Page indexing report · Search Console
Discovered – currently not indexed
Google knows the URL exists but hasn’t crawled it yet. Google says this usually means it rescheduled the crawl to avoid overloading your site.1 Here’s how to tell whether it’s a queue, a server problem or something about the site, and what to do about each.
Check the URL first
The checker shows whether Google could fetch the URL right now: status code, robots.txt and response time. It can’t see Google’s crawl queue or how Google rates your site.
In 30 seconds
- Google hasn’t fetched the page yet, so nothing on the page has been judged.1
- Three things hold a crawl back: a slow or erroring server, too many low-value URLs, and low demand for the site’s content.2
- Google’s staff say low site quality is sometimes the cause, not just server load.5
- Request indexing helps for a few URLs. It doesn’t fix the cause.9
What the status means
Google found the URL, usually through a link or a sitemap, and added it to its crawl queue. It hasn’t requested the page yet, which is why the report shows no last crawl date.1 Google’s one-line explanation is that it planned to crawl, but the crawl “was expected to overload the site”, so it rescheduled.1
The status is set at the crawl stage. Select a stage to see what Google does there.
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
- Discovered – currently not indexed (this page)
- Blocked by robots.txt
- Server error (5xx)
- Not found (404)
- Redirect error
- Blocked due to unauthorized request (401)
- Blocked due to access forbidden (403)
- Blocked due to other 4xx issue
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
Overload isn’t the only reason. Google decides how much to crawl from two things: how much your server can take, and how much Google wants your URLs. That second part depends on how many URLs you have, how popular they are and how often they change.2 Martin Splitt has named quality as the most common reason pages stay here.6
Is it a problem?
Usually fine
- Pages published in the last week or two
- Filter, sort and tracking-parameter URLs
- Internal search results and calendar pages
- A small, steady number of URLs
Worth fixing
- Pages you want traffic for, stuck for weeks
- A count that keeps rising
- Server errors or slow responses in Crawl stats
- A large share of the site here, with “Crawled – currently not indexed” rising too
The share of URLs that are indexed isn’t a score. Splitt has said he’s seen healthy sites with a million unindexed pages, and Mueller said only about 5% of Google’s own developer documentation URLs are indexed.5
Find the cause
Answer a few questions. Each cause is explained below.
The page is new
Google says a new page or site can take a week or so before it’s crawled and indexed.1 Splitt describes the order: Google discovers the URL, queues it, crawls it, then decides on indexing.6 Seeing new pages here first is normal.
The server is slow or returning errors
Every site starts with the same cautious crawl limit. Google raises it while the site responds steadily and lowers it when responses slow or errors appear.2 Mueller has said Google treats an error lasting a few minutes as a blip, but its systems react to errors that last longer than about a day.5
Googlebot is being blocked
Bot protection on a CDN or host can return 403, 404 or 410 to Googlebot, or an “Are you a bot?” page with a 200 status. Mueller has called the second case especially hard to spot, because visitors never see it.5
The site has too many URLs
If many of the URLs Google knows are duplicates or unimportant, Google spends its time on those and may not reach the rest.2 This mostly affects large sites. Google’s crawl budget guide is written for sites with roughly 10,000 or more pages that change daily, a million or more that change weekly, or a large share of URLs in this status.2 Google has said sites with fewer than a few thousand URLs are usually crawled efficiently.3
The page has few internal links
A URL that only appears in a sitemap gives Google little reason to hurry. Links from relevant indexed pages add context and priority.7
Google is cautious about the site
Mueller has said that strong concerns about a site’s overall quality lead Google to crawl and index far less, and that the answer is to step back and judge the site as an outsider would, not to apply a technical fix.5 He added that quality covers the whole page experience, not only the text.
Where crawl priority comes from
Google crawls what it can (your server’s capacity) and what it wants (demand for your URLs). Select a cause to see how it works and how to check it.
Server load and errors
Google sets a crawl capacity limit for each site. It goes up when the server responds quickly and steadily, and down when responses slow or the server returns 5xx or 429 errors.2 Google treats 429 as a server error and slows down for both.4 This is the cause Google’s own definition of the status describes.1
How to check: Search Console > Settings > Crawl stats, host status and response codes. In URL Inspection, “Hostload exceeded” means Google hit your server’s limit.2
Bot protection blocking Googlebot
John Mueller has described CDNs and hosts switching on bot protection during heavy crawling and returning 403, 404 or 410 to Googlebot instead of a temporary 503.5 From Google’s side the site looks broken.
How to check: look for spikes in errors in Crawl stats and the Page indexing report, then ask your CDN or host whether a firewall rule fired. Use URL Inspection’s live test to see what Google gets.
Too many low-value URLs
Without guidance, Google tries to crawl all or most URLs it knows about. Duplicates and unneeded URLs waste that time, and Google calls this the factor site owners can control the most.2 Its 2017 analysis listed faceted navigation and session IDs first, then on-site duplicates, soft error pages, hacked pages and infinite spaces.3
How to check: export the URLs in this row and group them by pattern. Parameters like ?sort=, ?color= or ?sessionid= in large numbers point here.
