Diagnosing Multi-Domain Crawling Issues: Insights from Google
Ravinder Kumar
Ravinder Kumar (rivravinder) Social Media Manager & Digital Marketing Expert | SEO, SMM, GMB, SEM & ORM Specialist | Priest at Shri Vaishno Devi Bagga Kuther, Himachal Pradesh.
When Googlebot halts crawling across multiple domains simultaneously, it can be a nerve-wracking situation for website owners and SEO professionals. Diagnosing the underlying issue is critical to ensuring smooth indexing and preventing disruptions in search visibility. Recently, Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, shared valuable guidance on this topic, shedding light on potential causes and steps to address such challenges effectively.
This advice came in response to a case shared by Adrian Schmidt on LinkedIn. Schmidt noticed that Google’s crawler stopped accessing several of his domains simultaneously. Surprisingly, live tests in Search Console continued to work flawlessly, with no error messages or issues. Additionally, investigations revealed no spike in 5xx errors or problems with robots.txt requests. So, what could have gone wrong?
The Root Cause: Shared Infrastructure
John Mueller pointed out that shared infrastructure, such as a Content Delivery Network (CDN), is often the culprit when crawling issues affect multiple domains simultaneously. He stated:
“If it’s shared across a bunch of domains and focuses on something like crawling, it’s probably an issue with a shared piece of infrastructure.”
This comment came as Schmidt identified that all the affected domains were using Cloudflare as their CDN. While CDNs are essential for improving site speed and performance, they can introduce vulnerabilities if there are misconfigurations or sudden disruptions.
Mueller added that if the issue has already begun to recover, it may not require urgent attention. However, he emphasized taking the time to examine recent changes or infrastructure logs to pinpoint the problem.
Using Search Console for Diagnostics
To diagnose such issues, Mueller recommended leveraging the data available in Google Search Console. This tool provides insights into crawl stats, which can help identify whether DNS errors or failed requests are causing the problem.
Mueller explained:
“The crawl stats in Search Console will also show a bit more, perhaps help decide between say DNS vs requests failing.”
He further noted that the timing of the issue could offer critical clues. For instance, if the interruption affects multiple domains simultaneously, it’s unlikely to be related to robots.txt files or DNS misconfigurations.
By analyzing Search Console data and server logs, site owners can quickly narrow down the root cause and address it before it escalates.
Does It Affect Search Rankings?
One of the primary concerns when Googlebot stops crawling is the potential impact on search rankings. Addressing this, Mueller reassured website owners that brief disruptions lasting only a few hours are unlikely to cause visible issues in search visibility.
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He stated:
“If this is from today, and it just lasted a few hours, I wouldn’t expect any visible issues in search.”
However, while temporary pauses may not immediately harm rankings, they can hinder Google’s ability to discover and index new content. This makes resolving the issue promptly essential for maintaining long-term SEO performance.
Proactive Steps to Diagnose and Resolve Crawling Issues
When faced with a multi-domain crawling problem, taking a systematic approach can help resolve the issue efficiently. Here’s a step-by-step guide based on Mueller’s recommendations:
Lessons for Website Owners
This incident highlights the potential vulnerabilities of relying on shared infrastructure. While CDNs and other shared services are invaluable for optimizing website performance, they can introduce challenges if not properly configured or maintained.
To minimize the risk of similar issues in the future, website owners should:
Final Thoughts
Diagnosing multi-domain crawling issues requires a careful examination of shared infrastructure, Search Console data, and server logs. While brief disruptions may not impact search rankings, they can disrupt Google’s ability to discover and index new content.
By following the steps outlined above, website owners can quickly identify and resolve such issues, ensuring their sites remain accessible to Googlebot. Remember, staying vigilant and proactive is key to maintaining a strong SEO foundation.
Google On Diagnosing Multi-Domain Crawling Issues
Google Search Advocate assists with diagnosing crawling issues, recommending checking shared infrastructure when multiple domains are affected. Shared infrastructure (like CDNs) is often the root cause when Google stops crawling multiple domains. Search Console data can help distinguish between DNS issues and failed requests. Brief crawling disruptions lasting only hours don't affect search rankings.