If you’re using WordPress and SEMrush’s Site Audit tool, you might face issues where SEMrush can’t crawl your site properly. This often happens because of conflicts between SEMrush’s crawler and your WordPress firewall. Let’s explore why this happens and how to fix it.
What is SEMrush Site Audit?
SEMrush’s Site Audit is a tool that checks your website for problems affecting its performance on search engines. It looks for issues like broken links, slow loading times, and pages that search engines can’t access. By finding and fixing these problems, you can improve your site’s visibility online.
Common SEMrush Crawling Issues with WordPress
SEMrush Can’t Crawl All Pages
Sometimes, SEMrush can only crawl a few pages of your WordPress site. This limits its ability to give you a full report.
Possible Reasons:
- Robots.txt Blocking: Your
robots.txtfile might be telling SEMrush not to access certain pages. - Firewall Blocking: Security plugins or firewalls on your WordPress site might block SEMrush’s crawler, thinking it’s harmful.
- Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Services like Cloudflare might have settings that stop SEMrush from accessing your site.
How to Fix Crawling Issues
To help SEMrush crawl your WordPress site properly, follow these steps:
1. Check Your Firewall Settings
Your WordPress firewall or security plugin might be blocking SEMrush. To fix this:
- Turn Off the Firewall Temporarily: Disable your firewall plugin and run the SEMrush crawl again. If SEMrush can crawl more pages, the firewall is the problem.
- Update or Change Firewall Settings: Make sure your firewall plugin is up to date. Adjust its settings to allow SEMrush’s IP addresses and user agents.
- Try a Different Firewall Plugin: If changing settings doesn’t work, consider using another firewall plugin that works well with SEMrush.
2. Allow SEMrush’s IP Addresses
Make sure SEMrush’s crawler can access your site by allowing its IP addresses in your firewall and CDN settings. SEMrush provides a list of IP ranges that you should allow.
3. Talk to Your Hosting Provider
If the problem continues, contact your hosting provider to see if there are any server settings blocking SEMrush. They can help make sure SEMrush’s crawler isn’t restricted.
4. Check CDN Settings
If you’re using a CDN like Cloudflare:
- Allow SEMrush’s IPs: Add SEMrush’s IP addresses to the allowed list in your CDN settings.
- Change Security Levels: Lower the security level temporarily to see if it helps SEMrush access your site.
Additional Steps to Enhance Crawlability
Beyond addressing firewall and CDN settings, consider the following steps to further improve your site’s crawlability:
1. Optimize Your Robots.txt File
The robots.txt file guides search engine bots on which pages to crawl or avoid. Ensure that your robots.txt file doesn’t block important pages. You can use tools like SEMrush’s Site Audit to identify and fix issues related to your robots.txt file.
2. Create and Submit an XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap lists all the pages on your website, helping search engines understand your site’s structure. Use plugins like Yoast SEO to generate a sitemap and submit it to search engines.
3. Fix Broken Links
Broken links can hinder crawlers from accessing your site’s content. Regularly check for and fix broken links using tools like SEMrush’s Site Audit or Broken Link Checker.
4. Improve Site Speed
Slow-loading pages can cause crawlers to abandon your site prematurely. Enhance your site’s speed by optimizing images, enabling browser caching, and minimizing code. Tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights can provide actionable recommendations.
Conclusion
Ensuring that SEMrush can effectively crawl your WordPress site is crucial for a comprehensive SEO analysis. By adjusting your firewall settings, allowing SEMrush’s IP addresses, consulting with your hosting provider, and reviewing your CDN configurations, you can resolve common crawling problems. Additionally, optimizing your robots.txt file, creating an XML sitemap, fixing broken links, and improving site speed will further enhance your site’s crawlability. Regular checks and updates will help keep your site healthy and visible online.
For more help with SEO audits and technical SEO services, visit:
By following these steps and using available resources, you can improve your website’s performance and ensure tools like SEMrush provide accurate and complete insights.