Weak internal links
Gary Illyes has explained that a sitemap only tells Google a link exists, while a link from a page adds context about what’s on the other side.7 Martin Splitt recommends linking new content to related parts of the site.6
How to check: in URL Inspection, look at “Referring page”. If only the sitemap is listed, find out whether any indexed page links to the URL.10
Site quality
Asked whether this status is a sign of a quality problem, Mueller answered “Sometimes.” He said that when Google is seriously worried about a site’s quality, it crawls a lot less and indexes a lot less.5 Illyes has said Google raises crawl demand when indexing reports that quality has improved across many URLs.8
How to check: no tool measures this. A large share of the site here, with “Crawled – currently not indexed” growing at the same time and no technical cause, points to it.
How to fix it
- Check Crawl stats for host problems, and fix server errors and slow responses first.2
- Make sure your CDN, firewall or security plugin isn’t blocking or challenging Googlebot.5
- Cut URLs Google doesn’t need: consolidate duplicates, block crawl traps in robots.txt, return 404 or 410 for removed pages and fix soft 404s.2
- Link to important pages from related pages that are already indexed, and keep the sitemap to pages you want indexed.
- If a large part of the site is affected, improve or remove its weakest sections.5
- Request indexing for a few key URLs, once each.9
What doesn’t help
Common advice in other guides that Google’s documentation contradicts.
| Often said | What’s actually true |
|---|---|
| Request indexing gets pages crawled in days | Google says a request doesn’t guarantee indexing, there’s a quota, and repeating a request won’t speed it up.9 |
| It’s a crawl budget problem, whatever the site size | Google says sites under a few thousand URLs are usually crawled efficiently.3 On small sites, look at errors, links and quality. |
How long it takes
- About a weekfor Google to start crawling a new page or site, by Google’s estimate.1
- Days to weeksfor a crawl after you request one.9
- Up to about 2 weeksfor Search Console to validate a fix, sometimes much longer.1
- No number givenfor crawl demand to rise after quality improves. Gary Illyes said it happens “maybe not instantly, but very fast”.7
Discovered vs crawled – currently not indexed
| Discovered – currently not indexed | Crawled – currently not indexed | |
|---|---|---|
| Has Google fetched it? | No, not yet | Yes |
| Last crawl date | Empty1 | Shown |
| Usual cause | Server capacity, too many URLs, low demand, site quality | Duplication, low value, site quality |
| Where to look | Crawl stats, URL patterns, internal links | The page’s content and the site as a whole |
Questions
Is “Discovered – currently not indexed” bad?
Not by itself. New pages pass through it, and filter or parameter URLs often stay there harmlessly. It matters when pages you want traffic for stay there for weeks, or when a large share of the site is in the row.
How long does it take to get out of this status?
Google says a new page or site can take a week or so to be crawled, and that crawling after a request can take a few days to a few weeks. When the cause is server capacity or site quality, it takes as long as fixing that does.
Should I request indexing for every URL?
No. Requests are limited by a quota, and Google says asking for the same URL again won’t get it crawled faster. Use it for a handful of important pages and fix the underlying cause for the rest.
What is the difference between discovered and crawled – currently not indexed?
Discovered means Google knows the URL but hasn’t fetched it. Crawled means Google fetched and read the page, then chose not to index it. The first points to server capacity, crawl priority or site quality; the second to the page’s content.
Does submitting a sitemap fix it?
A sitemap helps Google find URLs, and Google reads it regularly. But these URLs are already found. Getting them crawled depends on server capacity and how much Google wants to crawl the site, which links and quality influence more than the sitemap.
Is crawl budget a problem on a small site?
Rarely. Google has said sites with fewer than a few thousand URLs are usually crawled efficiently, and its crawl budget guide is written for much larger sites. On a small site, look at server errors, internal links and quality first.
Sources
- Google, “Page indexing report”, Search Console Help
- Google, “Large site owner’s guide to managing your crawl budget”, Search Central, updated July 2026
- Gary Illyes (Google), “What Crawl Budget Means for Googlebot”, Search Central Blog, January 2017
- Google, “How HTTP status codes and network errors affect Google’s crawlers”, Google Crawling Infrastructure, updated February 2026
- John Mueller and Martin Splitt (Google), Search Off the Record episode 112, “How to read the Indexing Report”, July 2026 (transcript)
- Martin Splitt (Google), “SEO Made Easy” video, reported by Search Engine Journal, August 2024
- Gary Illyes (Google), Search Off the Record episode 70, with Dave Smart and Lizzi Sassman, early 2024 (transcript)
- Gary Illyes (Google), Search Off the Record, reported by Search Engine Journal, March 2024
- Google, “Ask Google to recrawl your URLs”, Search Central, updated December 2025
- Google, “URL Inspection tool”, Search Console Help