There’s a frustrating scenario that plays out for party rental operators every spring. Booking inquiries should be flooding in as the weather warms, but traffic stays flat. You check your Google Business Profile—everything looks fine. Your website seems to be working. Reviews are solid. Yet somehow, you’re invisible for searches that should be bringing customers to your door.

Often, the culprit hides in a free tool that many business owners have connected but rarely check: Google Search Console. Buried in its reports are crawl errors—problems that prevent Google from properly accessing, reading, and indexing your pages. When Google can’t crawl your bounce house inventory page or your service area landing pages, those pages essentially don’t exist in search results.

The good news is that most crawl errors have straightforward fixes once you understand what you’re looking at. This guide walks through the most common crawl errors affecting party rental websites, explains what causes them, and provides clear steps to resolve each one.

What Crawl Errors Actually Mean for Your Business

Before diving into specific errors, it helps to understand what’s happening behind the scenes when Google “crawls” your website.

Google uses automated programs called crawlers (or spiders) to visit websites, read their content, and add that information to Google’s index. Think of the index as Google’s massive library of every webpage it knows about. When someone searches for “bounce house rental near me,” Google searches its index—not the live internet—to find relevant results.

When a crawl error occurs, Google’s crawler encountered a problem trying to access or read one of your pages. That page either doesn’t get added to the index at all, or it gets added with incomplete information. Either way, the page becomes less likely to appear in search results.

For party rental businesses, crawl errors create specific problems:

Lost visibility for your inventory. If your most popular bounce house page has a crawl error, potential customers searching for exactly what you offer won’t find you.

Wasted marketing effort. That location-specific landing page you created for a neighboring city? If Google can’t crawl it, the time you invested produces zero return.

Competitive disadvantage. While your pages sit with unresolved errors, competitors without those problems capture the searches you should be winning.

Compounding neglect. Crawl errors don’t fix themselves and often multiply as websites change over time. A few errors today become dozens next year.

Getting Started with Google Search Console

If you haven’t already connected your website to Google Search Console, that’s the essential first step. The tool is free and provides direct insight into how Google sees your site.

To set up Search Console, visit search.google.com/search-console and sign in with a Google account. You’ll need to verify ownership of your website, which typically involves adding a small piece of code to your site or verifying through your domain registrar. If you work with a web developer, they can handle this in minutes.

Once connected, Google begins collecting data about your site. Give it at least a week to accumulate meaningful information before drawing conclusions from the reports.

Finding Crawl Errors in Search Console

The primary location for crawl error information is the “Pages” report (previously called “Coverage” or “Index Coverage”). Navigate to this section from the left sidebar.

The report categorizes your URLs into four groups:

Valid – Pages successfully indexed and appearing in search results.

Valid with warnings – Pages indexed but with issues worth addressing.

Excluded – Pages Google chose not to index, sometimes intentionally (like duplicate content) and sometimes due to problems.

Error – Pages Google tried to index but couldn’t due to specific problems. These are your priority.

Click on any category to see the specific issues affecting your pages. Each error type shows how many pages are affected and lists the specific URLs involved.

 

The Most Common Crawl Errors and How to Fix Them

Let’s work through the errors most frequently affecting party rental websites, with practical fixes for each.

Server Errors (5xx)

What it means: When Google tried to access your page, your web server returned an error instead of the page content. The “5xx” refers to the HTTP status code category indicating server-side problems.

Why it happens on party rental sites: Shared hosting plans that can’t handle traffic spikes, especially during peak booking season. Poorly configured booking plugins that crash when processing certain requests. Server maintenance happening when Google’s crawler visits.

How to fix it:

First, verify the error is ongoing versus a one-time incident. Visit the affected URLs yourself—if they load fine now, the error may have been temporary server downtime.

If pages still aren’t loading:

Check with your hosting provider about recent server issues or maintenance windows. Review any error logs your hosting account provides to identify specific problems. If errors coincide with booking software or other plugins, temporarily deactivate them to isolate the cause. Consider whether your hosting plan can handle your traffic, especially during busy seasons when both visitors and Google’s crawler may hit your site frequently.

For recurring server errors, upgrading to more robust hosting often provides the permanent solution. Budget shared hosting that costs a few dollars monthly may save money upfront but costs bookings when it can’t reliably serve your pages.

Not Found (404) Errors

What it means: Google tried to access a page that doesn’t exist. The server responded correctly but indicated no content exists at that URL.

Why it happens on party rental sites: This is the most common error type for party rental businesses, and several scenarios cause it:

You removed a bounce house from your inventory but links to its page still exist elsewhere on your site or around the web. You changed URL structures during a website update without setting up redirects. You renamed product pages but didn’t update internal links pointing to the old names. Someone linked to your site with a typo in the URL, and Google is trying to crawl that incorrect address.

How to fix it:

The appropriate fix depends on why the 404 exists:

If the page was intentionally removed: If you sold a bounce house and deleted its page, that’s legitimate. But you should redirect the old URL to a relevant alternative—perhaps your main bounce house category page or a similar item. This preserves any SEO value the old page accumulated and helps visitors who bookmarked or linked to it.

