If you’re seeing host status errors in Google Search Console, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Many website owners see these errors and wonder what they mean and how to fix them.
In this post, we’ll explain host status errors, what they mean for your website, and how to quickly resolve them. We’ll also discuss robots.txt files, DNS resolution, and server connectivity issues.
So if you’re experiencing host status errors in GSC, read on for help!
What is Host Status?
Host status refers to Google’s ability to crawl your website’s content and summarizes your general availability in the last 90 days. If any availability issues have affected your site in the last 90 days or last week, you will see a warning.
So, if there are any host status errors in GSC, it means that Google had difficulty connecting to your site. This can be due to several factors, including robots.txt files, DNS resolution issues, and server connectivity problems.
Host status Issues & How to Find Them
First things first – you need to check your GSC to locate any host status issues your website might be experiencing. You can do this by following the steps below.
Settings > Crawl stats > Host status
You can check your host status in the “Crawl Stats report” in Google Search Console.
It displays statistics about Google’s crawling history on your website, including any availability or serving issues Google encountered while crawling your site.
There are three main host status errors that you might see in GSC: DNS Resolution Error, Server Connectivity Error, and robots.txt Fetch Error.
Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail.
Robots.txt File
One of the most common causes of host status errors is a robots.txt file that blocks Google from accessing your website. If you have a robots.txt file on your site, ensure it doesn’t block Google from crawling your site’s content.
You can do this by checking the “Allow” field in the robots.txt file – if it says “Googlebot,” then you’re good to go. If not, you’ll need to edit the file to allow Google to crawl your site.
DNS Resolution
Another common cause of host status errors is DNS resolution issues. This means that there is a problem with how your domain name is set up, and as a result, Google can’t connect to your website.
To fix this error, you’ll need to contact your domain registrar and ask them to update your DNS settings.
Server Connectivity Issues
Finally, host status errors can also be caused by server connectivity problems. This means there is an issue with how your server is configured, and as a result, Google can’t connect to it.
To fix this issue, you’ll need to contact your web host or server administrator and ask them to investigate it.
Wrapping Up
If you’re seeing any of the host status errors listed above in Google Search Console, don’t panic! These issues are more common than you might think, and most importantly, there are many ways to fix them.
In this article, we’ve explained what host status is, discussed some of the most common causes of host status errors as well as what steps you need to take to resolve them.
Good luck fixing them!