Have you ever been in a situation where you have published a fantastic piece of content on the internet by investing a lot of time and effort? But then, after a quick search, your published content is not ranking on the SERP. Frustrating, isn't it? So, what causes this issue? The culprit is the indexing problems.
When search engines fail to index your web pages properly, they can't appear in search results, leading to lost visibility, traffic, and potential customers. Fortunately, solving these indexing issues can improve your site's SEO. Proper indexing ensures that your web pages appear in search results, boosting visibility, traffic, and potential customers.
In this blog, we will explore how to use Google Search Console (GSC) to identify and fix common indexing issues, empowering you to optimize your online presence and win the battle for search engine rankings.
i. How to Identify Indexation Issues Using Performance Report
ii. URL Inspection Report & Indexation Errors
a. How to Check the Status of a Page in Google's Index Using URL Inspection Tool
b. How to Check if a Page is Blocked by Robots.txt Using URL Inspection Tool
c. How to Troubleshoot Indexing Issues Using URL Inspection Tool
d. How to Request Re-indexing of a Page Using URL Inspection Tool
iii. Identify Indexation Errors in GSC Indexation Coverage Report
a. How to Identify and Fix Meta noindex Issues Using Index Coverage Report
b. How to Monitor the Status and Progress of Indexation Using Index Coverage Report
c. How to Track Indexing of New Pages Using Index Coverage Report
d. How to Remove URLs From Google's Index Using Index Coverage Report
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Indexing refers to the process by which search engines, such as Google, analyze and catalog the content of web pages. When a search engine crawls your website, it examines your web page's HTML code, text, and other elements to create a searchable index. This index serves as a vast database of information search engines utilizes to deliver relevant search results to users.
The search index is crucial in SEO as it determines how well your website ranks in search results. It effectively allows search engines like Google to understand and rank web pages based on their relevance and quality for user search queries. However, indexing should not be confused with crawling.
While crawling and indexing go hand in hand, they are distinct processes. Crawling is the initial step where search engines systematically browse and explore websites to discover and analyze their content. On the other hand, indexing is the subsequent step where the gathered information is organized and added to the search index.
Indexing errors occur when search engines encounter difficulties in properly analyzing and indexing your website's content.
These errors can stem from various sources, including technical issues, server errors, incorrect or incomplete sitemaps, or incorrectly implemented directives, such as robots.txt files or meta tags. Crawl errors occur during the crawling phase, such as 404 errors, redirect errors, DNS errors, etc., and can also impact indexing. These errors prevent search engines from accurately understanding and cataloging your website's pages, harming your search traffic, ranking, and visibility and ultimately harming a business’s bottom line.
Search engines continually update their index to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information in response to user queries, which is done by Search index updating. It is the process by which search engines refresh their database of web pages and their associated information. It is crucial because the web constantly evolves with new & updated content.
The frequency of search index updates varies among search engines. Still, major search engines like Google and Bing aim to update their indexes regularly and depend on factors such as the size of the search engine's index, the rate of content creation on the web, and the resources available for indexing.
Several factors can trigger a search index update. These include:
1. Discovery of new web pages or existing updated pages through crawling
2. Algorithmic improvements aimed at providing better search results
3. User demand for certain types of content or topics
The process of updating a search engine's index involves several steps.
1. Search engine crawlers discover and visit web pages to collect information about their content.
2. This data is then processed and indexed, analyzing the page's text, metadata, links, and other relevant signals.
3. Duplicate content found during the indexing process is typically handled by selecting the most relevant and authoritative version to include in the index.
During an index update, search engines aim to balance indexing new content and updating existing content.
While there may be a bias towards indexing new or recently changed content, search engines also allocate resources to ensure that a substantial portion of the index is refreshed in each update. This approach helps maintain a comprehensive and diverse representation of web pages in the index.
The time it takes for search engines to update their index can vary. It depends on factors such as the size of the index, the crawling speed, and the processing power available. For major search engines, the process can range from days to weeks, and in some cases, even longer for particularly large updates. Website owners must understand that not all web pages are updated in every index update, as search engines prioritize based on various factors, including relevance, authority, and user demand.
