Why it matters
Google slows down crawling when it sees 5xx errors. Pages that were already indexed are kept for a while but are dropped if the errors keep happening.
Server error (5xx) in Search Console
Your server answered Googlebot with a 500-level error, so the page could not be indexed. Find out whether the errors are ongoing, fix the hosting or application cause, then validate the fix.
After the fix
Fix every affected URL first, then use Validate fix in the report. Validation can take about two weeks, and Google emails you the result.
Diagnose it
Symptoms, checks and fixes
Common symptoms
- Search Console lists URLs under "Server error (5xx)" in the Page indexing report.
- Indexed pages slowly drop out while the errors continue.
- Visitors may see error pages or very slow loading at busy times.
Checks to run
| Check | How to tell | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Is the error still happening? | Run "Test live URL" in URL Inspection on an example URL and compare its last crawl date with today. | If the live test now succeeds, the error was temporary; keep watching rather than changing code.[1][2] |
| Is the host overloaded or down? | Open the Crawl Stats report and look at host status and server response errors over time. | Resolve capacity or outage problems with your host, or move to hosting that copes with your traffic.[3][2] |
| Is a firewall or bot filter blocking Googlebot? | Check firewall, DNS and bot protection logs for blocked requests from verified Google crawler addresses. | Allow verified Google crawlers through instead of challenging or rate limiting them.[4][2] |
| Does the page itself crash? | Load the URL yourself and check the application error log for that request. | Fix the failing code or plugin, then confirm the URL returns 200.[5] |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Will one outage remove my pages from Google?
A short outage usually does not. Google keeps indexed URLs for a while during server errors and only drops them if the errors persist.[5]
Should I request indexing for every URL?
No. Fix the cause, then use Validate fix in the Page indexing report and let Google recrawl.[2]
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Sources
- [1] Search Console Help: URL Inspection tool. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [2] Page indexing report (Search Console Help). Checked 9 October 2026.
- [3] Search Console Help: Crawl Stats report. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [4] Google crawling docs: Verifying Google's crawlers. Checked 10 October 2026.
- [5] Google crawling docs: How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers. Checked 10 October 2026.
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