Got strange errors on GSC/Crawl Errors page

[alexod]

Hi,

One of my client's website get strange errors on SSC/Crawl/Crawl Errors. I started working on this website >3 months, and all this times i got errors or links that doesn't exist. I mean that
a. page that listed have weird URLs
b. list of that pages from where linked "NOT FOUND PAGE' return 404 or 301/ or there isn't such links


1. Page Not Found - Not Found

Last crawled: 9/23/17
First detected: 7/10/17

URL:
https ://www.domain.com/?et_core_page_resource=

Linked domains
http ://www.domain.com/1/
http ://www.domain.com/2/
http ://www.domain.com/3/
https ://www.domain.com/5
https ://www.domain.com/6/
----
FYI Website transfered to https 5-6 months ago. Today i check one more time Redirect results

http ://www.domain.com/1/

HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2017 15:54:33 GMT
Server: Apache
Location: https ://www.domain.com/1/
Cache-Control: max-age=0
Expires: Fri, 06 Oct 2017 15:54:33 GMT
Content-Length: 292
Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1

--------------
So My Question:
a/ From where Google grabbed this URL

http ://www.domain.com/1/ if that URL doesn't exist ()

b/ Even if we gave https: version of that page there isn't any link to ( https ://www.domain.com/?et_core_page_resource= ) page

2. Or another example

URL Not Found: https ://www.domain.com/sitemap-pt-post-2016-06.html

Last crawled: 9/23/17

Linked domains
http ://www.domain.com/
http ://www.domain.com/1/

https ://www.domain.com/5
https ://www.domain.com/6/


We don't use such sitemap plugin >1.5 years. So technically we don't have any page linking to that URL ?

I checked code of all pages on different browsers, from different locations, logged and logout, on invisible mode. No such links to sitemap-pt-post-2016-06.html page
----------
So what's going on ? Something wrong with our website, or the issue in on google side ?


P.s.
Website on WP, Linux Server, Website isn't hacked

All these Not Found Pages are from our website previous versions (i mean it's not cialis or viagra URLs), but that page URL's changed at least 5-60 months ago.

thanks

[edited by: goodroi at 7:47 pm (utc) on Oct 6, 2017]
[edit reason] Delinked example urls [/edit]

[Samsam1978]

Ditto. I think there is an issue with their console I had some odd things when I went to https recently. It was URLs that do not exist. Also check your sitemap but I bet you have done that.

[Bluejeans]

Same here: Not Found pages that were removed months ago.

[Samsam1978]

Have you guys seen a drop in traffic?

[lucy24]

Every time I see a question involving the phrase

strange errors on GSC

my immediate response is: Ignore it. It will go away.

[Bluejeans]

No drop in traffic other than the usual for this time of year.

[Robert Charlton]

We don't use such sitemap plugin >1.5 years. So technically we don't have any page linking to that URL ?

alexod, it's perfectly normal for Google to ask for old 404 pages that may no longer exist. Google never throws away a url reference, and Google has observed that many old urls that have dropped out for a while can often come back. Typically, Google re-requests old urls when preparing to do an update and wants to get as accurate a picture as possible of the current state of the web. It's unfortunate, IMO, that 404s are called "errors" and some webmasters think they have a problem whenever the word "error" appears.

There are lots of good observations in this discussion from about four years ago, and I recommend a thorough read of the entire thread, as well as referenced articles...

17 May 2013 - GWT Sudden Surge in Crawl Errors for Pages Removed 2 Years Ago?
https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4575982.htm [webmasterworld.com]

It should be clear, at any rate, that you are not alone.

[Wilburforce]

it's perfectly normal for Google to ask for old 404 pages that may no longer exist.

Yes, and this debate seems to resurface periodically.

If a page has permanently gone it might help to return a 410 for a while, but see [searchenginewatch.com ], which also helps to explain why this keeps happening.

[timemachined]

I have been changing a lot lately, reducing load times, bulk removing thin pages, changing internal link keywords, gziping sitemap, removing rogue woocommerce cart that adds a second on load.

Today, I use Google console pagespeed insights for mobile and it says site is poor at 50% for mobile despite the previous tool a while back saying site was fantastic for mobile - parameters have changed again.

There's also 463 urls not found, not important, there's a reason G aint finding them. Also says today only 43 pages indexed which clear isn't correct and states there's an error on gzip site map simply because one of them is empty. Don't blame me, All In One created it. Clearly not clever enough to understand that its currently empty. It's empty, why an error?

Automation is a fantastic thing... when it works. G is like the coffee machine that has run out of cups. It breaks down and has errors like any other machine. G is also telling me I have 3x the amount of pages indexed in G site:. Their company tells you stuff that is enough to make you go crazy if you run around to their tune.

How's about this for an error: Dear Sir, Your website is getting 25& less traffic as we nicked the answer from your site and put it at the top of our page... being facetious, nevermind.

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 11:43 pm (utc) on Oct 22, 2017]
[edit reason] tidying up thread [/edit]

[Robert Charlton]

timemachined... at first I split off your post, thinking it was on a very different topic (or topics), and now I see it's also about "strange GSC errors", so I've put your post back into this thread.

I don't think we're going to sort out all of your problems in this thread... but in this context, I think it's worth remembering the old saying... don't shoot the messenger.

You say you've been "changing a lot". Offhand, it sounds like you tried to make too many changes all at once, and that somewhere along the line something didn't work, and now, from GSC, which is an imperfect tool at best, you can't sort it out....

- Did you run any tests on individual changes?
- Did you do research on any of the changes before you made them?
- Do you have a flow chart and time sequence for the changes you made?
etc...

On my first read of your list, this item jumped out at me...

bulk removing thin pages

I remember that Google has advised not to use the bulk removal tool for this kind of change. Using the bulk removal tool inappropriately is a common error, and unfortunately one that is often recommended on blogs and forums, so you need to do your research carefully.

See the following discussion for several examples of the incorrect recommendation, and also my reference to John Mueller's comments on what the bulk removal tool does. The title of the thread is not exactly what you're asking, but the situation is essentially parallel....

Which is the best way to remove a directory?
April 2014
https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4666222.htm [webmasterworld.com]

John Mueller's comments about the bulk removal tool are in this Google product forums discussion, which I link to in the above...
Bulk Content Removal
[productforums.google.com...]

I'd pay attention to these specific comments John makes, but I'd read and digest all the rest of what he suggests, as it's all related...

- The URL removal tool is not meant to be used for normal site maintenance like this. This is part of the reason why we have a limit there.
- The URL removal tool does not remove URLs from the index, it removes them from our search results. The difference is subtle, but it's a part of the reason why you don't see those submissions affect the indexed URL count.

Your post isn't clear enough to me to tell me exactly what your problem with your current report is, but the above might help.

In general, I'd suggest never using the bulk removal tool unless there's a legal situation or some such where information needs to be removed immediately from the serps. It's not for shaping how Google sees your site.