When you visit a website, you naturally expect it to be up and running. However, you might sometimes come across a 503 status code, indicating the site is temporarily unavailable. While this might be frustrating, it's not uncommon, and according to Google, it doesn't necessarily harm a site's search rankings if managed correctly.
During a recent Google Search Central SEO office hours session in April, the topic of intermittent 503 errors was discussed. Gary Illyes, a seasoned webmaster trends analyst at Google, clarified how these errors impact SEO.
The significance of website availability
Achieving 100% uptime is ideal but not necessary to maintain favourable rankings in Google's search results. Websites may need downtime for maintenance, updates, or due to unexpected issues. Google understands this, and as long as the downtimes are short and infrequent, they shouldn't significantly affect your site's ability to be crawled and indexed.
It wasn't specified exactly what counts as “extended” downtime, but brief periods of 10–15 minutes, occurring several times a week, are seen as acceptable. Previously, Google indicated that websites could start being deindexed if they were down for more than a few days.
For websites anticipating longer periods of downtime, careful planning and strategic approaches are advisable. Techniques like shadowing a staging site or using progressive rollouts can help minimise both the visibility of errors and the duration of downtime.
Gary Illyes advises keeping any actual downtime to a minimum to avoid negatively affecting your site's rankings in Google's search results. While consistent availability is best for the user experience, Google's algorithms are designed to handle brief interruptions without penalising your site in search results.
Why does this matter to you?
This clarification from Google offers reassurance to publishers and webmasters about the effects of brief 503 errors on their websites. Many sites undergo regular maintenance, which can require them to be offline temporarily, whether for uploading new content, updating products, applying security patches, or general maintenance.
Even unplanned issues like server problems or other unavoidable downtimes are part of running a website. The key is to resolve these issues quickly and keep any disruptions brief.
How can you leverage this information?
If you're a website owner, developer, or SEO professional, it's useful to understand Google's approach to 503 status codes. Here are some practical tips:
- Plan for and manage downtime efficiently, but don't worry excessively about short periods of unavailability.
- Keep an eye on analytics and user feedback to ensure that downtime doesn't significantly affect the user experience.
- Prioritise uptime and quick resolution of issues to maintain the health of your website.
- Consider using staged rollouts to minimise disruptions during major updates that require more extensive downtime.
Armed with this knowledge from Google, you can make more informed decisions about managing downtime while balancing SEO concerns.
