Site indexing is the process where search engines such as Google and Bing analyze pages and add them to their database. If the site is not indexed, it cannot appear in search results (SERP), which negatively impacts its visibility and organic traffic.
The indexing process is carried out through web crawling, where the search bot scans the pages, checks their content, and adds them to Google's index. However, there are cases when Google does not index the site, which may be related to technical issues or mistakes in technical SEO.
How to check if a site is indexed?
If your site is not indexed by Google, it can negatively affect its visibility in search results and decrease organic traffic. Effective search engine optimization includes proper configuration of robots.txt, creating a Sitemap.xml, and conducting a technical SEO audit.
Google Search Console
Use the Google Search Console tool to find out why Google is not indexing your pages. In the "URL Inspection" section, you can check the indexing status of a specific address. It's also important to check the "Coverage Report," which will show which pages have been added to Google's index and which have not.
Site: operator
Enter the command "site:yourdomain.com" in Google search. This will help you understand whether indexed pages are in Google’s index. If Google is not indexing the site, the search results will show nothing.
Checking robots.txt and noindex meta tag
If pages are not indexed:
➤ make sure that the robots.txt file does not contain a disallow for indexing;
➤ check for the presence of the <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> tag.
If these restrictions are present, the search bot will not be able to add pages to Google's index.
Using Ahrefs, Serpstat, and Screaming Frog
A detailed analysis with tools like Ahrefs, Serpstat, and Screaming Frog allows for a deep crawl of pages, identifying indexing errors, duplicate content, issues with internal links, site structure, and technical SEO.
If a site has too many pages, the crawling budget may be exhausted, and Googlebot won't scan new content. In cases where featured images are used on pages, it's important to ensure that they are properly loaded and indexed. Errors in image settings can affect content indexing in Google.
Checking indexing is the first step in identifying issues.
Main Reasons Why a Website Is Not Indexed
Why isn’t Google indexing my blog? This can be caused by a variety of factors – from errors in configuration files to technical issues. When indexing, Google's algorithms take into account content quality, loading speed, and mobile-friendliness.
The structure of the site and the presence of duplicate content also play an important role. If you have a multilingual website, configuring hreflang tags will help search engines correctly index pages for different regions.
Let's consider the key reasons why Google may not index pages.
1. Errors in the robots.txt file
The robots.txt file controls the access of search engine bots. Incorrect configuration can prevent Googlebot from crawling the site.
Example of an error:
User-agent:
Disallow: /
Correct configuration:
User-agent:
Allow: /
In order for Google not to ignore the site, it is important to properly configure the robots.txt file, avoiding restrictions that may block indexing.
2. Use of the noindex meta tag
If pages are marked with the noindex tag, they will not be included in Google's index – .Remove this tag if you want the site to be indexed.
3. Absence of the Sitemap.xml file
The Sitemap.xml file helps search engines find and index pages of the site more quickly. Without it, Googlebot may take longer to crawl the resources, slowing down indexing.
How to create and add Sitemap.xml in Google Search
Console Follow these simple steps:
➤ Generate the Sitemap.xml file using Yoast SEO (for WordPress) or Screaming Frog.
➤ Upload it to the root directory of your website.
➤ Go to Google Search Console, open the “Sitemaps” section, and submit the link to sitemap.xml.
After successful submission, Googlebot will begin crawling and indexing pages faster.
4. New Website (Google Sandbox)
New websites often experience a temporary delay in indexing, known as the Google Sandbox. During this period, Googlebot analyzes the site but doesn't rush to include it in the search results.
How to speed up indexing of a new website?
If your site is in the Google Sandbox, it's important to take quick action to encourage Googlebot to add it to the index faster, such as:
➤ add your website to Google Search Console and submit the Sitemap.xml file;
➤ use the “URL Inspection” tool to request indexing of your pages;
➤ check the robots.txt file and the noindex meta tag to ensure there are no restrictions for Googlebot.
These steps will help speed up the crawling process and improve the site's visibility in Google.
Methods of Promotion to Speed Up Ranking
To accelerate ranking and move the site out of Google Sandbox, it's important to actively work on its promotion. Key methods include:
➤ link building – place backlinks on authoritative resources;
➤ promote your website through social media and crowd marketing;
➤ use PPC and SEO to drive traffic and increase search engine trust.
The faster the site gains quality backlinks and user signals, the quicker it will exit Google Sandbox.
5. Slow site and technical errors
Checking the site speed using Google PageSpeed Insights can help identify issues that slow down loading and affect indexing. Using a Progressive Web App (PWA) can speed up page loading and improve user experience, which positively influences indexing. You should check:
➤ Core Web Vitals in Google PageSpeed Insights;
➤ HTTP status errors 500, 403, or 404;
➤ redirects – configure them properly (301 redirect instead of redirect chains).
Optimize loading speed and eliminate technical errors to increase the chances of fast indexing.
6. Absence of Incoming Links
The lack of external links (backlinks) can be a reason why a site is not indexed by Google. Without them, Googlebot cannot efficiently discover the pages, which slows down their addition to the index. As a result, the site is not indexed by Google, negatively affecting its visibility and ranking.
