Understanding Discovered - Currently Not Indexed vs Crawled - Currently Not Indexed in Google Search Console
As an SEO specialist or website owner, you know that optimizing your site for search engines is a continuous journey of analysis, adjustment, and strategy. One of the most vital tools you use to track your site's health and performance in Google's eyes is Google Search Console (GSC). Among the numerous insights GSC provides, there are two statuses related to indexing that often raise questions: "Discovered - currently not indexed" and "Crawled - currently not indexed." Understanding the difference between these two terms is crucial for ensuring that your pages are getting the visibility they deserve in search results.
In this post, we’ll explore the meaning, impact, and best practices for dealing with these statuses in GSC, helping you improve your site's indexing and, ultimately, its SEO performance.
Table of Contents
- What Do "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" and "Crawled - Currently Not Indexed" Mean?
- Impact of These Indexing Issues on SEO
- Priority and How Google Decides Which Pages to Index
- Best Practices for Addressing "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" Issues
- Best Practices for Addressing "Crawled - Currently Not Indexed" Issues
- Why Does Google Not Index Some Pages?
- Conclusion: Ensuring Your Pages Are Indexed and Ready to Rank
What Do "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" and "Crawled - Currently Not Indexed" Mean?
When you look at the indexing status of a page in Google Search Console, you may encounter two specific terms that may seem similar but reflect different stages in the indexing process. Here’s what each of them means:
Discovered - Currently Not Indexed
When a page is marked as “Discovered - currently not indexed,” it means Google has identified the page’s existence but has not yet crawled it. This status indicates that Google knows about the page, typically because it has been linked to from other pages (internally or externally), or it’s included in your sitemap, but it hasn't been prioritized for crawling yet.
Crawled - Currently Not Indexed
On the other hand, “Crawled - currently not indexed” means that Googlebot has already crawled the page, analyzing its content, but it has decided not to index it. After crawling, Google evaluates the page’s content and decides whether it is worth including in its index. If it’s not deemed valuable enough, it won’t be indexed, even though it was crawled.
Impact of These Indexing Issues on SEO
Both of these statuses can significantly impact your site’s SEO performance. While neither directly harms your rankings, they prevent the page from being included in Google's index, which is a prerequisite for appearing in search results.
Discovered but Not Indexed
If Google discovers a page but doesn't crawl it, this suggests a potential issue with your site's internal linking or crawl budget. Google might not be able to find the page easily, which means it's less likely to rank for relevant search queries.
Crawled but Not Indexed
When Google crawls a page but doesn’t index it, it implies that the content might not be valuable enough, or there could be an underlying technical issue. Google’s algorithm might detect that the page duplicates existing content or lacks unique value, meaning it’s not worthy of indexing.
Both scenarios lead to missed opportunities in organic search. When pages are not indexed, they are invisible in search results, which is detrimental to driving traffic and achieving better rankings.
Priority and How Google Decides Which Pages to Index
Googlebot doesn’t crawl and index all pages equally. The priority of a page being indexed depends on several factors, including its internal linking structure, the importance of the page on your site, and the overall health of your site.
Crawl Budget
Google allocates a certain "crawl budget" to each site, which determines how many pages it will crawl in a given time frame. Large websites may struggle with having enough crawl budget for every page, which can result in pages being discovered but not crawled.
Content Quality and Uniqueness
If Googlebot crawls a page but doesn’t index it, it could be due to Google’s assessment of the content. Low-quality or duplicate content is often not indexed because Google aims to serve users the most relevant and valuable results.
Best Practices for Addressing "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" Issues
If you're seeing the “Discovered - currently not indexed” status in Google Search Console, it's a sign that Google is aware of your page, but something is stopping it from crawling. Here’s how to address this:
1. Improve Internal Linking
One of the main reasons a page is discovered but not indexed is because it lacks sufficient internal links pointing to it. Googlebot often uses internal links to find and crawl new pages. If a page isn't well-linked to within your site, Google may not prioritize it for crawling.
2. Submit Your Sitemap
Ensure that your sitemap is up-to-date and submitted in Google Search Console. This helps Google discover new pages more efficiently. If the page is missing from your sitemap, it may not be prioritized for crawling.
3. Check for Crawl Errors
Sometimes, technical issues like server problems or page errors can prevent Googlebot from crawling a page. Use GSC's Crawl Errors report to identify and resolve any issues that might be affecting crawling.
4. Increase External Backlinks
External links (backlinks) from other websites to your page signal to Google that the page is valuable. Increasing the number of high-quality external links can improve the likelihood of Google crawling and indexing the page.
Best Practices for Addressing "Crawled - Currently Not Indexed" Issues
If your page is marked as “Crawled - currently not indexed,” it means Google has assessed the content and decided not to include it in the index. Here’s how to deal with this issue:
1. Check for Noindex Tags
Ensure that the page does not contain a noindex tag in its HTML or is blocked by the robots.txt file. If the page is unintentionally set to "noindex," Google will crawl it but avoid indexing it.
2. Improve Content Quality
Google’s algorithms are designed to prioritize high-quality, unique content. If your page is thin, contains duplicate content, or doesn't provide value, Google might decide not to index it. Consider adding more valuable content, ensuring it’s unique, and focusing on improving its quality.
3. Fix Duplicate Content
If the page has similar content to other pages on your site, Google might choose not to index it to avoid redundancy. Use canonical tags or rewrite content to make it more unique and valuable.
4. Check for Technical Issues
Make sure the page loads correctly and is free from technical issues that might prevent it from being indexed. Broken links, slow loading times, or JavaScript issues could prevent Googlebot from indexing the page.
Why Does Google Not Index Some Pages?
Google’s decision not to index a page can be due to several factors:
- Low-quality or thin content: Pages offering little value or duplicate content often aren’t indexed.
- Technical issues: Errors or poor site architecture can make crawling and indexing difficult.
- Duplicate content: Pages that repeat content already indexed elsewhere may not be indexed to prevent redundancy.
- Manual penalties: If a page violates Google’s guidelines, it might be removed from the index.
Conclusion: Ensuring Your Pages Are Indexed and Ready to Rank
For SEO specialists and website owners, monitoring your site’s health via Google Search Console is essential for successful search engine optimization. The “Discovered - currently not indexed” and “Crawled - currently not indexed” statuses provide crucial insights into how Googlebot interacts with your pages. Understanding the difference between these statuses and addressing them with targeted strategies will increase your chances of having your pages indexed and ranked in search results.
To ensure your pages are indexed, focus on improving your site’s internal linking, content quality, and technical health. By following the best practices mentioned above, you can address indexing issues and improve your site’s overall performance in search results. Remember, indexing is just the first step in SEO—if your pages aren’t indexed, they can’t rank.
By maintaining a proactive approach and optimizing your site based on these insights, you can ensure your content is not just discovered, but indexed and ready to achieve high rankings in Google’s search results.
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Related Topics:
- Google Search Console indexing
- SEO crawl budget
- Discovered not indexed SEO
- Crawled not indexed solutions
