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Indexing
Why must a website respond with status 200?
Status 200 is a server's response when it delivers a page with no errors — and only pages like this can Google add to its index. If the server reports an error instead, the page simply doesn't exist for the search engine. The "Indexing" audit area therefore requests your address the same way Google does, and logs what response actually comes back at the end of the chain.
Status code 200 in plain words
Every request to a web address ends with a numeric code the server sends back. 200 means: "Everything's fine, here's the page." 404 means: "This page doesn't exist." 500 means: "The server has an internal problem." Think of it like calling a shop: with 200, someone picks up and helps you. With 404, the number isn't assigned. With 500, someone does pick up, but can't speak. Only the first of these three responses is a page Google can show its users — all the others fall out of the search index, or never make it in at all.
How we check reachability
The "Indexing" audit area requests your address and follows every redirect through to the final target. What matters is the last response in that chain: it has to be status 200. An address that redirects first and then ends in an error counts as unreachable — even if the first step still looked harmless. We wait at most 20 seconds for every request; if the server doesn't respond by then, that's a finding too. This rule carries 15 of the audit area's 100 points, since it's the basic precondition: with no working delivery, every further check is moot.
Error pages cost customers and visibility
An error page always hits two groups at once. Search engines remove the address from the index, or never add it — your page disappears from the results. And visitors arriving via an old link, a bookmark, or a printed ad face an error message instead of your offering. Addresses that lead nowhere after a website redesign are particularly tricky: nobody internally notices the error, since everyone involved has long since switched to the new address. That's why the check log records the entire response chain, so it's visible exactly where it breaks.
- Regularly open your most important pages yourself — including subpages like contact, services, and legal notice, not just the homepage.
- Check the addresses in print materials, ads, and email signatures: every one of them should lead to a working page.
- Ask your agency to test all old addresses after every redesign — they should still reach a working page.
- Set up a helpful error page that links to the homepage and search — for visitors who still end up on a dead link.
FAQ
What does status 200 mean for a website?
Status 200 is a web server's response when it delivers a requested page with no errors. The code is part of the HTTP standard that browsers and servers use to communicate. For search engines, it's the ticket in: only pages that respond with 200 can be added to the search index.
What happens if my page returns a 404 error?
404 means there's no page at that address. Visitors see an error message, and search engines remove the address from their index over time. The most common cause is a website redesign where old addresses weren't redirected to the new ones. The check uncovers breaks like this.
Why does a redirect sometimes end in an error?
A redirect forwards the request to another address. If that target no longer exists — after a further redesign, say — the chain ends in an error message. The check follows every chain to the end and assesses the last response, not the first step.
Does a page count as reachable if it opens in my browser?
Usually yes, but your own impression can be misleading. The browser sometimes shows a cached version, or a logged-in session delivers more than an anonymous request. The check requests the page the way a search engine does — from outside, with no login. That response is the one that counts.