How Backlinks Speed Up Indexing
External links help increase the site's trustworthiness and speed up the indexing process. When authoritative resources link to the site, the search bot finds pages more quickly and adds them to the Google index. It is especially important for Google not to index new pages without backlinks pointing to them.
Ways to Obtain First External Links
To speed up indexing and prevent the situation where the site is not indexed, you can use the following methods:
➤ Crowd marketing – placing links on forums, in comments, reviews, and blogs.
➤ Directories – registering in web directories and business listings.
➤ Social media – posting links to your website on social networks.
For proper page indexing, it's important to configure robots.txt, sitemap.xml, and regularly check them via Google Search Console. Use the "site:" command to check indexing status and monitor the HTML sitemap, noindex tags, as well as duplicate content.
If Google is not indexing the site, it could also be related to issues with 301 redirects, page load speed, or mobile-first indexing. Don’t forget to conduct an SEO audit to identify errors and improve the site’s structure for successful web crawling.
7. Duplicate Content and Canonical Errors
High-quality, unique, and optimized text content helps avoid issues with page duplication and increases the chances of successful indexing.
Duplicate content can seriously affect a site’s indexing and ranking. When multiple URLs contain identical information, Googlebot may not know which one to index, which could lead to a decrease in the site’s positions in search results. Issues with duplicate content can be resolved using the canonical tag, which points to the main URL of the page, helping search engines interpret them correctly and avoid indexing errors.
How the Canonical Tag Works
The canonical tag is a special meta tag used to indicate to search engines the original version of a page if duplicate content exists. This prevents problems with duplicate content when the same information is available on multiple URLs.
If a site is not being indexed by Google, the cause might be incorrect use of canonical links. Specifying the canonical URL in meta tags helps Googlebot correctly interpret pages and avoid penalties for duplicate content, which can affect the site’s ranking.
Checking Duplicate Pages via Google Search Console
To check for duplicate pages and canonical errors, use Google Search Console. This tool allows you to track which pages are indexed and identify issues related to canonical links. If Googlebot finds pages with duplicate content, it's important to correctly set up the canonical tag and use proper redirects, such as a 301 redirect, to pass link equity to the correct page version.
Regularly checking indexing and monitoring canonical errors will help avoid situations where Google doesn't index new pages due to incorrectly configured links or errors with canonical URLs.
8. Low-Quality Content
Content quality plays a key role in indexing and ranking a page. If the content doesn't meet the E-E-A-T standards (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), it leads to Google either not indexing the pages or completely excluding them from search results.
How E-E-A-T Affects Indexing
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is an algorithm used by Google to assess the quality of content. If the content does not meet these standards, Google may not index the site, leading to a drop in search engine rankings. For successful indexing, it's important to provide valuable, reliable, and expert content that answers user queries.
Optimal LSI Keywords to Increase Relevance
To improve content relevance and speed up indexing, it is useful to use LSI keywords (Latent Semantic Indexing). These are words that help search engines better understand the context of a page. They improve interaction with Googlebot, increasing the likelihood that your page will be indexed. It's important that the keywords are naturally integrated into the text, avoiding overuse and maintaining readability.
Additionally, it's crucial to monitor content quality and use structured data to help search engines accurately interpret the information.
How to speed up website indexing?
To improve the visibility of your website and speed up its indexing, follow these steps:
➤ Add the URL to Google Search Console for automatic indexing and faster discovery of new pages.
➤ Place the website in RSS feeds, social media, and aggregators to attract search engine attention.
➤ Optimize internal links and improve site structure to facilitate web crawling.
➤ Speed up page loading with HTTP/2, which will improve loading times and enhance user experience.
➤ Add structured data to attract featured snippets, increasing visibility in search results.
➤ Improve metrics such as click depth and page authority to enhance rankings.
These steps will help speed up indexing, generate organic traffic, and improve your site's ranking in search results.
Mistakes to Avoid
For effective indexing of pages and improving their ranking, it is important to avoid some common mistakes that can affect the web crawling process. Follow these simple recommendations:
➤ Do not use JavaScript rendering for important content, as search engines may not correctly process information hidden behind JavaScript, making it harder for indexing.
➤ Avoid overusing redirects (e.g., redirect chains), as excessive use can slow down the indexing process and negatively impact page loading speed.
➤ Avoid excessive use of nofollow links, as this limits page authority transmission and decreases the chances of gaining quality backlinks.
➤ Check meta tags such as title and description to ensure they accurately reflect the page content and help Googlebot correctly interpret the content.
➤ Use an HTML validator to fix markup errors, improving the site’s quality and ensuring proper indexing.
Avoiding these mistakes will help your site achieve better rankings and speed up the indexing process. Indexing is a crucial stage of search engine optimization. Regular indexing checks, SEO audits, using XML generators, and following Google algorithms will help speed up the process of getting pages into the index. Keep an eye on crawl budget and consider AI optimization. If your site is not indexed, SEO promotion by experts is a reliable solution to the problem!