If the page moved to a new URL: Set up a 301 (permanent) redirect from the old URL to the new location. This tells Google the page moved and transfers ranking signals to the new address.

If the page should exist but is missing: Something went wrong—perhaps an accidental deletion or database error. Restore the page from a backup or recreate it.

If the URL never should have existed: Sometimes Google discovers broken links from external sites pointing to URLs that never existed on your site. If the URL doesn’t make sense for your business, you can generally ignore these. Google will eventually stop trying to crawl them.

To implement redirects, you’ll either use your website platform’s built-in tools (many have redirect managers in their SEO settings) or add redirect rules to your server’s .htaccess file. If you’re not comfortable with server configuration, this is a reasonable task to hand off to a developer.

Soft 404 Errors

What it means: The page loaded successfully (returned a 200 status code) but Google determined the content is essentially empty or appears to be an error page. Google treats it as if it were a real 404.

Why it happens on party rental sites: Your website shows a “product not found” message on a page that technically loads. A category page that used to have items now displays empty with no meaningful content. A search results page on your site returned no results for a particular query Google tried.

How to fix it:

Soft 404s often indicate pages that should either have content added or should return actual 404 status codes.

If the page is supposed to have content but displays empty (perhaps a category waiting for items to be added), either add the missing content or temporarily set the page to return a proper 404 or use a noindex tag until content exists.

If the page is truly defunct and shows an error message, configure it to return an actual 404 status code so Google understands correctly. Then set up redirects as described above.

For party rental sites, soft 404s commonly occur on seasonal pages (like holiday-themed inventory) that sit empty during off-seasons. Consider either keeping minimal content on these pages year-round or implementing proper redirects during inactive periods.

Redirect Errors

What it means: Google encountered a problem following redirects on your site. This could be redirect chains that are too long, redirects that loop back on themselves, or redirects pointing to pages that have their own errors.

Why it happens on party rental sites: Accumulated changes over time without cleanup. You redirected Page A to Page B a year ago, then later redirected Page B to Page C, creating a chain. Or during a site redesign, conflicting redirect rules were created that send Google in circles.

How to fix it:

For redirect chains: Update the original redirect to point directly to the final destination. Instead of A→B→C, make it A→C. This reduces the number of “hops” Google must follow and speeds up the process.

For redirect loops: Identify where the loop occurs and break it by either removing one of the conflicting redirects or fixing the destination. A loop might look like A→B→A, where Google bounces back and forth forever.

For redirects to error pages: If you’ve redirected to a page that now has its own problems (like a 404), fix the underlying error or update the redirect to point somewhere functional.

Cleaning up redirects often requires reviewing your complete list of active redirects, which can be found in your website platform’s tools or server configuration. Look for patterns—multiple redirects pointing to the same destination, chains longer than two hops, or any URLs appearing both as sources and destinations of redirects.

Crawled – Currently Not Indexed

What it means: Google successfully crawled the page but decided not to include it in the search index. This isn’t exactly an error—it’s a choice Google made about your content.

Why it happens on party rental sites: Google deemed the page too similar to other pages on your site or across the web. The page has thin content that doesn’t provide enough value to index. Google isn’t sure the page is important enough to include in its index.

How to fix it:

This status requires evaluating why Google might have made this decision:

Content quality check: Is the page genuinely useful? Does it provide information visitors would want? A page with two sentences and one photo might not merit indexing from Google’s perspective.

Duplicate content check: Is this page very similar to another page on your site or to competitor pages? Location pages that differ only by city name often fall into this category.

Internal linking check: Does the rest of your site link to this page? Pages with few or no internal links signal to Google that even you don’t consider them important.

Freshness check: When was the page last updated? Very old content with no recent updates may be deprioritized.

To encourage indexing, improve the content quality and uniqueness, add internal links from other relevant pages on your site, and ensure the page provides genuine value to visitors. You can also request indexing through Search Console’s URL Inspection tool, though Google may still decline if it doesn’t see the page as valuable.

Blocked by robots.txt

What it means: Your robots.txt file specifically tells Google not to crawl this page or section of your site.

Why it happens on party rental sites: Default settings from your website platform blocking pages unintentionally. A developer blocked certain directories during development and forgot to unblock them. Overly broad blocking rules that affect more than intended.

How to fix it:

First, review your robots.txt file (accessible at yourdomain.com/robots.txt) to understand what’s being blocked. Look for “Disallow” rules that might be affecting your important pages.

If you find rules blocking content that should be crawlable, remove or modify those rules. Common fixes include:

Removing lines that block entire directories containing your inventory (like “Disallow: /products/”). Changing overly broad rules to be more specific. Removing rules that were only intended for development environments.

After updating robots.txt, Google will recognize the changes on its next crawl. You can request re-crawling through the URL Inspection tool to speed this up.

Be cautious when editing robots.txt—incorrect changes can accidentally block your entire site from search engines. If you’re unsure, consult with someone who understands the syntax.

