Why Pages Aren’t Indexed? The Most Common Causes (And How To Fix Them)

I think there is nothing more frustrating when you don’t know why pages aren’t indexed on your website, especially if nothing seems to be wrong with your website on the surface. I mean, we all know it is absolutely critical to have your web pages indexed. 

However, this statement tends to be oversimplified in most cases. The truth is, there are different reasons why pages aren’t getting indexed. But it is not always a cause of worry. 

While factors like duplicate content, blocked pages, poor-quality content, and technical issues need immediate attention, it is also possible that a page is not getting indexed for some good reason. In those cases, you don’t have to do much. 

In such cases, your first move should be to understand what Google Search Console says about your website. Warnings from the search console can help you figure out why certain web pages are not appearing in the search results. Moreover, the same report can also help you understand what the steps are for recovery. 

So, let’s look at all the possible reasons behind your pages not getting indexed. I’ll also touch upon what the most common GSC warnings are all about. 

Stay tuned. 

Why Pages Aren’t Indexed? Common Causes:

The most common causes behind why pages aren’t indexed on your website include: 

1. Duplicate content that doesn’t have any canonical tags. 
2. Inaccurate robots.txt file.
3. Poorly executed redirects. 
4. Rendering issues with JavaScript.
5. Blocked page access.

Moreover, in certain cases, Google shows that the web page doesn’t exist. This might happen for three reasons:

• The web page is new. 
• Googlebot has not come across the link to the webpage. 
• The website’s sitemap doesn’t have the webpage.

In this context, remember that it takes weeks for crawlers to crawl new pages. This is true even if you submit an indexing request.

Additionally, Google may decide not to index thin or poorly optimized content that lacks valuable information. 

So, you can also consider avoiding any indexing issues easily if you keep a few parameters in check:

1. Cover your topics comprehensively. 
2. Optimize your content.
3. Check the loading speed correctly. 
4. Check whether all pages are accessible.

How To Use The Page Indexing Report In Google Search Console?

Using GSC’s Page Indexing Report is definitely the quickest way of finding which pages haven’t been indexed by Google. To find this report, go to the sidebar on the dashboard and click on ‘indexing.’ A drop-down menu will appear – from here, tap on the ‘Pages’ option. 

Once you open this tab, you will get an overview summary of pages that have the current count and a graph. This, in turn, will show how many web pages haven’t been indexed – you can also see how many pages have been indexed. 

So, what you have looked for is the gradual rise of indexed pages in connection with your publishing schedule for new content. Moreover, drastic spikes or drops can show a problem that needs further investigation. 

Ideally, you would want to see canonical versions of each vital page group indexed. 

Also, pages submitted for getting indexed typically have the following statuses:

1. Crawl:

The ‘crawl’ status indicates that Googlebot is currently crawling your pages. So, it basically means Googlebot is in the middle of gathering information, trying to find out whether the pages deserve to get indexed or not. 

2. Indexing:

The ‘indexing’ status indicates that Googlebot has analyzed and subsequently stored your pages in its index servers., So, it basically means that these pages are eligible for ranking in the search engine result pages. However, this does not always mean that a particular page is ranking at the time. 

3. Serving:

The ‘serving’ status shows that Googlebot has indexed your page and is not showing in Google’s search engine result pages. 

How To Use The Error Tab On GSC To Address Indexing Errors?

Please note that a Page Indexing Report has four tabs:

1. Error.
2. Valid with Warnings.
3. Valid.
4. Excluded. 

Since my goal is to talk about why pages aren’t indexed and address the primary indexing errors, I’ll not focus on all four tabs – rather, the Error tab is under the spotlight for now! 

Once you highlight this tab, scroll to the section marked ‘Details.’ Here, you will be able to spot how the main issues are all grouped to give you a detailed view.

1. Why Pages Aren’t Indexed Tab

This table highlights the different status codes which will tell you why a specific URL wasn’t indexed. Moreover, you can tap on every row for a comprehensive overview of the URLs impacted by this problem. Also, you can check the history of each problem on your website. 

2. Improve Page Experience Table

This table highlights the pages that Google didn’t index, but is suggesting a few changes to improve the content. That way, the search engine will get a better understanding of this content and subsequently index it. 

3. View Data About Indexed Pages

You can check the number of indexed pages from this tab. Also, you can obtain insights and history on how many web pages have been indexed on your website over time. 

How To Use The URL Inspection Tool For Identifying Indexing Errors?

The URL Inspection Tool is very useful. You can easily obtain a deep understanding of how the search engine giant looks at certain pages. 

So, you can make the most of this tool especially when you need detailed insights about the current indexing status of a specific page. Moreover, you can also use this tool to find the issues preventing that page from getting indexed. 

But, how to use this tool? Here’s how:

1. Navigate to the main header on the Google Search Console dashboard and locate this tool. 
2. Now, enter the URLs you want to check and then click on ‘enter.’
3. The URL Inspection Tool will let you know if a page has been indexed or not. If it hasn’t been indexed then the status will stay pending. 
4. Also, if a page is not indexed, the tool will tell you why.

How To Tell Google You Have Fixed An Indexing Error?

So, here’s how you can tell Google that you have fixed an indexing error and that particular web page is ready to be crawled again:

1. Go to your GSC’s Page Indexing Report and tap on the specific URL that you want to submit again. 
2. Check the details for the list of pages and ensure that you have fixed all listed issues. 
3. If you are satisfied with the fix then tap on the ‘Validate Fix’ option.
4. Google will email you to let you know that it has started the validation process. Now, remember that this process will pan out across several weeks. 
5. After Google resolves the problem, there is a good possibility that your web page can finally get indexed. If indexed, then the page will also appear in search results for relevant queries.