivering measurable results.

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