Search Console
Page indexing report statuses, explained
Every row in Search Console’s Page indexing report, what Google means by it, and whether you need to do anything. Each guide is based on Google’s own documentation and statements from Google staff, with sources.
Check the URL first
Paste any URL to test it for the indexing blockers you can see from outside Search Console: errors, redirects, noindex, robots.txt, canonical tags, thin or empty pages and sitemap listing.
In 30 seconds
- “Not indexed” is “not always a problem”, in Google’s words. Many rows list URLs that were never meant to rank.2
- The Source column tells you who can fix it. Google says you can generally fix only issues where the source is Website.1
- The report is for patterns. To check one page, use URL Inspection.1
- Changes take a few days to show, and Validate fix usually takes up to about two weeks.1
Find your status
Type the name of the row from your report, or browse by stage.
17 statuses
Not crawled yet, or the crawl failed
- Discovered – currently not indexedGoogle knows the URL but hasn’t crawled it yet.
- Blocked by robots.txtrobots.txt stops Google from crawling the URL.
- Server error (5xx)The server returned an error when Google tried to crawl.
- Not found (404)The URL returned 404 when Google crawled it.
- Redirect errorGoogle couldn’t follow the redirect to a working page.
- Blocked due to unauthorized request (401)The URL asks for a login, so Google can’t see it.
- Blocked due to access forbidden (403)The server refused Google’s request.
- Blocked due to other 4xx issueThe URL returned a 4xx error other than 401, 403 or 404.
Crawled, but not indexed
- Crawled – currently not indexedGoogle read the page and chose not to index it.
- Duplicate without user-selected canonicalGoogle found a duplicate and picked the other URL.
- Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than userGoogle ignored your canonical tag and picked another URL.
- Alternate page with proper canonical tagThe page points to its canonical correctly. Nothing to fix.
- Page with redirectThe URL redirects, so Google indexes the destination.
- Soft 404The page returns 200 but looks like an error or empty page.
- Excluded by ‘noindex’ tagA noindex rule tells Google to keep the page out.
Indexed, with a warning
- Indexed, though blocked by robots.txtIndexed from links alone, because robots.txt hides the content.
- Page indexed without contentIndexed, but Google couldn’t read the content.
How the report works
The report has a chart of indexed and not indexed pages, and two tables below it.1 Each bar in the chart is the total as of that date, not the number of pages Google looked at that day.2
Why pages aren’t indexed
The main table. Each row is a reason, with a count of affected URLs, a Source, and a validation status. Click a row for up to 1,000 example URLs. Google notes the list isn’t guaranteed to include every affected URL.1
Improve page experience
Issues that didn’t stop the page being indexed, but are worth a look: currently “Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt” and “Page indexed without content”.1
The Source column
Source shows whether the issue comes from your website or from Google.1 When it’s Google, Google says you probably can’t get the page indexed, and probably for a good reason.2 Those rows usually mean Google chose not to index a page, for example because it duplicates another.
The sitemap filter
The dropdown above the chart changes which URLs the report counts:1
- All known pages: every URL Google has found, in a sitemap or not. The default.
- All submitted pages: only URLs in sitemaps you submitted. The best view of pages you actually want indexed.
- Unsubmitted pages only: URLs Google found some other way, often through links.
- Specific sitemap URL: one sitemap at a time, handy for a single section of the site.
Do you need it?
Google suggests the report for sites larger than around 500 pages. Smaller sites, or sites that don’t add content regularly, probably don’t need it.2 For them, checking key pages with URL Inspection is enough.
Where each status happens
Every status belongs to a stage of Google’s pipeline. Indexing isn’t guaranteed at any of them.3 Select a stage to see its statuses.
Discover
Google learns that a URL exists, mostly from links on pages it already knows and from XML sitemaps.
What goes wrong: Nothing links to the page and it isn’t in a sitemap, so Google never hears about it.
Report statuses at this stage
- URL is unknown to Google (shown in URL Inspection, not in the report)
Crawl
Googlebot checks robots.txt, then requests the URL. It spaces requests out so it doesn’t overload the server.
What goes wrong: The URL is blocked, returns an error, or the server is slow, so Google backs off and crawls less.
Report statuses at this stage
Render
Google runs the page’s JavaScript in a recent version of Chrome to see the finished page.
What goes wrong: Content only appears after a click or scroll, or the scripts fail, so the rendered page is nearly empty.
Report statuses at this stage
- No status of its own. Problems show up at the next stage as thin pages or soft 404s.
Index
Google decides which version of the page to keep and whether it is worth storing at all.
- Group duplicates. Pages with the same or very similar content go into one group.
- Pick a canonical. One URL represents each group. Canonical tags, redirects and sitemaps are hints, not commands.
- Select for the index. Google decides whether the canonical page is worth keeping. Google says this largely depends on quality.
What goes wrong: The page duplicates another, is marked noindex, or Google decides it adds too little to keep.
Report statuses at this stage
Serve
Indexed pages can appear in search results. Being indexed is not the same as ranking; an indexed page can still get no clicks.
What goes wrong: The page is indexed but doesn’t match what people search for, or other pages answer it better.
Report statuses at this stage
Validate fix
After fixing the cause of a row, you can click Validate fix. Google then rechecks the affected URLs. Validation typically takes up to about two weeks, sometimes much longer.1 The states:
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not started | Nobody has asked Google to validate this issue. |
| Started | Validation is running and no remaining cases have been found yet. |
| Looking good | Every URL checked so far is fixed. |
| Passed | All known cases are fixed. |
| N/A | Google found the issue fixed without a validation request. |
| Failed | Too many URLs still have the issue. Fix them, then validate again. |
Validating a row whose cause is Google’s choice, like duplication or low value, rarely helps unless the pages have changed. An issue disappears from the table 90 days after its last case is gone.1
Questions
Should every page on my site be indexed?
No. Google says not to expect every URL to be indexed, because some are duplicates or don’t contain meaningful information. Make sure the pages you want people to find are indexed, and don’t worry about the rest.
What does the Source column mean?
It says whether the issue comes from your website or from Google. Google says you can generally fix only issues where the source is Website. When the source is Google, the page usually wasn’t indexed because of Google’s own choice, such as duplication.
What is the difference between all known pages and all submitted pages?
All known pages shows every URL Google has found, however it found it. All submitted pages shows only URLs listed in sitemaps you submitted. Switch to all submitted pages to focus on the pages you asked Google to index.
Why hasn’t the report updated after my fix?
Google says changes can take a few days to reach the report, and it only updates a URL after recrawling it. Use URL Inspection to check a single page. Validate fix usually takes up to about two weeks.
Can I check one URL in the Page indexing report?
No. Google says the report isn’t for checking specific pages. Use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console, or the free checker on this page for the technical side.
Do small sites need the Page indexing report?
Google says sites smaller than around 500 pages, or that don’t add new content regularly, probably don’t need it. Check important pages individually with URL Inspection instead.