Crawled - currently not indexed | Optimizing Website Visibility

In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), ensuring that your website’s pages are properly crawled and indexed by search engines is crucial for achieving optimal online visibility. However, website owners often encounter a perplexing status in Google Search Console: “Crawled – currently not indexed.” This status indicates that while Google has discovered and crawled a page on your site, it has decided not to include it in its search index¹. As a result, the affected URL will not appear in search results, potentially limiting your website’s reach and organic traffic.

Google doesn’t provide a clear explanation as to why a page might be crawled but not indexed¹. However, this status often arises when Google determines that the content on the page doesn’t meet its quality threshold for indexing. Factors such as thin content, duplicate content, or technical SEO issues can contribute to pages being “Crawled – Currently Not Indexed”². By understanding the intricacies of this status and implementing effective optimization strategies, website owners can guide search engines to properly index their valuable content, ultimately enhancing their website’s visibility in search results.

Key Takeaways

The “Crawled – currently not indexed” status indicates that Google has crawled a page but chosen not to include it in its search index.
Pages with this status will not appear in search results, potentially limiting a website’s visibility and organic traffic.
Google doesn’t explicitly state why a page is crawled but not indexed, but factors like content quality and technical SEO issues play a role.
Duplicate content, thin content, and poor website architecture can contribute to pages being “Crawled – Currently Not Indexed.”
Optimizing content quality, improving technical SEO, and building domain authority can help ensure pages are properly indexed by search engines.

Understanding the “Crawled – currently not indexed” Status

In the realm of search engine optimization (SEO), the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status in Google Search Console often raises concerns among website owners striving to enhance their online visibility. This status indicates that while Googlebot has successfully crawled a webpage, it has decided not to include it in the search index, effectively excluding it from appearing in search results³. The absence of a page from the search index can be attributed to various factors, ranging from low-quality content and technical SEO issues to the presence of duplicate or thin content³.

What Does “Crawled – currently not indexed” Mean?

When Google’s web crawlers visit a webpage, they assess its content and determine whether it merits inclusion in the search index. The “Crawled – currently not indexed” status signifies that although Google has crawled the page, it has deemed it unworthy of being indexed based on its current algorithms and quality standards¹. Essentially, Google has evaluated the page but concluded that it lacks the necessary value or relevance to warrant appearing in search results.

Why Pages Get the “Crawled – currently not indexed” Status

Several factors can contribute to a webpage receiving the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status. One common reason is the presence of low-quality or thin content, which fails to provide substantial value to users⁴. Pages with minimal unique text or lacking in comprehensive information may be excluded from the index by Google³. Additionally, a mismatch between the page’s content and the intended search intent can lead to exclusion, as Google prioritizes delivering relevant results to users⁴.

Technical SEO issues, such as slow page load speed, crawl errors, or incorrect canonical tags, can also hinder indexing¹. Duplicate content poses another challenge, as Google tends to index only one version of similar content, using signals like canonical tags, internal links, and sitemap configurations to determine the preferred version¹.

Reason for “Crawled – currently not indexed” Status	Description
Thin or Low-Quality Content	Pages with minimal unique text or lacking comprehensive information may be considered thin content and excluded from the index³⁴.
Search Intent Mismatch	If the page’s content doesn’t align with the intended search intent, it may be excluded to ensure relevant results for users⁴.
Duplicate Content	When multiple pages have similar content, Google may choose to index only one version, using signals like canonical tags and internal links to determine the original¹.
Technical SEO Issues	Factors such as slow page load speed, crawl errors, incorrect canonical tags, or lack of mobile-friendliness can impede indexing¹.

Other scenarios that can trigger the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status include the presence of expired or out-of-stock product pages on e-commerce sites³⁴, improperly implemented 301 redirects³, and pages with restricted access or private content⁴. False positives, where Google Search Console erroneously reports pages as excluded despite their actual presence in the index, can also occur³⁴.

To address the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status, website owners are advised to focus on enhancing content quality, ensuring proper technical SEO implementation, and optimizing their website architecture and internal linking structure¹. Acquiring high-quality backlinks to boost domain authority and utilizing tools like temporary XML sitemaps and Google’s URL Inspection tool can further aid in resolving indexing issues¹. By proactively addressing these factors and regularly monitoring their website’s indexing coverage, SEO professionals and site owners can work towards improving their pages’ visibility in search results.

Importance of Fixing “Crawled – currently not indexed” Issues

Addressing the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status is essential for optimizing your website’s visibility and maximizing its potential for organic search traffic and conversions. Each page that Google crawls but decides not to index represents a missed opportunity for your site to rank in search results and attract valuable visitors². This is especially crucial when the affected pages are not just peripheral content but integral parts of your website, such as key product pages or important informational resources.

