🚨 Potential Issues Highlighted by Google’s Gary Illyes
If your website experiences sudden crawling increases, it might indicate serious problems like hacking or infinite spaces.
🔍 Insights from Google Analyst Gary Illyes
In a recent LinkedIn post, Gary Illyes from Google warns against celebrating unexpected crawling surges.
“Don’t assume increased crawling is positive. It could signal underlying issues.”
⚠️ Watch Out for Infinite Spaces
Illyes cautions about “infinite spaces,” such as dynamic calendar modules or endlessly filterable product listings, which can attract excessive crawling.
“Crawlers may overindex these areas, impacting your site’s performance.“
🛡️ Security Breaches Trigger Crawling Frenzy
Another concern is hacking, where malicious content injected into your site can mislead crawlers into indexing harmful pages.
“Hackers flooding your site with spam can mislead crawlers into over-crawling malicious content.“
🛠️ Steps to Address Crawling Spikes
Illyes advises using robots.txt to block infinite spaces and promptly addressing security breaches with Google’s recommended steps:
- Identify Vulnerabilities: Use tools like Google’s Webmaster Tools to detect breaches.
- Fix Security Holes: Close vulnerabilities to prevent future breaches.
- Clean Hacked Content: Remove spam and malware from your site.
- Harden Security: Enhance site security with firewalls and regular updates.
- Request Google Review: Submit your site for review after cleanup to restore trust.
📽️ Google’s Assistance for Hacked Sites
Google offers resources to help recover from hacking incidents, including a detailed video guide:
“Google provides tools and support to recover your site’s integrity post-hack.”
🛡️ Ensuring Site Security
Maintaining robust website security is critical to protect against potential SEO impacts and maintain user trust.