However, website owners can take action to facilitate the index update process.
1. Ensure the website is easily crawlable by search engine bots
2. Using techniques like submitting XML sitemaps, optimizing internal linking, and providing clear and concise metadata
3. Regularly publishing high-quality, unique content and acquiring authoritative backlinks.
Google Search Console (GSC) serves as an early warning system, flagging any issues preventing Google from properly crawling and indexing your web pages. By regularly monitoring GSC, you can stay informed about any potential problems impacting your website's visibility in search results.
However, it is important to note that while GSC can identify indexation errors, it cannot automatically fix them. It provides information about the issues, but it is up to you to manually investigate and resolve them.
To learn more about GSC and the various methods to access different reports, refer to our comprehensive guide on GSC.
The Performance Report provides valuable data on users' queries to find your website, the pages that appear in the search results, and the associated metrics. Analyzing this data allows you to identify potential indexation issues.
Once you have accessed the performance report in GSC, start analyzing the changes in various metrics & trends that could help you identify if Google indexes your pages. These include:
1. Missing URLs for Published Content: One common trend is when you have recently published a blog or new content, but upon checking the Performance Report, you do not see the corresponding URLs for specific keywords that should be visible. This discrepancy indicates that the newly published pages are not properly indexed and displayed for relevant search queries.
2. Sudden Drops in Impressions, Clicks, or Rankings: If you observe a sudden decline in impressions, clicks, or rankings across multiple pages or specific sections of your website, it could suggest broader indexation issues. This trend indicates that certain pages are not crawled and indexed correctly, leading to decreased visibility and engagement.
3. Variations in Performance Across Devices or Locations: Analyzing performance metrics by the device (desktop, mobile) or location (country, region) can reveal patterns related to indexation issues. Observing significant disparities in performance metrics across different devices or locations suggests that certain pages may not be properly indexed for specific contexts.
Using the URL Inspection Report, you can gather important information about specific URLs on your website and identify any potential indexation errors. This tool provides detailed data to help you understand how Google views your web pages and whether they are eligible for indexing in the search results.
The URL Inspection Report provides information about the following aspects of a specific URL:
1. It indicates whether Google crawls or indexes the URL or if any issues prevent its inclusion in the search results.
2. It provides insights into how mobile-friendly your web page
3. The report highlights any structured data markup on the page and identifies errors or warnings related to its implementation.
4. It reveals the AMP status and associated issues on your website.
Using the URL Inspection Report, you can pinpoint the reasons behind indexation problems and take appropriate actions to resolve them.
You might wonder why you need GSC URL Inspection Tool to check the status of a page in Google's index. You might need to use the URL Inspection Tool for several reasons. But the primary problem reason is publishing a new page on your website, which is not available anywhere on the SERP.
To check the index status of a page using the URL Inspection Tool, follow these steps:
1. Open Google Search Console and navigate to the URL Inspection Tool.
2. Enter the page URL you want to check in the provided field.
3. Click on the "Request Indexing" button.
4. Wait for Google to process the request and provide the indexation status.
5. Review the information provided, which will indicate whether the page is indexed or if any issues are preventing its inclusion in the search results.
The robots.txt file guides search engine crawlers on which parts of a website to crawl and index. However, there are multiple cases where the robots.txt file can inadvertently cause indexation errors. Some of these include:
1. Domain Migration or URL Redirect: During domain migration or URL redirect processes, it is common practice to temporarily keep the new URLs as "noindex" in the robots.txt file. If you forget to remove the "noindex" directive after the migration or redirect, it can prevent the pages from being indexed.
2. Default noindex tag: In some cases, engineering teams may implement a rule that automatically adds the "noindex" directive to all new pages on a website. This precautionary measure is often taken to test pages before making them live. However, not removing the "noindex" directive can result in pages not being indexed.
