Hello,
I apologize for the issues you are facing with the 404 errors and redirections on your website. Let’s address each of your concerns:
Issue 1: 404 Error with Referer and URI Discrepancy
The 404 error you are experiencing with the Referer having a "/" and the URI not having it can be confusing. To better understand and resolve this issue, we recommend using the Advanced 404 Monitor available in Rank Math. This tool provides more detailed information, including the Referer field, which contains the URL that led visitors to your 404 page. By analyzing this data, you can identify the source of the error and take appropriate actions.
You can access the Advanced 404 Monitor by following these steps:
- Enable the 404 Monitor module in Rank Math SEO Dashboard.
- Navigate to Rank Math SEO → 404 Monitor.
- Click on the Hits count to view grouped 404 errors and analyze the Referer and user agent for each error.
For more information on how to use the Advanced 404 Monitor, you can refer to our guide here.
Issue 2: Hits on Old URLs in Redirection Log
If you are still receiving hits on old URLs that have been updated or are no longer valid, it could be due to various reasons such as cached links, external backlinks, or search engine indexing. To address this issue, we recommend:
- Checking for any cached versions of your website that might still be linking to the old URLs.
- Reviewing external backlinks pointing to the old URLs and contacting the site owners to update them.
- Ensuring that your sitemap is up to date and submitted to Google Search Console.
By following these steps and monitoring the Advanced 404 Monitor, you can identify and resolve issues related to old URLs receiving hits.
If you need further assistance or detailed instructions on how to use the Advanced 404 Monitor, please reply to this ticket, and a human agent from our support team will assist you promptly.
Thank you for reaching out with your concerns.
Closing spiel.
Sources:
How to Monitor 404 Errors with Rank Math SEO Plugin
Solving Redirection Issues Using Rank Math SEO Plugin » Rank Math
How to Fix the ‘Blocked Due to Other 4xx Issue’ Error » Rank Math
Hello,
Thank you for reaching out to Rank Math support.
1. Rank Math does not cause any 404 errors. We only have a 404 monitor feature to help you keep an eye on the 404 errors occurring on your site. We report the errors but do cause them. If you want to gather more information about the 404 error, you can switch to 404 Monitor Advanced mode.
In most cases, the 404 errors you mentioned are usually caused by harmless but unwanted bots visiting your site.
2. The “hits” column shows the total number of times the redirected URL has been accessed since you set it up. Regardless of how many times you’ve updated the page, as long as the page URL (slug) remains the same, the counter will continue to increase with each visit to that URL.
We hope this clarifies the issue. Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Hello,
My reply to last #1: I know that Rank Math does not cause 404 errors. I am already using the 404 Monitor Advanced mode and have many “Exclude Paths” setup. Are you recommending I setup another Exclude entry for this issue?:
[moved to sensitive data section]
If yes, what is the exact first and second entry to enter? Please document out what specific text I should write in the Advanced Mode section. This issue is still open.
My reply to last #2: Per your statement “Regardless of how many times you’ve updated the page, as long as the page URL (slug) remains the same, the counter will continue to increase with each visit to that URL.” — I have changed the URLs a long, long, long time (years) ago. The updated URLs shows in my Sitemap that continues to be read successfully by the Google Search Console. Question: why does the Rank Math Redirection page still show almost daily hits to the “old” URLs that were changed back in 2021 or 2022? This issue is still open.
[moved to sensitive data section]
Please help with specific steps I should take to fix.
Thank you, Robert
Hello,
When you see your homepage URL in the 404 Monitor, it means that some bots are trying to access this URL: https://yourdomain.com/yourdomain.com
This is because all of the 404 errors are relative to the homepage, so you can safely ignore those and go about your day.
If the error was on your homepage, you would see only a forward slash in the log /.
2. We used the “site:” to check if the URL https://standfastus.com/SHOP is indexed by Google on its SERPs and can confirm that it is not:
However, https://standfastus.com/PRODUCTS is indexed. If you are referring to the https://standfastus.com > shop breadcrumb shown under the sitename for product pages you will notice the results still links to the correct address. Please see the image below:
It appears Google has not updated that detail, however, it is indexing the correct URL.
Hope that helps, and please do not hesitate to let us know if you need our assistance with anything else.
Thank you for your analysis and reply. I have also emailed Google to request to address the old “…shop” label showing in their Search Results. Please close this ticket. Thank you.
Hello,
We are glad we could address your concern.
Please feel free to create a new forum topic if you do have another question in the future.
It will be our pleasure to assist you again.
Thank you.