Moreover, having a significant number of “Crawled – currently not indexed” pages may signal to Google that your website lacks quality or value, potentially impacting your overall domain authority and ability to rank well². Google’s algorithms assess the overall quality and relevance of a website, and a high proportion of non-indexed pages can be seen as a negative factor.

To illustrate the importance of fixing these indexing issues, consider the following table comparing the potential outcomes for a website with and without addressing “Crawled – currently not indexed” pages:

Scenario	Organic Search Visibility	Potential Traffic	Conversions
Ignoring “Crawled – currently not indexed” pages	Limited	Low	Minimal
Fixing “Crawled – currently not indexed” issues	Improved	Increased	Higher

As the table demonstrates, proactively identifying and resolving pages with the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status can lead to enhanced organic search visibility, a growth in potential traffic, and ultimately, improved conversion rates. On the other hand, ignoring these issues can result in stagnant or declining search presence and missed opportunities for your business.

Fixing “Crawled – currently not indexed” issues is like ensuring that all the valuable products in your store are visible and easily accessible to potential customers. You wouldn’t want your best items to be hidden away in the back room, right?

By prioritizing the resolution of “Crawled – currently not indexed” issues, you can:

Enhance your website’s overall quality and relevance in the eyes of search engines
Increase the number of pages eligible to rank in search results for relevant queries
Drive more targeted, organic traffic to your site
Improve your chances of converting visitors into customers or leads

In conclusion, fixing “Crawled – currently not indexed” issues is a crucial aspect of SEO that should not be overlooked. By ensuring that all valuable pages on your site are properly indexed, you can unlock the full potential of your website to attract organic search visibility, traffic, and conversions.

Analyzing Your Website’s Indexing Coverage

Gaining insights into your website’s indexing coverage is essential for optimizing its visibility in search engines. The Index Coverage report in Google Search Console provides a comprehensive overview of the indexing state of all URLs known to Google within a property⁵. This report aims to show how many URLs on the site have been crawled and indexed by Google⁵. Regularly monitoring the index coverage can help identify and address indexing problems promptly, such as crawl errors or security issues that hinder indexing⁶.

The report indicates that if the total URL count is much smaller than the site’s page count, Google might not be finding all pages on the site⁵. Proper site architecture can improve indexability by up to 50%⁷. A well-structured website with clear hierarchies and navigation enhances the user experience and makes it easier for search engines to index pages⁶.

Monitoring Index Coverage with Google Search Console

The Index Coverage report provides a summary page displaying graphs and tables of indexed and non-indexed pages, reasons for unindexed URLs, improvements needed for indexed pages, top-level navigation between reports, and view data about indexed pages⁵. It’s crucial to understand that indexing status can take up to a week for new pages or sites to be crawled and indexed⁵.

Google needs a way to find a page in order to crawl it, either through being linked from a known page or from a sitemap⁵. Meeting Core Web Vitals standards is essential for indexation and rankings, with failure resulting in exclusion⁷. Page rendering can have a significant impact on crawling, with an approximately 9x longer process for crawlers compared to regular browsing due to rendering difficulties⁷.

Identifying Pages with “Crawled – currently not indexed” Status

Not all URLs on the site are expected to be indexed, especially duplicates or those without meaningful information⁵. Duplicate content can be a significant barrier to indexing, as unique, original content is preferred by search engines, increasing the likelihood of being indexed⁶. Google doesn’t index pages blocked by robots.txt rules, containing a noindex tag, are duplicates, or are inappropriate to index⁵.

Indexing Status	Description	Action
Indexed	URLs successfully indexed by Google⁵	Monitor count and ensure canonical versions are indexed⁵
Not Indexed	Indicates potential issues preventing indexing⁵	Analyze reasons and resolve indexing barriers⁵
Crawled – Currently Not Indexed	Crawled by Google but not included in the search index	Improve content quality and relevance, fix technical issues⁶
Discovered – Currently Not Indexed	Found by Google but not crawled or indexed	Ensure proper internal linking and crawlability⁶

Understanding the differences between “Crawled – currently not indexed” and “Discovered – currently not indexed” statuses is crucial for effective SEO management, offering insights into why pages might not be indexed⁶. Indexed pages may not always show up in search results due to various factors like customization for each user’s search history and location⁵. However, the report advises that if a URL is indexed in Search Console but doesn’t show up in search results, it is still eligible to appear in searches⁵.

By leveraging the Index Coverage report, experienced SEOs and website owners can better understand what to look for, what not to look for, and how to troubleshoot common indexing problems⁵. High-quality, relevant content plays a crucial role in increasing indexing chances, as Google prioritizes useful content⁷. Regularly reviewing the “Crawled – currently not indexed” list helps identify important pages missing from Google’s index, allowing for targeted optimizations to enhance website indexing coverage and overall search visibility.