Duplicate Content Issues

What it means: Google found multiple versions of essentially the same content and isn’t sure which version to index.

Why it happens on party rental sites: Your site is accessible with and without “www” prefix, creating duplicate versions. HTTP and HTTPS versions both exist without proper redirects. URL parameters (like tracking codes or sort options) create multiple URLs for the same content. Printer-friendly versions or AMP versions exist alongside regular pages.

How to fix it:

Consolidate with redirects: Choose one canonical version of your site (www or non-www, HTTPS preferred) and redirect all other versions to it.

Implement canonical tags: Add canonical tags to pages telling Google which version is the “official” one to index. This is especially useful for parameter variations.

Configure URL parameters in Search Console: Use the URL Parameters tool to tell Google how to handle different parameters on your site.

Clean up duplicate versions: If you have both HTTP and HTTPS versions indexed, ensure HTTP redirects to HTTPS and request removal of the HTTP versions through Search Console.

For party rental sites with booking systems or filtering options, parameter-based duplicates are common. A page showing all bounce houses might exist at multiple URLs like /bounce-houses, /bounce-houses?sort=price, and /bounce-houses?color=blue. Canonical tags point all these variations to the main URL.

Preventing Future Crawl Errors

Fixing current errors matters, but preventing new ones saves ongoing frustration.

When Removing Inventory

Before deleting a page for equipment you no longer offer:

Check if other pages on your site link to it and update those links. Check if the page has any external backlinks worth preserving. Set up a redirect to a relevant alternative page before deletion. Document the redirect so you remember why it exists.

When Redesigning Your Website

Major website changes create the highest risk for crawl errors. Before launching changes:

Create a complete list of all existing URLs on your current site. Map each old URL to its equivalent on the new site. Implement redirects for every page that changes location. Test redirects before going live to catch problems early. Monitor Search Console closely for several weeks after launch to catch issues quickly.

When Adding New Content

As you add new inventory pages, location pages, or blog content:

Use consistent URL structures that match your existing patterns. Link new pages from relevant existing pages so Google discovers them. Submit new important pages for indexing through the URL Inspection tool. Verify pages appear in your sitemap.

Routine Monitoring

Build a habit of checking Search Console at least monthly:

Review the Pages report for any new errors. Check the crawl stats to ensure Google is regularly accessing your site. Look for sudden drops in indexed pages that might indicate problems. Address errors promptly before they compound.

Setting a calendar reminder to check Search Console on the first of each month takes minutes and prevents errors from accumulating unnoticed.

 

When to Address Errors Yourself vs. Hiring Help

Many crawl errors have fixes accessible to anyone willing to learn their website platform’s tools. Others require technical knowledge that may not be worth acquiring for a one-time fix.

Reasonable to handle yourself:

Adding redirects through your website platform’s built-in redirect manager. Updating internal links to fix broken link errors. Requesting indexing for new or updated pages. Adding or improving content on pages Google isn’t indexing. Basic robots.txt modifications if you understand the syntax.

Worth getting professional help:

Server configuration changes affecting how your site responds to requests. Complex redirect implementations at the server level. Debugging server errors that require access to server logs and hosting configurations. Resolving issues requiring changes to your site’s core code. Cleaning up extensive redirect chains accumulated over years.

A few hundred dollars spent on a developer fixing errors correctly often saves more than it costs in recovered search visibility. The key is having clear documentation of what needs fixing—which your Search Console reports provide—so you’re paying for execution rather than diagnosis.

Understanding Error Priorities

Not all crawl errors deserve equal attention. Prioritize based on the importance of affected pages and the severity of the error.

High priority – fix immediately:

Errors affecting your homepage, main service pages, or top-performing inventory pages. Server errors indicating ongoing hosting problems. Any error affecting pages that currently bring significant traffic.

Medium priority – address soon:

Errors affecting inventory pages for popular items. 404 errors for pages that had meaningful content. Redirect problems creating poor user experiences.

Lower priority – address when convenient:

404 errors for pages that were intentionally removed and properly shouldn’t exist. Errors on pages with minimal traffic or importance. “Crawled but not indexed” for pages that genuinely might not merit indexing.

Search Console shows you which pages are affected by each error type. Cross-reference with your analytics to understand which errors impact your most valuable pages.

The Compound Value of Clean Crawling

Resolving crawl errors isn’t a one-time task with a dramatic payoff—it’s ongoing maintenance that compounds over time. Each error you fix restores visibility for that page. Preventing new errors maintains the gains. Over months and years, a clean-crawling website accumulates advantages over competitors who let errors pile up.

For party rental businesses operating in competitive local markets, these advantages matter. When two companies offer similar inventory, similar pricing, and similar service areas, the one with the technically healthier website often wins the visibility battle. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s the work that underpins sustainable search success.

Check your Search Console today. See what errors exist. Fix the high-priority ones this week. Build the habit of monthly monitoring. Your future self—especially during peak season when bookings are on the line—will appreciate the investment.