- Not every excluded page is a problem. Redirects, duplicates with the right canonical and deliberate noindex pages are meant to be excluded.
- Focus on your important pages: check them with URL Inspection, not just the summary chart.
- 'Crawled - currently not indexed' usually means Google didn't think the page was worth indexing yet.
- After fixing a problem, use Validate fix and give Google time to recrawl.
How to read the Page indexing report
In Google Search Console, go to Indexing, Pages. The chart shows how many of your known URLs are indexed and not indexed over time. Below it, the Why pages aren't indexed table lists each reason, with the number of pages affected.
Two things to know before you start fixing:
- Not indexed doesn't always mean wrong. Google expects to exclude some URLs: old addresses that redirect, duplicate versions of pages, and pages you've deliberately set to noindex.
- The numbers that matter are your important pages. If every service page and key guide is indexed, a few hundred excluded tag pages are not a problem.
Click any reason to see example URLs. To check a specific page, paste it into the URL Inspection bar at the top of Search Console.
Every status, explained
Crawled - currently not indexed
What it means: Google visited the page but decided not to index it, for now.
Should you worry? Yes, if it's an important page. This is Google's judgement that the page isn't valuable enough to index at the moment: often because it's thin, very similar to other pages, or not well linked.
How to fix:
- Improve the content so it fully answers its topic and is clearly different from your other pages.
- Link to it from relevant, well-linked pages on your site.
- Merge it with similar pages if several cover the same ground.
- Then request indexing in URL Inspection. It may take weeks for Google to reconsider.
If the affected pages are low-value (tag archives, thin listings), leave them or set them to noindex.
Discovered - currently not indexed
What it means: Google knows the URL exists but hasn't crawled it yet.
Should you worry? On a new site or after adding many pages at once, this is normal and usually clears. If it persists on important pages, Google may not be prioritising them.
How to fix: Link to the pages from important pages, include them in your sitemap, and make sure the site responds quickly. On large sites, reduce the number of low-value URLs competing for Google's attention.
Duplicate without user-selected canonical
What it means: Google found this page is a duplicate of another, and you haven't said which version is the main one, so Google chose.
How to fix: Add a canonical tag on the duplicate pointing to the version you prefer, or redirect the duplicate if it doesn't need to exist. Common causes are URL parameters, http and https versions, and the same content under two paths.
Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user
What it means: You marked one URL as canonical, but Google thinks a different URL is the better main version.
How to fix: Use URL Inspection to see which URL Google chose. If Google is wrong, make the signals consistent: canonical tags, internal links, sitemap and redirects should all point to the same preferred URL. If the pages are near-identical, consider merging them.
Alternate page with proper canonical tag
What it means: This page points to another page as its canonical, and Google agrees.
Should you worry? No. This is the canonical working as intended.
Page with redirect
What it means: The URL redirects somewhere else, so the destination is indexed instead.
Should you worry? No, as long as the destination is the right page. Remove redirected URLs from your sitemap and update internal links to point at the final URL.
Not found (404)
What it means: The URL returns a 404 "not found" error.
How to fix: If the page moved, add a 301 redirect to its new address. If it's gone for good and has no useful links pointing to it, a 404 is fine. Fix any internal links that point to it. See our technical SEO audit checklist for broken links.
Soft 404
What it means: The page returns a normal "200 OK" status, but its content looks like an error or an empty page to Google, such as "no results found" or a nearly empty template.
How to fix: If the page shouldn't exist, make it return a real 404 or 410. If it should exist, add meaningful content. If it moved, redirect it.
Excluded by 'noindex' tag
What it means: The page has a noindex directive, so Google is following your instruction.
How to fix: If the page should be in Google, remove the noindex tag (check your CMS or SEO plugin settings, and WordPress's "Discourage search engines" setting), then request indexing.
Blocked by robots.txt
What it means: Your robots.txt file tells Google not to crawl the URL.
How to fix: If the page should be indexed, remove or narrow the rule in robots.txt. Remember that robots.txt stops crawling, not indexing: to keep a page out of Google, use noindex instead.
Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt
What it means: Google indexed the URL without crawling it, usually because other pages link to it.
How to fix: If you want it indexed properly, unblock it. If you want it out of Google, unblock it and add a noindex tag, because Google can't see a noindex on a page it isn't allowed to crawl.
Blocked due to unauthorized request (401) / access forbidden (403)
What it means: Google was asked for a login or was refused access.
How to fix: If the page should be public, remove the password protection or the server rule. If it's meant to be private (a client area, staging site), this is expected; make sure it isn't in your sitemap.
Server error (5xx)
What it means: Your server returned an error when Google tried to crawl.
How to fix: Check whether the errors are ongoing or one-off. Persistent 5xx errors point to hosting problems, plugin conflicts or a server overwhelmed by traffic. Talk to your host or developer.
Redirect error
What it means: Google couldn't follow a redirect: a loop, a chain that's too long, a redirect to an empty or invalid URL, or a URL that got too long.
How to fix: Test the URL and make it redirect once, directly, to a working page.
Quick reference
| Status | Usually a problem? | First action |
|---|---|---|
| Crawled - currently not indexed | On key pages, yes | Improve and link the page; merge thin duplicates |
| Discovered - currently not indexed | If it persists | Improve internal links and sitemap |
| Duplicate without user-selected canonical | Sometimes | Add canonical tags or redirect |
| Duplicate, Google chose different canonical | Sometimes | Make canonical, links and sitemap consistent |
| Alternate page with proper canonical tag | No | None |
| Page with redirect | No | Remove from sitemap; update internal links |
| Not found (404) | If the page moved | Redirect, or fix the links |
| Soft 404 | Yes | Return a real 404, add content or redirect |
| Excluded by 'noindex' tag | If unintended | Remove noindex |
| Blocked by robots.txt | If unintended | Edit robots.txt |
| Server error (5xx) | Yes | Check hosting and server logs |
| Redirect error | Yes | Fix the redirect |
After you fix a problem
- Open the reason in the report and select Validate fix. Google rechecks the affected URLs and reports progress.
- For important individual pages, use URL Inspection and Request indexing.
- Give it time. Validation can take days to weeks, depending on how many pages are involved.
Questions
Why is Google not indexing my website?
Common reasons include a noindex tag or "discourage search engines" setting, robots.txt blocks, a new site Google hasn't crawled yet, duplicate or thin content, and server errors. The Page indexing report and URL Inspection show which applies.
What does "Crawled - currently not indexed" mean?
Google crawled the page but chose not to index it for now, usually because it doesn't see enough unique value. Improve the content, strengthen internal links, and merge similar pages.
What's the difference between crawling and indexing?
Crawling is Google fetching a page. Indexing is Google storing it so it can appear in search results. A page can be crawled and still not indexed.
Is "Alternate page with proper canonical tag" a problem?
No. It means the page correctly points to another version as its canonical, and Google has accepted that.
How long does it take Google to index a page?
It varies from hours to weeks. Requesting indexing in URL Inspection, linking the page from important pages and including it in your sitemap all help, but there's no guaranteed timescale.
Every guide is checked against the platform it describes before it’s published, and re-checked when the platform changes.