3. Misconfigured Robots.txt File: In some cases, the robots.txt file itself may be misconfigured, which can cause certain pages to be blocked from being indexed. This can happen if the file syntax is incorrect or the wrong directives are used.
4. Incorrect User-Agent Directives: User-agent directives in the robots.txt file specify which search engine crawlers can access certain parts of the website. If the wrong user-agent directive is used, it can cause certain search engines to be blocked from indexing the website.
To mitigate these scenarios and other potential robots.txt-related indexation errors, you can follow the following best practices:
1. Use the URL Inspection Tool to check if the robots.txt file blocks the page. If it is, you will receive information indicating that the page is blocked from indexing.
2. Examine the content of the robots.txt file and ensure that no "noindex" directives block the pages you want to be indexed. Use specific user-agent directives to ensure that search engine crawlers are only blocked from accessing specific parts of your website rather than the entire website. This will help prevent unintended indexing errors.
3. Use a robots.txt testing tool to verify that the syntax and directives used in the file are accurate and properly configured. This will help identify and fix any potential indexing errors before they occur.
4. If you have multiple subdomains or sections of your website that require different indexing rules, consider using separate robots.txt files for each section. This will help prevent misconfigured rules from affecting other parts of your website.
Once you have identified indexing issues, the next step is to troubleshoot and resolve them. Here are some best practices for troubleshooting indexing issues:
1. Analyze the details and messages presented in the URL Inspection Report. Look for any specific errors or warnings that indicate the cause of the indexing problem.
2. Ensure the page is accessible to search engine crawlers by verifying there are no server errors, page redirects, or other issues preventing access.
3. Validate your schema markup using Google's Structured Data Testing Tool or the Rich Results Test. Address any issues or discrepancies found.
4. Examine the page's mobile version and adjust it to Google's mobile-friendly guidelines.
5. If the URL Inspection Report reveals technical errors, such as broken links or missing resources, fix those issues to improve the overall crawlability and indexability of the page.
After troubleshooting and resolving the indexing issues using the URL Inspection Tool, the final step is to request a re-indexing of the affected page. Here's how you can do it:
1. Access the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console.
2. Enter the URL of the page you want to request re-indexing in the provided field.
3. Click on the "Request Indexing" button.
4. Choose the appropriate option to request indexing. You can either request indexing for the URL itself or the URL and its direct links.
5. Wait for Google to process the request. It may take some time, depending on the size and complexity of your website.
Remember that Google's crawling and indexing process takes time, so the changes may take a while to take effect in the search results.
The GSC Indexation Coverage Report provides valuable insights into the indexation status of your website. It offers information on how many pages are indexed and identifies any indexation errors affecting your site's visibility.
By analyzing these errors, you can better understand why certain pages are not being indexed and take appropriate actions to resolve them.
A meta noindex tag is an HTML meta tag that instructs search engines not to index a specific webpage. A meta noindex tag unintentionally or on critical pages can negatively impact your site's visibility in search results. To identify meta noindex issues using the Index Coverage Report in GSC, follow these steps:
1. Access the Index Coverage Report in GSC.
2. Look for the "Excluded" status and filter for the "Blocked by robots.txt" category.
3. Review the affected URLs and identify those with a meta noindex tag.
4. To fix meta noindex issues, locate the source of the tag (e.g., CMS settings, plugins) and remove it from the affected pages.
5. Verify the changes by requesting re-indexing using the URL Inspection tool in GSC.
To mitigate this issue in the future, follow the advanced strategies:
1. Implement a Robust Quality Control Process: Establish a thorough review process for website changes to avoid accidentally including the meta noindex tag.
2. Regularly Monitor Changes: Keep an eye on any updates or modifications to your website to ensure unintended meta noindex tags are not introduced.
Monitoring the status and progress of indexation using an index coverage report allows you to identify any issues that may impede your website's full indexation and ensure that your content is reflected accurately in search results.
It is recommended to check your website's index coverage report periodically, especially if you have made significant changes to your website's content, pages, or structure. It will assist in ensuring issues are caught quickly and resolved asap.
