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    4. Google webmaster tools says access denied error 403

    Google webmaster tools says access denied error 403

    Technical SEO Issues
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    • ClaireH-184886
      ClaireH-184886 last edited by

      Hi, this keeps on happening, just check early today and it tells me i have access denied and 403 errors

      I have this from time to time in my google webmaster tools and i have checked the pages and they work properly, so i am puzzled why this has happened. I have contacted my hosting company who have said there is not a problem but there must be a problem somewhere which could affect my site rankings.

      can anyone let me know what this could be please. i work in joomla

      | parenting-magazine | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 2 | personal-finance-money-advice | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 3 | 201308081607/emmerdale/emmerdale-chas-confronts-cameron-over-affair-with-debbie | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 4 | 201308081606/emmerdale/emmerdale-declan-gets-a-visit-from-the-police | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 5 | 201308081608/emmerdale/emmerdale-cameron-debbie-affair-is-out-in-the-open | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 6 | 201308081614/uk-holiday-news/visitscotland-launch-campaign-to-boost-tourism | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 7 | dog-advice/training-your-puppy-a-beginners-guide | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 8 | gadgets/hp-envy-13-laptop-review | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 9 | gadget-talk/everyday-smartphone-gadgets-which-could-revolutionise-your-life | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 10 | news-gadgets/the-htc-one-mobile-phone-review | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 11 | gadget-talk/five-iphone-apps-for-home-improvement | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 12 | gadget-talk/are-android-apps-useful-for-business-success | 403 | 8/10/13 |
      | | 13 | gadget-talk/television-gadgets-the-future-of-television-is-coming | 403 | 8/10/13 |

      |   |   |

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • alankoen123
        alankoen123 last edited by

        The web server is most likely specifying a folder and not a web page. Your webmaster should provide results of an assessment to determine if this is the error. Go to http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/403error.htm for more information. Ran one validator test and it reported that the DOCTYPE line is inconsistent with the actual content on the page. The list of accepted DOCTYPE declarations is listed here: http://www.totalvalidator.com/support/doctypes.html

        Hope this helps. Let us know.

        Alan

        ClaireH-184886 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • TheHouse
          TheHouse last edited by

          I'd love to help but what is the url in reference?

          ClaireH-184886 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • ClaireH-184886
            ClaireH-184886 @TheHouse last edited by

            hi, sorry it is www.in2town.co.uk

            alankoen123 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • ClaireH-184886
              ClaireH-184886 @alankoen123 last edited by

              thank you for this, just ran a report and got the following results, http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=www.in2town.co.uk&charset=(detect+automatically)&doctype=Inline&group=0

              so i am going to try and learn what they are and learn what i need to do to fix them, many thanks for your help

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • alankoen123
                alankoen123 @ClaireH-184886 last edited by

                Use "group error messages by type" in Options when using the html validator. It will make it easier to identify primary causes and create solutions. The tag errors are the best place to start when debugging. I've noticed in the past that sometimes the validator identifies an error when in fact, it may be so technical that it doesn't qualify as significant to trigger a 403 error.

                Hope that helps - Alan

                ClaireH-184886 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • ClaireH-184886
                  ClaireH-184886 @alankoen123 last edited by

                  thank you for that, great advice. I have had to do a lot of work since the upgrade with getting the site back to normal so all this help is great.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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