Google-bot Can't Access my website?

[Siservices]

There is a travel website having about 13,000 destination pages like from A to B and B to A, C to B and C to A and continues. But, the sitemap can't index all the website pages and its also showing that Google-bot can't access your site. What can I do to resolve the problem? Not even half of the pages are indexed. Also, for such a big website Should I add different sitemaps ? I already added 10. As in a sitemap only 8,000 are allowed. How can I fix this error ? I am getting good traffic though but I am scared my website will get banned ? Is that so? The website has only 6 pages and the journey will only show up once the destinations are entered.

[Siservices]

Is this sitemap format right ?

#robots.txt for <http://www.abc.com>
User-agent:*
Disallow: /backoffice/

Sitemap: <http://www.abc.com/sitemap1.xml>
Sitemap: <http://www.abc.com/sitemap2.xml>

Just like this there are a total of 228 entries in sitemap.(excluding <> signs)

is this the right way ? as there are more than 13,000 journey the website provides so have to submit so many sitemaps.

[sada27]

There are several factors to consider here, from the sitemap limitations to the Google-bot accessibility issue, to how to structure your large website for optimal crawling and indexing. Here are some general steps you can take to address these issues:

Google-bot Access Issues and Robots.txt: If Google-bot can't access your site, you first need to check your robots.txt file. This file, located in the root directory of your site, tells the Google-bot (and other search engine bots) which sections of your site it can and can't access. Make sure you haven't accidentally blocked important pages or entire sections of your site. You can use Google's own Robots Testing Tool in Google Search Console to check if your robots.txt is blocking Google from crawling certain pages.

Sitemap Size Limit: As of my knowledge cut-off in September 2021, a single XML sitemap can contain up to 50,000 URLs or be up to 50MB in size, whichever comes first. If you are only able to include 8,000 URLs, there might be an issue with your sitemap generator, or your URLs could be particularly long. Divide your sitemap into multiple sitemaps if you have more than 50,000 URLs or if your sitemap file exceeds 50MB. Then, include each sitemap's link in a sitemap index file and submit that to Google.

Sitemap Organization and Indexing: When it comes to large websites and complex structures, you might also consider organizing your sitemaps by theme or specific types of content. For example, you could have one sitemap for destinations A to B, another for destinations B to A, and so forth. This makes it easier for Google to understand the structure and content of your website.

Regularly Review and Update Your Sitemap: It's important to regularly check your sitemap(s) and update them as necessary. Make sure any new pages have been added and any obsolete or broken links are removed. Use Google Search Console to regularly check your sitemap status and any errors or warnings that Google has found when processing your sitemaps.

Website Structure and Internal Links: Google also explores websites by following links. It's essential that your website has a clear linking structure, with each page being reachable from at least one static text link.

Website Speed and Accessibility: Ensure your website loads quickly and is mobile-friendly. Slow-loading pages or pages that don't display correctly on various devices can be ignored or ranked lower by Google.

Penalization Concerns: As long as you are adhering to Google's Webmaster Guidelines, your website should not be at risk of being banned. Providing quality content, ensuring your site is easy to navigate and use, avoiding spammy or manipulative behavior, and overall creating a website that provides value to its users are keys to staying compliant.

Check Canonical URLs: Canonical URLs help avoid duplicate content issues by telling search engines which version of a webpage to index when multiple versions are available (like for A to B and B to A). This can be particularly important in a large website like yours with similar content on multiple pages.

Use of hreflang tag: If your site caters to different languages and/or regions, implementing hreflang tags can help search engines understand which language you're using on a specific page, thereby aiding the indexing process.

Pagination: If your site contains pagination, ensure that it's handled correctly. Pages must be connected with "rel=next" and "rel=prev" elements, and each page should be accessible through a unique URL.

Remove Any Crawl Errors: Crawl errors can prevent Googlebot from accessing and indexing your site. Check the "Coverage" section of Google Search Console to identify and correct any such errors.

Regularly Monitor Google Search Console: Google Search Console alerts you of any issues Googlebot encounters when crawling and indexing your site. Regularly monitor your messages and fix any highlighted problems.

URL Parameters Configuration: Google Search Console allows you to manage URL parameters. If your website has dynamic, URL parameter-driven content that changes based on user selection, you can use this tool to give Google specific instructions on how to crawl these URLs. However, use this option with caution, as setting parameters incorrectly can lead to major crawling problems.

