Crawl Errors: Index URL blocked by exclude or remove rules

Issue / Question

You are receiving the following errors: 

• Request URL is external
• Request URL is excluded

Environment (If Applicable)

Specify the conditions where the issue occurs:

• Product version: Siteimprove (all supported versions)
• Platform / OS / Browser: Platform‑independent (issue occurs at the site configuration and crawl level, not browser‑specific)
• User role / permissions:  Account Owners
• Preconditions: 

Solutions

If the Request URL is external

• Review remove-content rules and delete the one blocking the index URL. Account Owners can delete the rule by using the options listed under the How to fix this dropdown menu in the Site summary panel under Manage sites.

If the Request URL is excluded

• Delete the remove-link rule that blocks the index URL. Account Owners can delete the rule by using the options listed under the How to fix this dropdown menu in the Site summary panel under Manage sites.

Cause

The root cause of these issues is the excluded/removed rules.

Additional Information

• Related errors or messages: N/A
• Known limitations: N/A
• Configuration notes: N/A