I manage a multilingual blog, and I’ve encountered an issue where Google is attempting to index non-existent language/slug combinations. Unfortunately, I can’t share a link to the specific article for reference.
I have set up canonical links for the other language versions, and generally, Google recognizes them. However, I’m noticing an increasing number of 404 errors as we add new articles. For example, the English version of an article at /en/some-article corresponds to the German version at /de/der-artikel, but Google seems to be trying to index /en/der-artikel, which doesn’t exist.
Does anyone have any insights or suggestions? I’m more than willing to share the link, but I’m concerned it might violate community guidelines.
2 responses to “My multilingual blog gets incorrect lang/slug indexing by Google.”
It sounds like you’re encountering some issues with how Google is indexing your multilingual blog. Here are a few suggestions that might help address the 404 errors you’re seeing:
Check Your Sitemap: Ensure that your XML sitemap is correctly configured and includes all language-specific URLs. This will help Google understand the structure of your website better.
Review hreflang Tags: Make sure that you are using hreflang tags properly to indicate the language and regional targeting of your pages. This helps Google understand which version of your content to serve to users based on their language preferences.
Monitor Internal Links: Verify that there are no internal links pointing to the incorrect URLs (like /en/der-artikel). If there are, they could be leading Google to crawl non-existent pages.
Inspect Robots.txt and Noindex Tags: Check your robots.txt file and any noindex tags to ensure they are not inadvertently blocking Google from indexing the correct language pages.
Google Search Console: Use Google Search Console to monitor and fix any crawling issues. You can also submit a new sitemap here to prompt Google to recrawl your website.
Redirects: If you find mixed languages or incorrect URLs being indexed, consider implementing 301 redirects from those incorrect pages to the appropriate ones. This can help reduce the number of 404 errors.
Analyze Backlinks: Sometimes external sites might link to incorrect URLs. Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to analyze backlinks and see if any of them link to the wrong language pages.
User Behavior: If users are landing on the wrong URLs, it might be worth investigating how they are getting there. Are they typing in URLs directly, or are they following links from other sites?
By taking these steps, you may be able to reduce the number of 404 errors and improve how Google indexes your multilingual content. If the problem persists, consider reaching out to Google Support or forums dedicated to SEO for further assistance.
Hi there! It sounds like you’re facing quite a frustrating issue with your multilingual blog. The indexing problems you’re encountering can indeed be tricky, particularly when dealing with non-existent lang/slug combinations. Here are a few suggestions that might help:
1. **Check Your sitemap**: Ensure that your XML sitemap accurately reflects all available language versions. Google relies on this file to understand the structure of your site. If there are incorrect slugs listed in your sitemap, it might lead Google to incorrectly index non-existent pages.
2. **hreflang Tags**: Make sure you’ve implemented hreflang tags correctly for each language version of your articles. These tags inform Google about the available language alternatives for a particular piece of content, potentially reducing the chances of it attempting to index incorrect combinations.
3. **Robots.txt and 404 Handling**: Investigate your robots.txt file to ensure that it’s not inadvertently blocking Google from accessing any of your language-specific URLs. Additionally, consider setting up a custom 404 page that provides users with useful navigation options or suggestions, which may help mitigate user frustration and improve overall experience.
4. **Google Search Console Insights**: Utilize Google Search Console to identify specific URLs that are returning 404 errors. This tool can also provide insights into any crawl errors and indexing issues. Submitting a reindex request after fixing the issues may help Google re-evaluate the correct URLs.
5. **Monitor the Clean-up of URLs**: Regularly review and clean up any lingering URLs