Unsolved Why does Moz Crawler start with HTTP//1.1 version??
-
We have run Moz Pro's Site Crawl for example-domain.com
Why has Moz's crawler decided to site http://www.example-domain.com (ie the non-secure version) as zero crawl depth page and report the actually live https://www.example-domain.com (ie secure HTTP2 version) as a crawl depth of 2?
Surely the main live page should be the first crawled and reported as crawl depth = 0?
-
hope you're doing well. I have a question regarding the behavior of the Moz crawler and a concern related to crawling issues on my website.
I've observed that the Moz crawler initiates its sessions with the HTTP/1.1 version. Could you please provide insights into why this is the case? I'm curious about whether this is a standard protocol for the Moz crawler and if there are any implications for website owners.
Additionally, I'm experiencing crawling issues with my website, CFMS BILL STATUS. Despite my efforts to optimize crawlability, I continue to encounter challenges. The website seems to have difficulty being effectively crawled by Moz.
Could you offer guidance or suggestions on how to address these crawling issues and ensure that CFMS BILL STATUS is properly indexed by the Moz crawler?
-
I'll provide a comprehensive response to the prompt, aiming for clarity and incorporating insights from Moz's best practices:
Understanding Crawl Depth and the Issue:
Crawl depth refers to the number of clicks (or links) it takes a crawler to reach a specific page from the starting point (usually the homepage).
In this case, Moz's crawler is reporting a crawl depth of 0 for the non-secure HTTP version of the homepage (http://www.example-domain.com), while the secure HTTPS version (https://www.example-domain.com) has a crawl depth of 2. This discrepancy suggests a potential issue with how the site is configured or how the crawler is interpreting it.
Potential Reasons for the Discrepancy:Redirect Configuration:
If http://www.example-domain.com redirects to https://www.example-domain.com, the crawler might initially treat the non-secure version as the starting point (crawl depth = 0) and the secure version as a secondary page (crawl depth = 2).
Canonical Tags:If the canonical tag on https://www.example-domain.com points to http://www.example-domain.com, Moz might prioritize the non-secure version.
Sitemap and Internal Linking:Ensure your sitemap lists the https version of URLs and that internal links use https URLs consistently.
Crawler Settings:Some tools allow specifying which version (http or https) to prioritize. Check for such settings in Moz Pro.
Historical Data:If the site recently migrated from http to https, historical data might influence crawl behavior.
Resolving the Issue:Review Redirects:
Ensure redirects are set up correctly to prioritize https.
Check Canonical Tags:
Verify that canonical tags point to the https version.
Update Sitemap and Internal Links:
Use https URLs consistently.
Adjust Crawler Settings:
If possible, prioritize https in Moz Pro's settings.
Contact Moz Support:
If the issue persists, seek guidance from Moz support. -
@AKCAC When using Moz Pro's Site Crawl for your website and encountering a situation where the non-secure (http) version of your domain is reported as having a crawl depth of zero, while the secure (https) version shows a greater crawl depth, there are several potential reasons and implications to consider:
-
Redirect Configuration: The most common reason for this is how redirects are set up on your site. If
http://www.example-domain.com
is the primary address that Moz encounters due to your server's configuration, and it redirects tohttps://www.example-domain.com
, Moz might initially treat the non-secure version as the starting point (crawl depth = 0) and the secure version as a secondary page (thus a greater crawl depth). -
Canonical Tags: Check your canonical tags. If the canonical tag on your https pages points to the http version, Moz (and other search engines) might treat the http version as the primary page.
-
Sitemap and Internal Linking: Ensure that your sitemap lists the https version of your URLs and that internal linking on your site uses https URLs. If your internal links or sitemap reference the http version, crawlers may initially prioritize these.
-
Crawler Settings: In some tools, including Moz, you can specify which version of the site (http or https) to prioritize in a crawl. Check if such a setting is influencing the crawl behavior.
-
Historical Data: If your site recently migrated from http to https, and Moz has historical data from previous crawls, it might temporarily reflect the older structure until it fully updates its index with the new configuration.
-
DNS and Server Configuration: Verify your DNS and server settings to ensure that they correctly redirect all http traffic to https and that the https version is set as the primary endpoint.
-
Robots.txt File: Make sure your robots.txt file doesn't unintentionally block or deprioritize https URLs.
Steps to Resolve the Issue:
- Ensure Consistent Redirects: All http URLs should 301 redirect to their https counterparts.
- Update Canonical Tags: Canonical tags on all pages should point to the https versions.
- Verify Sitemap and Internal Links: Both should consistently use and reference https URLs.
- Re-crawl the Site: After making changes, re-run the Moz Site Crawl to
-
-
Moz Crawler, like many web crawlers, typically starts with the HTTP/1.1 version because it is a widely accepted and supported protocol for communication between web clients and servers. HTTP/1.1 is the latest version of the HTTP protocol at the time of Moz Crawler's implementation, offering improvements over its predecessor, HTTP/1.0. It provides features such as persistent connections, chunked transfer encoding, and the ability to pipeline multiple requests, enhancing the efficiency of data transmission. Starting with HTTP/1.1 allows Moz Crawler to leverage these features for more effective and streamlined interactions with web servers, optimizing the crawling process and ultimately enhancing its performance in retrieving information from websites. For More Info Visit Now.
