The first time I opened the Page indexing report for a blog I run, the "Why pages aren't indexed" table had more URLs in it than the blog had posts. That looked bad. It mostly wasn't. An http:// addre
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The "Why pages aren't indexed" notification in Google Search Console might be perplexing, particularly when working on a blog.
Not every unindexed page needs to be fixed. While some pages may require attention, Google purposefully excludes others.
This is how I see the primary problems:
Crawled but not yet indexed: Google looked at the page but hasn't yet indexed it. I would determine whether the material is valuable, unique, and helpful to readers.
Found but not yet indexed: Google is aware of the URL but hasn't yet crawled it. Internal links, website performance, and the page's discoverability are all things I would look at.
Duplicate page: When comparable URLs have same or extremely similar content. I would verify that Google can recognize the preferred version by looking at the canonical URL.
Redirect page: This isn't always an issue. I would make sure the redirect is deliberate and takes you to the right place.
Excluded by "noindex" tag: I would make sure the page doesn't contain an inadvertent noindex directive if I wanted the blog post to show up in Google.
Not found (404): I would investigate whether internal links continue to lead to a missing page or whether the URL was inadvertently removed.
I've been learning how Google Search Console helps website owners understand their indexing status. When checking this report, it's important to remember that not every excluded URL indicates an SEO problem. Some pages are intentionally excluded, while others may need attention.
Here are a few common statuses I've learned about:
Discovered – currently not indexed: Google knows about the URL but hasn't indexed it yet. I would check internal links, site quality, and whether Google can crawl the page.
Crawled – currently not indexed: Google has crawled the page but hasn't indexed it. I'd review the content's usefulness, originality, and whether similar pages already exist.
Duplicate, Google chose different canonical: I'd check whether Google selected the correct preferred URL.
Excluded by noindex: This is usually fine if the page is intentionally excluded, but it needs attention if I want that page to appear in search results.
Blocked by robots.txt: I'd investigate whether the page is being blocked intentionally or accidentally.
I think the best approach is to prioritize important blog posts and landing pages instead of trying to get every URL indexed. Pages such as internal search results, duplicate URLs, and certain filtered pages might not need indexing at all.