Why Technical Errors Matter for SEO
When someone clicks on your website, their browser asks your server for the page. If everything works, the page loads normally. But if there’s a problem, the server sends back an error code. Search engines work the same way their bots request your pages, and if they encounter errors, crawling and indexing can be delayed or stopped altogether.
This is why understanding HTTP status codes, network issues, and DNS errors is so important for SEO. They don’t just affect site performance they directly impact how (and if) your content appears in Google Search.
Understanding HTTP Status Codes
A search engine uses HTTP status codes to understand a webpage. There are a few different types of status codes, but SEO professionals typically focus on three main ones:
2xx: Success
This is the code you want for most of your pages. A 2xx status code tells a search engine that everything worked and the page is ready to be indexed. A 200 status code, for example, means “OK.”
3xx: Redirection
A 3xx status code tells a search engine that the page has moved. This is a great way to handle content that has been moved or updated. A 301 status code, for example, means “Moved Permanently,” and a 302 means “Moved Temporarily.”
4xx: Client Error
A 4xx status code tells a search engine that the page was not found. This is a bad sign because it can lead to a broken link and a poor user experience. A 404 status code, for example, means “Not Found.”
5xx: Server Error
A 5xx status code tells a search engine that there is a problem with your server. This is a very bad sign because it can prevent a search engine from crawling your site. A 500 status code, for example, means “Internal Server Error.”
Network and DNS Errors
A network error is a problem with the connection between a visitor’s browser and your server. A DNS error is a problem with the domain name system, which translates a human-readable domain name into an IP address. Both of these errors can prevent a search engine from crawling and indexing your site correctly.
How to Find and Fix These Errors
- Check your search console: Your search console’s Coverage report can show you which of your pages have errors. This is a great way to find technical issues.
- Monitor your server: You should monitor your server to ensure that it can handle the crawling requests from a search engine.
- Fix broken links and redirects: A broken link can lead to a bad user experience and waste a search engine’s crawl budget. Our platform, Clickrank.ai, can help you with this. The automated features on the platform can scan your website for these issues and give you a clear, prioritized list of what to fix.
Best Practices to Avoid Issues
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Always return the correct status code for each page.
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Use 301 redirects for permanent URL changes.
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Fix broken links (404s) or redirect them where possible.
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Keep server uptime stable with good hosting or a CDN.
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Monitor DNS settings regularly.
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Check Crawl Stats in Google Search Console for error reports.
For more fixes, see our guide on Ask Google to Recrawl Your URLs
