Understanding the 406 Error: Causes, Fixes, and SEO Impact

Website issues are equally infuriating to users and owners alike, and one example of that is the 406 error. Unlike the well-known 404 error or the 500 error, the 406 error is less discussed but plays an important role in how content is served on the internet. For businesses whose digital presence and customer service is prioritized, knowing how to solve the 406 error is vital.  

This blog intends to discuss the meaning of a 406 error, the reasons why it happens, possible solutions, and how it impacts the SEO aspects of the website.

Explaining the 406 Not Acceptable Error

Similar to other error codes on the spectrum of the internet, the 406 error is referred to as the “406 Not Acceptable error”. It is a type of HTTP response status code that indicates that a server cannot produce a response that is acceptable in the form provided in the header of the request.  

In layman’s terms, each web browser has a set of preferred formats. While some accept HTML, others may go for JSON or XML. Keeping this in mind, it must also be understood that not all servers respond in the same format. Hence, if a server is unable to serve back a compatible format to what the browser sent, a 406 error is returned.

Common Reasons Why a 406 Error Might Occur

Several causes could lead to triggering the error, such as:

• ModSecurity Rules: In some cases, firewall proxies like ModSecurity may block certain requests, thus resulting in a 406 error.
• Incompatible Accept Headers: The most frequent explanation is that the request headers specified by the client’s browser contain types of content that the server cannot provide, which leads to a 406 error.
• Content Negotiation Failures: If the server is configured to provide content based on language, encoding, or media type and does not have the option to fulfill it, a 406 error might result.
• Browser Extensions or Plugins: Interferences from outside rogue extensions may rewrite request headers, thus leading to unsanctioned communication with the server.
• Improper Server Configuration: Unmaintained software, custom rules set by the server, or obsolete systems may result in fulfillment failures for the requested content format.

Step-by-Step Guide on Fixing the 406 Error

In the case that you are a website owner or a developer, here are some tips for fixing the 406 error:

1. Examining Browser Headers

In such tools as Chrome DevTools or Postman, examine the request headers to ensure that a required common format, like text/html, is included in the Accept section.

2. Edits to Server Settings

If Apache is your web server, review the .htaccess file for any specified rewrite rules or content negotiation features that could be blocking certain content types. Verify mod_negotiation’s configuration.

3. Deactivate ModSecurity (For the Time Being)

In the instance you have a firewall or security module such as ModSecurity, turn it off temporarily to check if the error gets fixed. If that turns out to be the problem, change the rules appropriately.

4. Update the Web Application

Ensure your content management system, such as WordPress, plugins, or backend frameworks, are current. A system that hasn’t had requests made to its browser for some time will encounter a server 406 error.

5. Language or Locale Settings Review

Think about changing your language fallback settings if your server has been set to deliver content based on the client’s language, to expect a match, but there isn’t any.

6. Get in Touch with your Hosting Provider

In the scenario that you don’t know or believe the problem to be server-related, get in touch with your hosting provider assigned for those services. As opposed to the end-user, these service providers have system log files and data that are not opened until used.

Impacts on SEO as a Result of a 406 Error

The crawling problems that a 406 error can generate may seem insubstantial, however, its impact on SEO and user experience is of utmost importance:

• Crawling Problems: If search engine bots keep running into 406 errors, it is possible they might just stop trying to crawl your website completely. This scenario can result in the de-indexing of the pages, and 406 errors were triggered.
• User Experience: A website throwing a 406 error is a page perceived by users as unsupported or broken, thus sapping reliability, increasing bounce rate, and making trust harder to gain.
• Reduced Conversion Value: If potential leads are exposed to service or product pages, 406 are triggered on, they will likely leave and stop converting majorly affect sales.
• Slow content indexing: If the new content cannot be fetched due to the negotiation required before accessed, search engines are likely to hold off on including it in their index.
• Incorrect Content Rendering: In the event that the correct version of a page, such as mobile or its language variant, is not served, users may only receive generic content, drastically lowering relevancy.

Keeping a proactive stance, along with solving issues quickly, helps to maintain the health of a website, ensuring its visibility and ranking on search engines.

Level Restriction of 406 Error

To reduce the chances of getting a 406 error, server knowledge and good development information need to work hand in hand.

• Make sure there are working fallback policies in place for all content types and languages served. 
• Always check the server response after executing a major change on your configuration to ensure that they were not misconfigured.
• Look over your error logs and Google Console for any crawling-related issues regularly.
• Do not apply client-side applications with overly restrictive Accept headers.  
• Work hand in hand with the SEO and development team to ensure that the site serves content on all devices and browsers correctly.  

Conclusion  

Diagnosing and solving the 406 error is paramount in providing top user experience as well as ensuring that the search engines can seamlessly index your webpages. While not being amongst the most popular HTTP errors one would come across, the 406 error can quietly hurt the performance and visibility of a website.  

At FSAL Technologies, we do more than just fix the obvious errors. We make sure that, as your preferred SEO service partner, the website is technically optimized devoid of errors and compliant to search engine guidelines. Our team takes it upon themselves to monitor and maintain relevant technical 406 errors, broken links, and crawl errors to ensure that your business is visible, approachable, and competitive online.  

Get in touch with FSAL Technologies and let us guide you fortify and enhance your digital identity that you can rely on.