Google Webmaster Tools shows crawl error sources

13 Nov

Posted by silkenhut in Google |

Google Webmaster Tools shows crawl error sources

I have changed my permalinks twice and it has been hard on the blog because I constantly suffer from 404 errors due to other blogs/websites/rss feeds linking to my old permalink structure. However, just recently (October 2008), Google Webmaster Tools released a new feature where you can see where these crawl errors are coming from. Allow me to show you a demo.

When you log in to Google Webmaster Tools, you will see an overview of the errors currently in your page.

Now when you click on “Not Found”, you will see the pages that are currently getting 404 not found errors for your blog.

The new feature of Google Webmaster Tools that I was talking about at the start of this post can be found when you click on the “Linked From” link at the right. You will then see the websites that are linking to that post. That would give you an idea on where the links are coming from so you can fix them. It’s very useful.

As of now, I am currently cleaning the 404 errors as there are so many of them. Most of the links errors are due to my changing of permalinks and deleting of peyd posts. Still so many links to fix.

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8 Responses

Ling (6 comments.)

November 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
1

There’s ways you can handle this without ending up with 404 errors. I’m sure you can come with some re-direct system, where all the old posts point to the new links. 129 broken links is a heck of lot. You need to do something about it, if you haven’t done so already.

[Reply]
WealthBuilder (1 comments.)

November 16th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
2

Another elegant way to handle this, now and for the future, is to create a custom 404 page - one that offers users a choice of destination links based on what they are looking for. “Sorry, that resource could not be found - were you looking for more information? Product Purchase? …”

Of course, fixing broken links and 404s is an ongoing process, but this type of page is a good backup for the broken links that will inevitably happen from time to time. It also works when users type in urls manually and get them wrong.

WealthBuilders last blog post..Web Income - The Right Way and the Wrong Way

[Reply]
silkenhut (117 comments.)

November 22nd, 2008 at 10:25 am
3

@Ling - HI Ling, I have been trying to do that to my links. I have added 301 redirects to them hoping that Google won’t index those old links. Now the errors are around 300 *sobs* This is mostly due to my dead internal linking. I’m have fixed a lot of them but I’m still waiting for the next time google indexes my site.

[Reply]
silkenhut (117 comments.)

November 22nd, 2008 at 10:26 am
4

@WealthBuilder - Hey, thanks for the advice. Where do you make the 404 one page? Is it on the wordpress template? or is it in your hosting itself where I see custom 404 pages in the control panel?

Thanks in advance.

[Reply]
SELaplana (29 comments.)

November 24th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
5

yes 404.ph is the file and it is on the template.

check the default template and study its files.

SELaplanas last blog post..How to pick the right Webhost for your Blog?

[Reply]
SELaplana (29 comments.)

November 24th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
6

siya nga pala, nagdalawang isip akong ichange din ang perma structure ng blog ko baka kasi magkakaproblem din ako tulad ng naexperience mo

SELaplanas last blog post..How to pick the right Webhost for your Blog?

[Reply]
silkenhut (117 comments.)

November 30th, 2008 at 10:20 am
7

@Selaplana - Hi! I found the 404 template in my cpanel and also found something similar in my wordpress template. But I believe the one in wordpress is used the most as most of the dead links go to there.

Also, about your permalink structure, it is very troublesome to change permalinks (I should know since I did it twice already), so unless you really need to change it, I suggest to keep your old permalink structure.

[Reply]
SELaplana (29 comments.)

December 1st, 2008 at 8:30 am
8

If you’ll edit the 404 template in your cpanel it will be shown up in your www folder.

I deleted the 404.html in my main www folder and edited the 404.php in my wordpress template so that if someone receives the 404 error then what will be displayed will be looked like the homepage of the blog. I did it because my commenting section is currently having problem redirecting the user to the comment he’s posting which always shows 404 error.

….

Thanks for the thought.

SELaplanas last blog post..How to pick the right Webhost for your Blog?

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