{"id":1618,"date":"2024-08-07T12:16:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T11:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/organicdigital.co\/blog\/?p=1618"},"modified":"2026-04-28T01:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T00:02:29","slug":"how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/","title":{"rendered":"How To: Fix Search Console Errors &amp; Why Pages Aren\u2019t Indexed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When carrying out a <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/services-and-consultancy\/website-seo-audits-consultant\/\">website SEO audit<\/a> the number one go to tool that I will always use to get insights into organic and technical performance is <a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console (GSC)<\/a>.&nbsp; Whilst many 3<sup>rd<\/sup> party tools will review your on page SEO and make subjective suggestions on how you can improve your site&#8217;s organic and user performance, GSC gives you insights into how Google is crawling and indexing your site, what is working, what isn\u2019t, and what is broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whilst they don\u2019t tell you is how to fix them, the information that is provided when assessed and resolved in the right way will undoubtedly help you take your website to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Key_Sections_In_Google_Search_Console\" >Key Sections In Google Search Console<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Indexing\" >Indexing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Experience\" >Experience<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Shopping\" >Shopping<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Enhancements\" >Enhancements<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Security_Manual_Actions\" >Security &amp; Manual Actions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#The_%E2%80%9CNew_Reason_Preventing_Your_Pages_From_Being_Indexed%E2%80%9D_Email\" >The \u201cNew Reason Preventing Your Pages From Being Indexed\u201d Email<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Google_Search_Console_Page_Indexing_Report\" >Google Search Console Page Indexing Report<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Not_found_404\" >Not found (404)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Soft_404\" >Soft 404<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Duplicate_Google_chose_different_canonical_than_user\" >Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Duplicate_without_user-selected_canonical\" >Duplicate without user-selected canonical<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Excluded_by_%E2%80%98noindex_tag\" >Excluded by \u2018noindex\u2019 tag<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Alternate_page_with_proper_canonical_tag\" >Alternate page with proper canonical tag<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Page_with_redirect\" >Page with redirect<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Redirect_Error\" >Redirect Error<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Blocked_by_Robotstxt\" >Blocked by Robots.txt<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Blocked_Due_to_Access_Forbidden_403\" >Blocked Due to Access Forbidden (403)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Blocked_Due_to_Unauthorized_Request_401\" >Blocked Due to Unauthorized Request (401)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Blocked_Due_to_Other_4xx_Issue\" >Blocked Due to Other 4xx Issue<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Server_Error_5xx\" >Server Error (5xx)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Crawled_%E2%80%93_Currently_Not_Indexed\" >Crawled &#8211; Currently Not Indexed<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#Discovered_%E2%80%93_Currently_Not_Indexed\" >Discovered &#8211; Currently Not Indexed<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-fix-search-console-errors-why-pages-arent-indexed\/#So_To_Sum_It_all_Up\" >So To Sum It all Up<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Sections_In_Google_Search_Console\"><\/span><strong>Key Sections In Google Search Console<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The areas they provide insights on are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Indexing\"><\/span><strong>Indexing<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Identifies and includes site pages in search results. It checks for issues like crawl budget, noindex tags, and duplicate content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Experience\"><\/span><strong>Experience<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Evaluates user experience, including factors like <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/the-best-free-website-page-speed-core-web-vitals-checker-tools\/\">page speed and Core Web Vitals<\/a>. Pages with poor user experience may rank lower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Shopping\"><\/span><strong>Shopping<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Assesses product-related pages for proper indexing and display in shopping search results. It ensures product data is correctly formatted and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enhancements\"><\/span><strong>Enhancements<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Reviews structured data to provide rich results in search, such as snippets, cards, and other interactive elements. Proper implementation can improve visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Security_Manual_Actions\"><\/span><strong>Security &amp; Manual Actions<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Checks for security issues, such as malware or hacking, and guideline violations. It applies penalties or warnings, which can affect site visibility and ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The area that this blog focuses on is the Indexing section \u2013 this is where most questions are raised, the most popular one being \u201cwhy isn\u2019t Google indexing my site\u201d and one that I\u2019ve looked to answer in a previous blog post here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-find-out-if-your-site-urls-are-being-crawled-indexed-by-google\/\">How To: Find Out If Your Sites URLs Are Being Crawled &amp; Indexed by Google<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see from the search impression data for this post, lots of folk are continually wanting to know if Google is crawling and indexing their site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"544\" height=\"477\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog_questions.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog_questions.png 544w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog_questions-300x263.png 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/blog_questions-150x132.