Duplicate meta descriptions don’t directly hurt rankings but can lower CTR, affecting traffic. Use dynamic templates to create unique, relevant descriptions for each page.

1. Use URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console to identify discovery sources.

2. Check internal links with tools like Screaming Frog to find references to these URLs.

3. Audit external backlinks using Ahrefs or SEMrush to locate any external links pointing to these URLs.

4. Remove outdated URLs from your sitemap and resubmit it in Google Search Console.

5. Serve proper 404 or 410 responses for nonexistent URLs.

6. Monitor server logs to trace how Googlebot is crawling these URLs.

7. Use robots.txt to block crawling of unnecessary patterns if applicable.

8. Remove problematic URLs using Google Search Console's URL Removal Tool.

Yes, a domain's past can affect SEO. Check its history and backlinks for spam or penalties before buying.