XML and RSS/Atom Feeds: Along with XML sitemaps, up-to-date RSS/Atom feeds can be used to keep search engines informed about updates and new web pages in your website.

Consider "Noindex" Meta Tags Carefully: If certain pages on your website shouldn't be indexed (like internal search results pages, certain profile pages, or duplicate content), you can use the "noindex" meta tag to instruct search engines not to index these pages. However, use this tag very sparingly and only when necessary, as overuse could impact your site's visibility in search results.

Implement a Solid SEO Plan: Besides technical issues, make sure you're consistently adopting content-driven SEO strategies. Conduct a keyword research process, implement these keywords into your content naturally, make use of meta tags, and create informative meta descriptions.

Crawl Budget Optimization: Larger sites should be mindful of their crawl budget, which is the number of pages Googlebot is prepared to crawl during a specific timeframe. Ensuring server response time is low, limiting the number of redirects, and avoiding infinite spaces (like calendars) can all help optimize your crawl budget.

Use of JavaScript: If your site heavily relies on JavaScript, make sure it's crawlable and that essential content is easily accessible without JavaScript, as some search engine bots can't fully understand or interact with JavaScript content.

Optimize robots.txt File: The robots.txt file can control which sections of your site are accessible to web crawlers. If certain areas don't need to be indexed or are causing crawling issues, you can disallow them in this file. Be careful, though, as improper use can stop your site from being indexed altogether.

Avoid Cloaking: This is a black-hat SEO practice where content presented to search engine spiders is different from that presented to a user's browser. It can lead to your site being penalized or even de-indexed, so ensure that it doesn't occur on your website.

Use the Nofollow Attribute Wisely: "Nofollow" tag tells search engines not to follow or pass credit to the links on your page. Use this carefully to manage the flow of link juice across your website, and to handle user-generated content, paid links, etc.

Ensure Fast Load Time: A slow website can negatively impact user experience, bounce rate and consequently, SEO. Google prioritizes sites that load quickly, so make sure your site is optimized for speed.

Mobile-friendly site: As mobile use continues to rise, ensuring that your site is optimized for mobile users is critical. A site that isn't mobile-friendly can harm your search rankings, particularly in mobile search results.

Periodic Website Audits: Perform routine website audits to identify potential SEO issues. Use tools like Google Search Console and SEO analyzers to get comprehensive insights into potential problems and opportunities for improvement.

SSL Certification: Websites without SSL certificates are flagged as "not secure" by many browsers, which can reduce user trust and lead to high bounce rates. An SSL certificate can also positively affect your search rankings, as Google takes encryption into account as a ranking factor.

Active Social Media Presence: While this does not directly affect page indexing, having an active social media presence can drive more traffic to your site and help to increase its authority, which can indirectly improve SEO.

Regularly Update Content: Stale, outdated content can hurt your SEO rankings. Regularly update your content to ensure it remains relevant and valuable to users.

Use Structured Data: This can help search engines understand your content better and can lead to rich result listings, which can improve your visibility in search results.

[Ethanbrody]

If Googlebot is unable to access your website, it means that the search engine's web crawler, which indexes web pages for Google's search results, is encountering difficulties when trying to reach and analyze the content of your site. Several factors can contribute to this issue. First, ensure that your website is not blocked by a robots.txt file, a standard used by websites to communicate with web crawlers and specify which pages should not be indexed. If your robots.txt file is blocking Googlebot's access, modify it to allow crawling of relevant pages. Additionally, check if your website has any server or hosting issues causing downtime or slow loading times.

[anilkh7058]

What it Google bot?

[alexcray]

There is a travel website having about 13,000 destination pages like from A to B and B to A, C to B and C to A and continues. But, the sitemap can't index all the website pages and its also showing that Google-bot can't access your site. What can I do to resolve the problem? Not even half of the pages are indexed. Also, for such a big website Should I add different sitemaps ? I already added 10. As in a sitemap only 8,000 are allowed. How can I fix this error ? I am getting good traffic though but I am scared my website will get banned ? Is that so? The website has only 6 pages and the journey will only show up once the destinations are entered.

Server errors, slow loading times, or crawl depth limitations can hinder indexing. Use Google Search Console's "Crawl Issues" report to identify and fix any technical problems.