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 544px) 100vw, 544px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_%E2%80%9CNew_Reason_Preventing_Your_Pages_From_Being_Indexed%E2%80%9D_Email\"><\/span><strong>The \u201cNew Reason Preventing Your Pages From Being Indexed\u201d Email<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Further to this, in my role as a <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/services-and-consultancy\/website-seo-audits-consultant\/\">freelance SEO consultant<\/a> I work with a number of website and business owners who are set up on GSC and, if you are too, you will know that you regularly receive emails titled \u201cNew reason preventing your pages from being indexed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I get such emails forwarded on a regular basis, most of the time they are nothing to worry about but the tone of the mails always seems to worry folk that they have big issues with their site:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"778\" height=\"395\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_1.png\" alt=\"email 1\" class=\"wp-image-1620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_1.png 778w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_1-300x152.png 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_1-150x76.png 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_1-768x390.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"761\" height=\"254\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_2.png\" alt=\"email 2\" class=\"wp-image-1621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_2.png 761w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_2-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_2-150x50.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"778\" height=\"362\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_3.png\" alt=\"email 3\" class=\"wp-image-1622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_3.png 778w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_3-300x140.png 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_3-150x70.png 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_3-768x357.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 778px) 100vw, 778px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"784\" height=\"351\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_4.png\" alt=\"email 4\" class=\"wp-image-1623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_4.png 784w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_4-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_4-150x67.png 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/email_4-768x344.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 784px) 100vw, 784px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the aim of this blog is to explain the different types of reasons that Google reports as to why it isn\u2019t indexing your page, and what you can do about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Google_Search_Console_Page_Indexing_Report\"><\/span><strong>Google Search Console Page Indexing Report<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you log into GSC and navigate to the page indexing report, you will see two sections, pages which are indexed, and those which aren\u2019t with the reasons and numbers listed beneath:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"809\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/page_indexing_report.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/page_indexing_report.png 809w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/page_indexing_report-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/page_indexing_report-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/page_indexing_report-768x769.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can then click into each section to get examples of the URLs that fall into each category.&nbsp; The most common categories and what to do about them are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_found_404\"><\/span><strong>Not found (404)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page returns a 404 error when Google tries to access it. This happens if the page has been deleted or the URL is incorrect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<\/strong><br>A deleted blog post or product page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution:<\/strong><br>Use a 301 redirect to guide users to a relevant page if the content has moved or been replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Soft_404\"><\/span><strong>Soft 404<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page returns a user-friendly &#8220;not found&#8221; message but not a 404 HTTP response code. Google treats these as soft 404s.&nbsp; These have generally not been considered a bad thing by SEOs in the past, but here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/google-warns-of-soft-404-errors-and-their-impact-on-seo\/521016\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some insights from Google\u2019s Gary Illyes as to why you should resolve them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example:<br><\/strong>A custom error page that does not use a 404 status code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution:<\/strong><br>Ensure that truly &#8220;not found&#8221; pages return a 404 response code and provide more information on the page to clarify its status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Duplicate_Google_chose_different_canonical_than_user\"><\/span><strong>Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google has indexed a different URL as the canonical version instead of the one specified by the user.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Multiple URLs with similar content where Google prefers a different canonical URL.&nbsp; This often occurs on ecommerce sites where the URL exists on multiple URLs, e.g.<br><br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/product-page<a href=\"https:\/\/www.example.com\/product-page\nhttps:\/\/www.example.com\/category-1\/product-page\nhttps:\/\/www.example.com\/category-2\/product-page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br><\/a>https:\/\/www.example.com\/category-1\/product-page<a href=\"https:\/\/www.example.com\/product-page\nhttps:\/\/www.example.com\/category-1\/product-page\nhttps:\/\/www.example.com\/category-2\/product-page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br><\/a>https:\/\/www.example.com\/category-2\/product-page<br><br><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Verify the chosen canonical URL and adjust it to align with the preferred content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Duplicate_without_user-selected_canonical\"><\/span><strong>Duplicate without user-selected canonical<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page is a duplicate of another page but lacks a canonical tag. Google has chosen a different page as the canonical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Several product pages with identical descriptions and no canonical tag.&nbsp; Search filter pages are often culprits of this kind of thing, e.g.<br><br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/products?filter=color-red<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/products?filter=size-medium<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/products?filter=color-red&amp;size-medium<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/products?sort=price-asc<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/products?filter=color-red&amp;sort=price-asc<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Add canonical tags to all duplicate pages to specify the preferred version.&nbsp; Alternatively, add the noindex tag to any page with URL filters if they are indexed, and then once de-indexed block them using robots.txt<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Excluded_by_%E2%80%98noindex_tag\"><\/span><strong>Excluded by \u2018noindex\u2019 tag<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page has a noindex directive, which prevents it from being indexed by Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Admin pages or thank-you pages with a noindex tag.