Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
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!
-
-
Quoting here, to ask again, why this is happening with out pages too? is Google going crazy or what?
@James-Avery said in GoogleBot still crawling HTTP/1.1 years after website moved to HTTP/2:
@AKCAC said in 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 such as our page at backwards 3 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!
First off, it's great that your entire website made the transition to HTTPS and HTTP/2 three years ago. That's definitely a step in the right direction for performance and security.
Since your hosting provider has confirmed that the server is configured correctly for HTTP/2 and you've got the 301 redirects set up properly, it's puzzling why GoogleBot is still sticking to HTTP/1.1 for accessing the homepage. One thing you might want to double-check is if there are any specific directives in your server configuration that could be affecting how GoogleBot accesses your site. Sometimes, even seemingly minor configurations can have unintended consequences.
Regarding the non-secure version of your website still showing up in the Discovery section of Google Search Console (GSC), despite the homepage being correctly indexed with the HTTPS version, it could be a matter of Google's index taking some time to catch up. However, it's worth investigating further to ensure there aren't any lingering issues causing this discrepancy.
As for the home page not ranking as well in SERPs compared to other pages, despite having better content and speed, this could be due to a variety of factors. It's possible that Google's algorithms are prioritizing other pages for certain keywords or that there are specific technical issues with the homepage that are affecting its visibility.
In terms of next steps, I'd recommend continuing to monitor the situation closely and perhaps reaching out to Google's support team for further assistance. They may be able to provide additional insights or suggestions for resolving these issues.
Overall, it sounds like you've done a thorough job of troubleshooting so far, but sometimes these technical SEO mysteries require a bit of persistence to unravel. Keep at it, and hopefully, you'll be able to get to the bottom of these issues soon!
-
-
@john1408 said in GoogleBot still crawling HTTP/1.1 years after website moved to HTTP/2:
@AKCAC said in 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!
It's baffling that GoogleBot persists with HTTP/1.1 for the homepage despite proper setup. Consider exploring Google Search Console further for indexing insights, and reach out to Google Support for assistance in resolving this unusual behavior.
-
-
@AKCAC said in 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 backwards 3 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!
First off, it's great that your entire website made the transition to HTTPS and HTTP/2 three years ago. That's definitely a step in the right direction for performance and security.
Since your hosting provider has confirmed that the server is configured correctly for HTTP/2 and you've got the 301 redirects set up properly, it's puzzling why GoogleBot is still sticking to HTTP/1.1 for accessing the homepage. One thing you might want to double-check is if there are any specific directives in your server configuration that could be affecting how GoogleBot accesses your site. Sometimes, even seemingly minor configurations can have unintended consequences.
Regarding the non-secure version of your website still showing up in the Discovery section of Google Search Console (GSC), despite the homepage being correctly indexed with the HTTPS version, it could be a matter of Google's index taking some time to catch up. However, it's worth investigating further to ensure there aren't any lingering issues causing this discrepancy.
As for the home page not ranking as well in SERPs compared to other pages, despite having better content and speed, this could be due to a variety of factors. It's possible that Google's algorithms are prioritizing other pages for certain keywords or that there are specific technical issues with the homepage that are affecting its visibility.
In terms of next steps, I'd recommend continuing to monitor the situation closely and perhaps reaching out to Google's support team for further assistance. They may be able to provide additional insights or suggestions for resolving these issues.
Overall, it sounds like you've done a thorough job of troubleshooting so far, but sometimes these technical SEO mysteries require a bit of persistence to unravel. Keep at it, and hopefully, you'll be able to get to the bottom of these issues soon!
-
-
@AKCAC said in 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 protocolRobots 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!t seems like you've taken several steps to ensure the correct protocol (HTTP/2) for your website, and it's puzzling that GoogleBot still accesses the home page via HTTP/1.1. A few additional suggestions:
Crawl Rate Settings: Check your Google Search Console (GSC) for crawl rate settings. Google might be intentionally crawling your site slowly.
Server Logs: Reanalyze server logs to confirm that GoogleBot is indeed accessing via HTTP/1.1 for the home page. This could help identify patterns or anomalies.
Mobile Usability: Ensure your home page is mobile-friendly. Google tends to prioritize mobile indexing.
Fetch and Render Tool: Use GSC's Fetch and Render tool to see how Google renders your home page. It might provide insights into how Google sees your page.
Structured Data and Markup: Ensure structured data and markup on your home page are correct and up-to-date.
Manual Submission: Consider manually requesting indexing for your home page through GSC.
Regarding the new pages performing well compared to the home page, it might be worth revisiting your on-page SEO elements and analyzing the competition for relevant keywords.
-
@AKCAC said in 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!