Let us look at the steps to monitor the status and progress of indexation using Index Coverage Report:
1. Log in to your Google Search Console account and select the website you want to monitor.
2. Click on the 'Index Coverage' report on the left-hand menu to view the index status of your website.
3. Check the status of your website's pages indexed, excluded, not indexed, or marked as errors. This information will help you understand your website's indexation process progress.
4. Review why some pages are not indexed or marked as errors, such as server errors or duplicate content issues.
5. Monitor the progress of indexation over time by reviewing the report periodically.
To track the indexing of new pages using the Index Coverage Report in GSC, follow these steps:
1. Access the Index Coverage Report in GSC.
2. Filter the report to focus on newly submitted or updated pages.
3. Monitor the "Submitted and indexed" metric to track indexing progress for these pages.
4. If a page does not get indexed within a reasonable timeframe, investigate and address any potential issues hindering its indexation.
You should monitor the Index Coverage Report more frequently for new pages, especially in the initial weeks after their creation. Checking the report at least once a week allows you to identify any potential indexing issues early on and take appropriate actions if needed. Once the new pages are consistently indexed, you can reduce the frequency to align with your website monitoring routine. It will help ensure your fresh content becomes discoverable in the search results and contributes to your website's visibility and organic traffic.
As a website owner, you may want to remove URLs from Google's index for various reasons. It could be because you updated your website and some pages are no longer relevant or because you have duplicate content that you want to eliminate. Whatever the reason, removing URLs from Google's index can be done using the Index Coverage Report.
Here is how you can remove URLs using the Index Coverage Report:
1. Identify URLs That Need to be Removed From Google's Index: Look for URLs that are marked with errors, such as 404 errors or duplicate content. These URLs must be removed to improve your website's search engine visibility.
2. Request Removal of URLs: Request Google to remove the identified URLs from its index by selecting the URL in the Index Coverage Report and click "Request Removal" in the sidebar. Google will then review the request and determine if the URL should be removed from its index.
3. Wait for URLs to be Removed: The time it takes to remove a URL from Google's index can vary depending on various factors, such as website traffic and the number of URLs you want to remove. Typically, it takes a few days to a week for Google to process the removal request.
Removing a URL from Google's index can impact your search engine rankings. If the URL you remove contains valuable content, your website's search visibility may decrease. However, removing the URL may improve your website's search engine visibility if the URL has duplicate content or is irrelevant.
Identifying and fixing indexing issues using Google Search Console is critical for a website's performance, making it the key for improved SERP performance. By leveraging the tools provided by GSC, such as the Performance Report, URL Inspection Tool, and Index Coverage Report, website owners can gain valuable insights into the indexation status of their pages and address any issues hindering their visibility.
Advanced monitoring & troubleshooting strategies and regular reviews & updates are crucial for maintaining a robust website that can effectively reach its target audience and achieve improved SERP performance. Ultimately, diligent attention to indexation is the key to unlocking your website's full potential and driving organic traffic and growth.
The time it takes for Google to index a newly submitted URL through Google Search Console can vary significantly. While Google aims to process and index new URLs promptly, the exact duration depends on several factors, including the website's crawl rate, the quality of the content, and the website's overall authority. Sometimes, it can take just a few hours; in others, it may take several days or weeks for the URL to be fully indexed and appear in search results.
Fixing indexing issues in GSC can improve your website's SEO rankings, but it does not guarantee immediate improvement. Indexing issues can impact your website's ability to be discovered by search engines and ultimately affect your rankings. However, other factors, such as content relevance, backlinks, and user experience, influence SEO rankings significantly. Therefore, fixing indexing issues is just one piece of the puzzle in achieving higher rankings.
There can be various reasons why a website may not appear on Google search even after indexing in GSC. Some possible factors include low-quality or insufficient content, lack of relevant backlinks, poor website structure, technical issues, heavy competition, or algorithmic penalties. It's essential to thoroughly analyze your website's SEO elements and improve accordingly to increase its visibility in search results.
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