&nbsp;&nbsp; Or search results URLs such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>https:\/\/www.example.com\/search?q=sneakers<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/search?q=running+shoes<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/search?q=athletic+shoes<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/search?q=footwear+shoes<br>https:\/\/www.example.com\/search?q=sport+shoes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Remove the noindex tag if the page should be indexed and visible in search results.&nbsp; If you have a high number of such pages that don\u2019t need to be crawled, block them using robots.txt<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Alternate_page_with_proper_canonical_tag\"><\/span><strong>Alternate page with proper canonical tag<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page is an alternate version (e.g., AMP, mobile) and correctly points to the canonical page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>AMP pages pointing to their desktop equivalents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>No action required if the canonical tag is correctly implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Page_with_redirect\"><\/span><strong>Page with redirect<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page has a redirect in place, leading users and crawlers to a different URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>A page that has permanently moved to a new URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Ensure the redirect is appropriate and leads to the correct destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Redirect_Error\"><\/span><strong>Redirect Error<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is an issue with the redirect, such as loops or excessive length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>A redirect chain that is too long or loops back to itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Simplify and correct the redirection paths to avoid errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blocked_by_Robotstxt\"><\/span><strong>Blocked by Robots.txt<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page is blocked from being crawled by directives in the robots.txt file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Pages like admin sections or staging environments are blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Update the robots.txt file to allow crawling if these pages should be indexed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blocked_Due_to_Access_Forbidden_403\"><\/span><strong>Blocked Due to Access Forbidden (403)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page returns a 403 error, indicating that access is forbidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Restricted access areas requiring authentication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Modify server settings to allow Googlebot access or remove access restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blocked_Due_to_Unauthorized_Request_401\"><\/span><strong>Blocked Due to Unauthorized Request (401)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page returns a 401 error, requiring authorization to access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Login pages or restricted content areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Allow Googlebot to bypass authorization or adjust settings to permit access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Blocked_Due_to_Other_4xx_Issue\"><\/span><strong>Blocked Due to Other 4xx Issue<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page returns a different 4xx error, such as 410 (Gone) or 451 (Unavailable for legal reasons).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Pages removed due to legal reasons or permanently deleted content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Investigate and resolve the specific 4xx issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Server_Error_5xx\"><\/span><strong>Server Error (5xx)<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The server returns a 500-level error, indicating server-side issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Server overloads, misconfigurations, or temporary outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Fix server errors to ensure the page can be accessed and indexed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Crawled_%E2%80%93_Currently_Not_Indexed\"><\/span><strong>Crawled &#8211; Currently Not Indexed<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google has crawled the page but decided not to index it yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>Pages with low-quality content or thin pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Improve page content and quality, then request indexing again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Discovered_%E2%80%93_Currently_Not_Indexed\"><\/span><strong>Discovered &#8211; Currently Not Indexed<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google has discovered the page but has not yet crawled it, often due to crawl budget limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Example: <\/strong><br>New pages or recently updated content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solution: <\/strong><br>Wait for Google to crawl the page or use the URL Inspection Tool to request indexing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_To_Sum_It_all_Up\"><\/span><strong>So To Sum It all Up<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By understanding and addressing these common problems, you can ensure that your website&#8217;s pages are properly indexed and crawl rate is optimial which in turn improves visibility and performance in search results.  In some cases, <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/case-study-the-importance-of-schema-mark-up\/\">improving how your pages are structured and presented in search<\/a> can also help improve visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re dealing with multiple indexing issues across your site, it\u2019s usually a sign of <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/services-and-consultancy\/\">wider technical SEO<\/a> problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you encounter any of these issues and need further assistance, feel free to contact me. I&#8217;m here to help you optimise your website and improve its visibility in search results.&nbsp; It&#8217;s what I do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to identify and fix common issues preventing your pages from being indexed, as detailed in the Google Search Console Indexing Report. This guide covers reasons such as crawl budget issues, noindex tags, duplicate content, and technical errors, providing practical solutions to ensure your website&#8217;s pages are properly indexed and visible in search results. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crawl-rate","category-seo-audit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1618"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2067,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618\/revisions\/2067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}