-
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
-
Google Index Issue
2 months ago, I registered a domain named www.nextheadphone.com I had a plan to learn SEO and create a affiliate blog site. In my website I had 3 types of content. Informative Articles Headphone Review articles Product Comparision Review articles Problem is, Google does not index my informative articles. I dont know the reasons. https://www.nextheadphone.com/benefits-of-noise-cancelling-headphones/
Content Development | | NextHeadphone
https://www.nextheadphone.com/noise-cancelling-headphones-protect-hearing/ Is there anyone who can take a look and find the issues why google is not indexing my articles? I will be waiting for your reply0 -
Do articles written about artificial intelligence rank on Google?
This is my personal website. I wonder, will the articles written about artificial intelligence rank on Google, or will the site not rank? https://withpositivity.com/
Community | | lowzy0 -
Unsolved Has anyone noticed the Google quote request response rate never changes?
We respond to almost 100% of our quote requests, yet every quote email that comes in from Google shows a 27% response rate and it never changes. Has anyone else seen this or have any insight into it?
Local Listings | | r1200gsa0 -
Dynamic Canonical Tag for Search Results Filtering Page
Hi everyone, I run a website in the travel industry where most users land on a location page (e.g. domain.com/product/location, before performing a search by selecting dates and times. This then takes them to a pre filtered dynamic search results page with options for their selected location on a separate URL (e.g. /book/results). The /book/results page can only be accessed on our website by performing a search, and URL's with search parameters from this page have never been indexed in the past. We work with some large partners who use our booking engine who have recently started linking to these pre filtered search results pages. This is not being done on a large scale and at present we only have a couple of hundred of these search results pages indexed. I could easily add a noindex or self-referencing canonical tag to the /book/results page to remove them, however it’s been suggested that adding a dynamic canonical tag to our pre filtered results pages pointing to the location page (based on the location information in the query string) could be beneficial for the SEO of our location pages. This makes sense as the partner websites that link to our /book/results page are very high authority and any way that this could be passed to our location pages (which are our most important in terms of rankings) sounds good, however I have a couple of concerns. • Is using a dynamic canonical tag in this way considered spammy / manipulative? • Whilst all the content that appears on the pre filtered /book/results page is present on the static location page where the search initiates and which the canonical tag would point to, it is presented differently and there is a lot more content on the static location page that isn’t present on the /book/results page. Is this likely to see the canonical tag being ignored / link equity not being passed as hoped, and are there greater risks to this that I should be worried about? I can’t find many examples of other sites where this has been implemented but the closest would probably be booking.com. https://www.booking.com/searchresults.it.html?label=gen173nr-1FCAEoggI46AdIM1gEaFCIAQGYARS4ARfIAQzYAQHoAQH4AQuIAgGoAgO4ArajrpcGwAIB0gIkYmUxYjNlZWMtYWQzMi00NWJmLTk5NTItNzY1MzljZTVhOTk02AIG4AIB&sid=d4030ebf4f04bb7ddcb2b04d1bade521&dest_id=-2601889&dest_type=city& Canonical points to https://www.booking.com/city/gb/london.it.html In our scenario however there is a greater difference between the content on both pages (and booking.com have a load of search results pages indexed which is not what we’re looking for) Would be great to get any feedback on this before I rule it out. Thanks!
Technical SEO | | GAnalytics1 -
Sudden Indexation of "Index of /wp-content/uploads/"
Hi all, I have suddenly noticed a massive jump in indexed pages. After performing a "site:" search, it was revealed that the sudden jump was due to the indexation of many pages beginning with the serp title "Index of /wp-content/uploads/" for many uploaded pieces of content & plugins. This has appeared approximately one month after switching to https. I have also noticed a decline in Bing rankings. Does anyone know what is causing/how to fix this? To be clear, these pages are **not **normal /wp-content/uploads/ but rather "index of" pages, being included in Google. Thank you.
Technical SEO | | Tom3_150 -
2 Versions of Same Homepage
We want to show new and returning visitors different versions of our homepage (same URL) What, if anything, should we use as the markup to tell Google what we are doing?
Technical SEO | | theLotter
Any danger that Google will think we are cloaking? Thanks!0 -
Video Sitemaps <video:content_loc>and<video:player_loc></video:player_loc></video:content_loc>
Hi guys, If I'm creating a video sitemap do I need to use both: video:content_locandvideo:player_loc</video:player_loc></video:content_loc> Or could I just use video:content_loc?</video:content_loc> Thanks
Technical SEO | | Tug-Agency0 -
Do search engines still index/crawl private content?
If you have a membership site, which requires a payment to access specific content/images/videos, do search engines still use that content as a ranking/domain authority factor? Is it worth optimizing these "private" pages for SEO?
Technical SEO | | christinarule1