Resolve Page with Redirect Error in Easy Steps
Introduction
Are your web pages not showing up in Google search results? One common issue that website owners face is pages not being indexed by Google. This can significantly impact your site’s visibility and organic traffic. In this blog, we will delve into the problem of pages not being indexed, why this issue occurs, and how to resolve it, with a special focus on the “Page with redirect” error in Google Search Console.
Pages that aren’t indexed can’t be served on Google, which means they don’t appear in search results. This can hinder the visibility and discoverability of your content, leading to a loss of potential traffic and engagement.
Why It Occurs
2. Content Quality: Pages with low-quality content or duplicate content might be skipped by Google during the indexing process.
3. Noindex Tags: If your page has a “noindex” tag, Google will not index it.
4. Redirects: Pages that have redirects (301, 302) might not get indexed if not handled properly. This is particularly relevant for the “Page with redirect” error in Google Search Console.
The “Page with Redirect” Error
The “Page with redirect” error in Google Search Console indicates that Googlebot encountered a redirect when trying to access your page. This means that instead of the intended page, a different URL was served, which can confuse the indexing process.
Solution
To resolve the “Page with redirect” error and ensure your pages are indexed correctly, follow these steps:
- Check Redirects:
- Ensure that the redirects are set up correctly. Use 301 redirects for permanent moves and 302 for temporary ones.
- Verify that the redirected URL is live and functional.
- Update Sitemaps:
- Update your XML sitemap to include the final destination URLs instead of the redirected URLs.
- Submit the updated sitemap to Google Search Console.
- Fix Broken Links:
- Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to identify and fix broken links that might be causing unnecessary redirects.
- Remove Noindex Tags:
- Ensure that the pages you want to be indexed do not have “noindex” tags in their HTML.
- Improve Content Quality:
- Enhance the quality of your content to ensure it meets Google’s standards. Unique, relevant, and valuable content is more likely to be indexed.
- Technical Solutions:
- Implement proper canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page to Google.
- Check your robots.txt file to ensure it is not blocking Googlebot from accessing important pages.
Example
Imagine you have a blog post that was previously located at www.yoursite.com/old-blog-post. You moved it to a new URL www.yoursite.com/new-blog-post and set up a 301 redirect. However, you notice in Google Search Console that the new URL isn’t indexed and you’re seeing a “Page with redirect” error.
Steps to Fix:
1. Verify Redirect: Use a tool like Redirect Checker to confirm that www.yoursite.com/old-blog-post correctly redirects to www.yoursite.com/new-blog-post.
2. Update Sitemap: Make sure your XML sitemap lists www.yoursite.com/new-blog-post.
3. Remove Old URL: In Google Search Console, use the URL Removal tool to remove www.yoursite.com/old-blog-post from the index if it’s still showing up.
4.Check Content: Ensure the new blog post URL has high-quality, unique content.
5. Submit URL: In Google Search Console, use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing of the new URL.
Conclusion
Ensuring your pages are indexed by Google is crucial for maintaining and improving your site’s visibility in search results. By addressing issues like the “Page with redirect” error, you can help Google correctly index your pages, enhancing your site’s SEO performance. Regularly monitor Google Search Console for such errors and take prompt action to resolve them.
By following these steps, you can improve your website’s indexing status and ensure that your content is discoverable by users searching on Google.