🕸️ SEO Crawlability: 13 Must-Do Tips to Make Google Love Your Website
Let’s face it—your website could have the best content in the world, but if search engines can’t find it, what’s the point?
Making your site crawl-friendly is like rolling out a red carpet for Google’s bots. It’s one of the most underrated, yet essential, pillars of SEO. The easier it is for crawlers to navigate and index your site, the better your shot at climbing those rankings.
Here’s your step-by-step guide to making your site irresistible to search engine crawlers:
1. 🔁 Keep Your Sitemap Fresh
Think of your sitemap as a GPS for Google. It tells crawlers exactly where to go.
✅ Pro Tip: Every time you add or remove a page, update your sitemap—and don’t forget to resubmit it in Google Search Console. Yes, every. single. time.
2. 🧭 Keep Key Pages Within 3 Clicks
Your most important pages (like services, best-selling products, or lead magnets) should be just a couple of clicks away from your homepage.
📌 Why it matters: A shallow site structure = faster crawling and indexing. Bonus: It’s great for user experience too.
3. 🔗 Boost Your Crawl Budget with Backlinks
Search engines allocate more crawling power to sites they trust. And trust is built through quality backlinks.
🏗️ Build links from reputable sites to increase crawl frequency and search visibility. It’s SEO gold.
4. ❌ Say No to 404 Errors & Redirect Chains
Broken pages and endless redirect loops frustrate both users and crawlers. If search engines hit a dead end, they might bounce.
🛠️ Fix it: Use tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to scan for errors. Replace or redirect broken links with proper 301s.
5. 🛑 Block Pages You Don’t Want Indexed
Not every page needs to rank. Think: privacy policies, T&Cs, duplicate content.
🧹 Keep things clean by using noindex tags or your robots.txt file to prevent crawlers from wasting time on the unimportant stuff.
6. 🔍 Check All Your Links—Yes, All of Them
Broken internal or external links hurt your crawlability and your credibility.
🧰 Use Google Search Console or third-party tools to sweep your site regularly and fix broken paths.
7. 🖼️ Don’t Forget Image Alt Tags
Search engines can’t “see” images—but they can read alt text. Alt tags = better context = better image SEO.
👁️ Describe what the image is actually showing. Think accessibility and rankings.
8. 💻 Validate Your Code
Bad code = bad crawling.
👨💻 Run your site through the W3C Markup Validation Service to spot and squash HTML errors. Clean code = faster bots.
9. ⚠️ Avoid JavaScript-Only Navigation
JS-based menus may look sleek, but search bots can stumble over them.
✔️ Stick to standard HTML links with direct href attributes to ensure bots (and humans) find their way around.
10. 🔄 Handle 404s the Right Way
Some sites mistakenly return a “200 OK” code for missing pages. This confuses crawlers.
🚫 Ensure genuine 404 pages return a proper 404 HTTP status. Misleading status codes = SEO nightmares.
11. ✨ Use Clean, Human-Friendly URLs
Ditch the gobbledygook.
👍 Example:
✅
www.site.co.uk/blog/seo-tips❌
www.site.co.uk/index?id=1234&cat=5678
Simple URLs are easier to crawl and more clickable for users.
12. 📤 Submit That Sitemap (Yes, Again)
This deserves its own reminder. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console every time it changes.
💡 It’s the quickest way to tell Google: “Hey, new stuff here—come crawl it!”
13. 🏆 Build Authority, Get Crawled More Often
The harsh truth: Even with a perfect sitemap, Google prioritizes high-authority sites.
🔥 Focus on creating killer content and earning top-notch backlinks. The more trustworthy your site, the more attention Google gives you.
🚀 Final Thoughts: Make It Easy, Make It Count
Crawlability isn’t flashy, but it’s foundational. Think of it as the plumbing of SEO—unseen, but vital.
By applying these 13 steps, you’re not just making your site easier for bots to crawl—you’re making it more organized, trustworthy, and user-friendly.
🧠 Action Plan: Start by fixing your sitemap and checking your internal links. Then work your way through the rest of the list. The results will come—one crawl at a time.
Want help auditing your site’s crawlability? Drop a comment or DM—we’re all about making your site shine ✨
23/Apr/2025
WEB22 Agency United Kingdom
