Guides
Google indexing without the folklore. What the Search Console statuses actually mean, what you can do about them, and what is simply out of your hands.
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Why is my page not indexed by Google?
Six checks that rule out the mechanical causes in about ten minutes, then the two Search Console statuses that mean Google made a decision.
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Crawled – currently not indexed
Google fetched your page and decided not to index it. That is a judgement, not an error — here is what changes it and what wastes your afternoon.
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Discovered – currently not indexed
Google knows the URL exists and has not fetched it. That is a crawling decision, not a quality one, and the fixes are completely different.
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Page with redirect
Search Console files it under reasons a page is not indexed, so it reads like a fault. Usually it is not — and the Validate fix button can never pass.
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Submitted URL marked 'noindex'
You asked Google to index a page and the page told it not to. The two signals contradict each other, and the fix depends entirely on which one you meant.
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How to check if a page is indexed by Google
URL Inspection, the site: operator, a plain search, or a bulk checker. Each answers a different question, and the wrong one leaves you sure of something false.
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How to check if your backlinks are indexed
A link on a page Google never indexed does nothing. How to check the pages carrying your links — one at a time, or as a list, on sites you do not own.
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How long does Google take to index a page?
Anywhere from an hour to never, and the range is not random. What decides it, what actually speeds it up, and how to measure your own site's real number.
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Why your Google rank looks different
The position you see is personalised, local and device-specific. Here is what changes it, what a rank tracker measures instead, and what you cannot control.
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How to check your Google ranking
Four ways to find where a page ranks, what each one actually measures, and why Search Console's average position is not the number you think it is.
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Why did my Google rankings drop?
Most ranking drops have no visible cause you can fix. Here is the order to rule things out, starting with whether the page dropped at all.