CRAWL ERRORS ON YOUR PLUMBING WEBSITE. WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW TO FIX THEM.
Crawl errors are silently killing your plumbing website's Google rankings. Here's what they are, why they matter, and how to fix them without being a tech wizard.
Your plumbing website might have broken stuff you can't even see.
Pages that don't load. Links that go nowhere. Files that confuse Google's robots.
They're called crawl errors. And they're like a slow leak behind your wall. You can't see the damage... but it's there. And it's getting worse.
What Are Crawl Errors?
Let's keep this simple.
Google sends little robots (called "crawlers" or "spiders") to visit your website. They go page by page, reading everything, figuring out what your site is about, and deciding where to rank you.
When these robots hit a problem, that's a crawl error.
Think of it like this. You're driving to a job site, and the road is blocked. Dead end. Wrong address. Construction zone. You can't get where you need to go.
Same thing happens to Google's robots when your website has errors. They can't do their job. And when Google can't crawl your site properly, it can't rank you properly.
And when you don't rank... your phone doesn't ring.
The Most Common Crawl Errors (and What They Mean)
### 404 Errors (Page Not Found)
This is the big one. A 404 error means a page that used to exist... doesn't anymore.
Maybe you deleted a page. Maybe you changed a URL. Maybe your nephew "fixed" your website and broke something. Classic.
If Google or a user tries to visit that page, they get a "Page Not Found" message.
Why it matters: If you have lots of 404 errors, Google sees your site as poorly maintained and unreliable. That hurts your rankings.
### Server Errors (5xx)
These mean your website's server is choking. It can't respond to Google's request.
Could be your hosting is garbage. Could be your site is overloaded. Could be a temporary glitch.
Why it matters: If Google can't reach your site, it can't rank your site. Frequent server errors tell Google your website isn't reliable enough to recommend to searchers.
### Redirect Errors
When you move a page from one URL to another, you set up a redirect. Like forwarding your mail when you move.
Redirect errors happen when:
- The redirect goes nowhere (broken redirect)
- The redirect loops back on itself (redirect loop)
- There are too many redirects in a chain
Why it matters: Google follows redirects, but if they lead nowhere or go in circles, that's a crawl error.
### Blocked by robots.txt
Your website has a file called robots.txt that tells Google which pages it can and can't access. Sometimes this file accidentally blocks pages that should be crawlable.
Why it matters: If robots.txt is blocking your service pages or location pages, Google literally can't see them. They might as well not exist.
How to Find Crawl Errors on Your Site
You need Google Search Console. It's free. And if you don't have it set up, stop reading and go do that first.
Here's how to check:
Step 1: Go to Google Search Console
Step 2: Add and verify your website (Google walks you through this)
Step 3: Click on "Pages" in the left sidebar
Step 4: Look for pages listed as "Not indexed" with error reasons
You'll see a list of every problem Google found when trying to crawl your site. Each error tells you exactly which page is affected and what went wrong.
How to Fix the Most Common Errors
### Fixing 404 Errors
Option 1: Restore the page. If the page should still exist, put it back.
Option 2: Set up a redirect. If the page moved to a new URL, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. This tells Google "hey, this page moved over here."
Option 3: Remove references to the page. If the page is gone for good, make sure nothing on your site still links to it. Update your navigation, your footer, your internal links.
### Fixing Server Errors
Check your hosting. Cheap hosting ($3/month "unlimited" plans) crumbles under traffic. (Read more about hosting for plumbing websites.) If your site goes down regularly, upgrade to better hosting.
Check your plugins. If you're on WordPress, a bad plugin can crash your site. Deactivate plugins one by one to find the culprit.
Contact your hosting provider. Sometimes server errors are on their end. A quick support ticket can identify the issue.
### Fixing Redirect Errors
Check your redirect chains. Page A redirects to Page B, which redirects to Page C. That's a chain. Simplify it so Page A redirects directly to Page C.
Fix redirect loops. If Page A redirects to Page B and Page B redirects back to Page A... that's an infinite loop. Pick one destination and stick with it.
### Fixing robots.txt Issues
Check your robots.txt file. You can see it by going to yourwebsite.com/robots.txt in your browser.
Make sure it's not blocking important pages. The only things you should block are admin pages, login pages, and other non-public content.
How Often Should You Check for Crawl Errors?
Once a month at minimum.
Set a reminder. First Monday of every month. Log into Google Search Console. Check for errors. Fix them.
After any website changes (new pages, deleted pages, redesign, plugin updates), check within a week. Changes are when errors are most likely to appear.
The Real Cost of Ignoring Crawl Errors
Let me put this in plumber terms.
Imagine you have a small drip under a sink. It's not flooding anything. It's just a drip.
So the homeowner ignores it. For months.
Then one day the pipe bursts. Mold everywhere. Subfloor damage. Thousands in repairs.
Crawl errors are that drip. They seem small. Easy to ignore. But they compound over time.
A few 404 errors become dozens. Google starts trusting your site less. Rankings slip. Traffic drops. The phone stops ringing.
By the time you notice the damage, you've lost months of potential revenue. Our post on Core Web Vitals for plumbers covers the speed side of technical SEO, and our 404 page guide shows you how to turn error pages into lead-generating opportunities.
When to Call in a Professional
If you've got a handful of 404 errors, you can probably fix them yourself with the steps above.
But if you're looking at:
- Dozens of crawl errors
- Server errors you can't figure out
- A robots.txt file that looks like hieroglyphics
- Rankings that have been dropping for months
It's time to get help. Just like homeowners should call a plumber instead of watching YouTube tutorials for a slab leak.
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Want us to audit your plumbing website for crawl errors and everything else that's holding you back? Get a free website audit. We'll check your site, your Google profile, and your rankings. No charge. No strings.
P.S. Most plumbers have no idea their website has crawl errors. They just know the phone isn't ringing as much as it should. If that sounds familiar, the problem might be hiding in your Search Console. Let us take a look.