Google: 75% of crawling problems caused by two common URL mistakes
Gary Illyes revealed that faceted navigation and action parameters are responsible for most crawl waste in Google Search, often trapping bots in endless URL paths and putting pressure on servers.
Google recently highlighted findings from its 2025 year-end report on crawling and indexing challenges in Google Search. According to Gary Illyes, roughly 75% of the issues stem from faceted navigation and action parameters. He discussed these insights in the latest Search Off the Record podcast released earlier today.
What the problem is
Crawling issues can severely impact website performance. They may slow down your site, overload your server, and even make parts of your website inaccessible. When search engine bots become stuck in infinite crawling loops, resolving the problem can take significant time.
Illyes explained that when Google discovers a group of URLs, it must crawl a large portion of that URL set before determining whether it is useful or problematic. By the time the crawler reaches that conclusion, the excessive crawling may already have slowed the site significantly.
The most common crawling challenges
Based on Google’s report, the primary causes of crawl problems include:
- 50% from faceted navigation
This issue is particularly common on ecommerce websites. Multiple filtering options such as size, color, price, and other attributes can generate nearly unlimited URL combinations. - 25% from action parameters
These are URL parameters that trigger specific actions instead of changing the actual page content. - 10% from irrelevant parameters
Examples include session IDs, UTM tracking tags, and other parameters added primarily for analytics or tracking purposes. - 5% from plugins or widgets
Some plugins and widgets automatically create URLs that can confuse search engine crawlers. - 2% from other unusual issues
This category includes rare problems such as double-encoded URLs and similar edge cases.
Why it matters
Maintaining a well-structured URL system without crawler traps is essential. It helps protect server performance, keeps page loading times fast, and prevents search engines from misinterpreting canonical URLs.
FAQs
What are crawling problems in SEO?
Crawling problems occur when search engine bots cannot properly access, read, or navigate website pages, which can prevent content from being indexed and appearing in search results.
What are the common URL mistakes that cause crawling issues?
Common mistakes include incorrect URL structures and improper linking practices that make it difficult for search engines to discover and crawl pages efficiently.
Why are clean and consistent URLs important for SEO?
Clear and structured URLs help search engines understand page content, improve crawl efficiency, and provide a better user experience.
How can broken URLs affect website crawling?
Broken URLs return error responses such as 404 pages, which waste crawl budget and prevent search engines from accessing important content.
What is crawl budget and why does it matter?
Crawl budget refers to the number of pages a search engine bot is willing to crawl on a website within a given time. Poor URL structures or errors can waste this budget and reduce indexing efficiency.
How do duplicate URLs create crawling issues?
Duplicate URLs can cause search engines to crawl multiple versions of the same content, which may dilute ranking signals and slow down indexing.
What role do internal links play in crawlability?
Internal links help search engines discover and navigate pages. Poor internal linking structures can prevent bots from finding important content.
How can redirect errors impact crawling?
Incorrect redirects, such as long redirect chains or loops, make it harder for search engine bots to follow URLs and may reduce crawl efficiency.
How can website owners detect crawling problems?
Tools like Google Search Console can identify crawl errors, indexing issues, and URL-related problems affecting a website.
What is the difference between crawling and indexing?
Crawling is the process where search engines discover and scan webpages, while indexing is when those pages are stored and organized in the search engine database for ranking.
Do URL parameters cause crawl problems?
Yes, excessive or poorly configured URL parameters can generate many variations of the same page, which may confuse search engines and waste crawl resources.
How do canonical tags help resolve URL issues?
Canonical tags indicate the preferred version of a page when multiple URLs contain similar content, helping search engines consolidate ranking signals.
Why should websites avoid overly complex URL structures?
Long or complex URLs with unnecessary parameters or folders can make crawling less efficient and reduce user readability.
How can developers improve crawl efficiency?
They can simplify URL structures, fix broken links, minimize redirects, maintain a clear internal linking structure, and regularly monitor crawl reports.
Which search engine highlighted these URL crawling issues?
According to guidance from Google, many crawling problems originate from a small number of common URL configuration mistakes.
