Use the URL Inspection tool to see Google's reason, then work through the usual causes: blocks, duplicates, errors and low perceived value.
For anyone staring at a page that will not show in Google. You will find the reason and the fix in the order the causes usually appear.
You published a page, waited, searched for it, and it is not there. Before you change anything, find out what Google actually says. Guessing leads to the usual loop of resubmitting the URL and rewording the title, neither of which fixes the real cause.
1Ask Google, with URL Inspection
In Search Console, paste the full URL into the search bar at the top. The result says whether the page is on Google, and if not, the reason. It also shows when Google last crawled it and which canonical it chose.
| Status | Usually means |
|---|---|
| Discovered, currently not indexed | Google knows the URL but has not crawled it yet. Often a signal of low priority or a crawl limit. |
| Crawled, currently not indexed | Google fetched it and chose not to keep it. Often thin, duplicate or low-value content. |
| Excluded by noindex tag | A noindex directive is present. Check it is intentional. |
| Blocked by robots.txt | Google is not allowed to fetch it. |
| Duplicate, Google chose a different canonical | Google thinks another page is the better version. |
| Page with redirect | The URL redirects, so the destination is the page that gets indexed. |
| Soft 404 | The page looks empty or like an error but returns 200. |
Write down the exact wording. Each status points to a different fix, and the rest of this guide follows from it.
2Rule out an instruction that blocks it
The commonest cause is a directive someone forgot. Check three places.
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">X-Robots-Tag: noindexUser-agent: *
Disallow: /guides/Staging settings that carry into production are the usual source. A site launched with a sitewide noindex, or a CMS option to discourage search engines left switched on, can keep an entire section out for weeks.
3Check what the server and browser return
- The page returns HTTP 200. A 302, a redirect chain or an error means Google indexes something else or nothing
- The canonical points to the page itself, not another URL
- The main content is in the rendered page. Use the Test Live URL view and look at the screenshot and HTML
- The page is not an empty template, such as a category with no items, which can be read as a soft 404
curl -sI https://example.com/guides/my-page | head -20If the content appears in your browser but not in the raw HTML, Google may still render it, but it is slower and less reliable, and many other crawlers will not. Server rendering removes the question.
4Be honest about the page itself
If nothing technical blocks the page, Google may have judged it not worth keeping. That is the usual meaning of Crawled, currently not indexed.
Left out
A 250-word guide that restates the definition from ten other sites, has no example, and is linked from nothing except the sitemap.
Kept
A guide that answers the question with a worked example, covers a case the others skip, and is linked from three relevant pages and the topic hub.
Neither version has a technical fault. The difference is whether the page adds something and whether the site treats it as important.
- Add what similar pages lack: a worked example, a template, a decision rule
- Link to it from relevant pages that are already indexed, in the body text
- If it overlaps another page of yours, merge the two and redirect one
- If it has no purpose, remove it rather than hoping
5Fix, request once, and recheck
After you have changed the cause, use Request indexing in URL Inspection once. Repeated requests do not speed anything up. Then wait several days and check the status again.
Worked example
A launch where nothing was indexed (illustrative)
Fernhollow, a made-up analytics tool, launches fifteen new guides. After three weeks, Search Console shows all of them as Crawled, currently not indexed.
The team checks the obvious first: no noindex, no robots block, every page returns 200. They then compare the pages. All fifteen share one template, are about 300 words, and are linked only from the sitemap. They merge the weakest six into three fuller guides, add worked examples to the rest, link every guide from the topic hub and from two related articles, and request indexing once. Over the following weeks most move to indexed, and the three they could not improve are removed.
Before you request indexing
- The status reason is written down
- No noindex in the meta tag or header
- robots.txt does not block the URL
- The page returns 200 and renders its content
- The canonical points to itself
- The page adds something similar pages lack
- At least two relevant indexed pages link to it
Say it in 30 seconds
The 30-second version
Inspect the URL in Search Console and read Google's stated reason. Then check for noindex and robots blocks, confirm the page returns a 200 and renders its content, and make sure it is distinct and linked from indexed pages. Request indexing once, after the fix.
Worksheet
Indexing diagnosis worksheet
The full guide and a worksheet to fill in, as a PDF you can print or share with your team. The worksheet covers:
- Paste the URL into URL Inspection and write down the exact status and reason
- Check the last crawl date and whether Google's chosen canonical matches yours
- View source: is there a noindex meta tag?
- Check response headers for X-Robots-Tag: noindex
- and 8 more
One email with the PDF. No list, no follow-ups.