-
The crawl depth reported by tools like Moz Pro is determined by the level of clicks it takes to reach a particular page from the homepage or root domain. It's not solely based on whether the page is HTTP or HTTPS.
In your scenario, if Moz Pro is reporting that the HTTP version (http://www.example-domain.com) has a crawl depth of 0, it means that this page is directly accessible from the root domain. On the other hand, if the HTTPS version (https://www.example-domain.com) is reported as having a crawl depth of 2, it implies that it takes two clicks (or two levels deep) from the homepage to reach this particular HTTPS page.
There could be various reasons for such a situation, such as the site structure, internal linking, or redirects. It's not uncommon for websites to have different versions (HTTP and HTTPS) of their pages, and the crawler may follow links or redirects differently, leading to variations in crawl depth.
To further investigate, you may want to examine your site's internal linking structure, make sure that there are no unexpected redirects or canonicalization issues, and ensure that your preferred version (HTTPS in this case) is correctly configured and prioritized in your website settings and sitemap. Additionally, Moz Pro may provide more detailed insights into the specific reasons for the reported crawl depth if you review the crawl report or log files.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
GoogleBot still crawling HTTP/1.1 years after website moved to HTTP/2
Whole website moved to https://www. HTTP/2 version 3 years ago. When we review log files, it is clear that - for the home page - GoogleBot continues to only access via HTTP/1.1 protocol Robots file is correct (simply allowing all and referring to https://www. sitemap Sitemap is referencing https://www. pages including homepage Hosting provider has confirmed server is correctly configured to support HTTP/2 and provided evidence of accessing via HTTP/2 working 301 redirects set up for non-secure and non-www versions of website all to https://www. version Not using a CDN or proxy GSC reports home page as correctly indexed (with https://www. version canonicalised) but does still have the non-secure version of website as the referring page in the Discovery section. GSC also reports homepage as being crawled every day or so. Totally understand it can take time to update index, but we are at a complete loss to understand why GoogleBot continues to only go through HTTP/1.1 version not 2 Possibly related issue - and of course what is causing concern - is that new pages of site seem to index and perform well in SERP ... except home page. This never makes it to page 1 (other than for brand name) despite rating multiples higher in terms of content, speed etc than other pages which still get indexed in preference to home page. Any thoughts, further tests, ideas, direction or anything will be much appreciated!
Technical SEO | | AKCAC1 -
Unsolved Crawling only the Home of my website
Hello,
Product Support | | Azurius
I don't understand why MOZ crawl only the homepage of our webiste https://www.modelos-de-curriculum.com We add the website correctly, and we asked for crawling all the pages. But the tool find only the homepage. Why? We are testing the tool before to suscribe. But we need to be sure that the tool is working for our website. If you can please help us.0 -
How to index e-commerce marketplace product pages
Hello! We are an online marketplace that submitted our sitemap through Google Search Console 2 weeks ago. Although the sitemap has been submitted successfully, out of ~10000 links (we have ~10000 product pages), we only have 25 that have been indexed. I've attached images of the reasons given for not indexing the platform. gsc-dashboard-1 gsc-dashboard-2 How would we go about fixing this?
Technical SEO | | fbcosta0 -
Unsolved error in crawling
hello moz . my site is papion shopping but when i start to add it an error appears that it cant gather any data in moz!! what can i do>???
Moz Tools | | valigholami13860 -
DA as a measure of link-building success/failure?
Hi all 😃 What would be a good way to track weather a website is doing good or bad in regards to link-building in google's eyes? Is the Domain Authority the best credential? If a website is penalized for link-building schemes, would it reflect on the Domain Authority shown in Moz Analytics? What other Moz score would reflect this scenario? Best regards & Thank you for your help. Carlos
Moz Pro | | 90miLLA0 -
Lag time between MOZ crawl and report notification?
I did a lot of work to one of my sites last week and eagerly awaited this week's MOZ report to confirm that I had achieved what I was trying to do, but alas I still see the same errors and warnings in the latest report. This was supposedly generated five days AFTER I made the changes, so why are they not apparent in the new report? I am mainly referring to missing metadata, long page titles, duplicate content and duplicate title errors (due to crawl and URL issues). Why would the new crawl not have picked up that these have been corrected? Does it rely on some other crawl having updated (e.g. Google or Bing)?
Moz Pro | | Gavin.Atkinson0 -
SEO Moz Rank Report
Anyone else noticing the rank reporting seems to be off? My reports are showing "not in top 50" for some keywords that my site is on page one for. Not in places listings either because I know that can throw things off! Anyone?
Moz Pro | | RickyShockley0