Improving Content Quality and Relevance

One of the primary reasons pages receive the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status in Google Search Console is due to low-quality or irrelevant content that doesn’t meet Google’s indexing thresholds⁴. To address this issue and optimize your website’s visibility, it’s crucial to focus on creating high-quality, unique content that aligns with user intent and engages your target audience.

Ensuring High-Quality, Unique Content

Google prioritizes indexing pages that offer the best quality content and most effectively satisfy user intent¹. To ensure your content meets these standards, refer to Google’s Quality Raters Guidelines for insights into what the search engine considers high-quality content. Strive to create original, in-depth, and well-researched content that comprehensively covers your chosen topics, steering clear of duplicate content issues that can lead to exclusion from indexing⁴.

Optimizing Content for User Intent and Engagement

When crafting your content, always keep user intent at the forefront. Analyze the search results for your target keywords to understand the type of content users are seeking and ensure your pages align with that intent⁴. Engage your readers by using compelling headlines, subheadings, and multimedia elements that enhance the user experience and encourage them to spend more time on your site.

Avoiding Thin or Duplicate Content

Thin content pages with little value are a common culprit behind the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status⁴². To avoid this issue, ensure your pages have a sufficient word count and depth of information compared to top-ranking competitors. If you have multiple pages covering similar topics, consider consolidating them into a single, comprehensive resource to minimize the risk of duplicate content⁴.

Content Issue	Solution
Thin content	Expand pages with low word count to comprehensively cover the topic
Duplicate content	Consolidate similar pages into a single, in-depth resource
Mismatched user intent	Analyze search results and align content with the dominant intent
Low engagement	Use compelling headlines, subheadings, and multimedia to engage readers

By focusing on content quality, uniqueness, user intent, and engagement, you can significantly improve your chances of having pages indexed by Google and enhance your website’s overall visibility in search results. Regularly assess your content performance using Google Search Console and make iterative improvements to maintain high indexing levels and drive organic traffic growth.

Enhancing Website Architecture and Internal Linking

A well-structured website architecture and strategic internal linking are crucial for helping search engines discover, crawl, and understand your content effectively. It is essential for websites to maintain a consistent website architecture, like using internal links appropriately and organizing content logically⁸. Addressing technical issues, improving content quality, and optimizing the website structure are crucial steps to combat and fix the ‘Crawled – Currently Not Indexed’ issue in the context of enhancing website architecture and internal linking².

Creating a Clear, Logical Site Structure

To create a clear and logical site structure, start by organizing your content into main categories and subcategories. Use a hierarchical structure with your most important pages at the top level and more specific pages nested under relevant categories. Ensure that your site’s navigation menu reflects this structure and allows users to easily find and access the content they’re looking for.

Tools like Screaming Frog and Sitebulb can help analyze the number of internal links to pages and ensure a well-linked website structure⁸. Utilizing HTML sitemaps for crawl depth control, ensuring pages are interconnected, and avoiding excessive parameters in URLs can aid in optimizing website visibility⁸.

Implementing Strategic Internal Linking

Internal linking plays a vital role in distributing link equity throughout your site and guiding search engines to discover and prioritize your content. When creating internal links, consider the following best practices:

Link from relevant, high-authority pages to other important pages on your site
Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text that accurately describes the linked page’s content
Avoid using generic anchor text like “click here” or “read more”
Ensure that all important pages have at least one internal link pointing to them
Regularly audit your site for broken internal links and fix them promptly

For JavaScript-based websites, ensuring internal links are presented as <a> tags instead of JavaScript functions like onClick() is crucial for effective crawling and indexing⁸. Crawl efficiency issues like duplicate URLs with parameters, multiple subdomains, HTTP/HTTPS variations, and inconsistent URL structures can affect how Google crawls and processes a website⁸.

“A high number of ‘Crawled – Currently Not Indexed’ pages may signal to Google that a website isn’t of high quality, potentially impacting its ability to rank.”²

By implementing a clear site structure and strategic internal linking, you can significantly improve your website’s crawlability and indexability, ultimately leading to better search engine visibility and organic traffic.

Optimizing Technical SEO Factors

Technical SEO plays a vital role in ensuring that search engines can effectively crawl and index your website’s content. By addressing technical issues such as slow page load speed, lack of mobile-friendliness, crawl errors, broken links, and improper canonical tags, you can significantly improve your site’s visibility and indexing potential².

Improving Page Load Speed and Mobile-Friendliness

In today’s mobile-first world, having a fast-loading and mobile-friendly website is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimization. Slow site speed can prevent pages from being indexed, as search engines may abandon crawling if the server response time is too long². Optimize your site’s performance by minimizing HTTP requests, compressing images, leveraging browser caching, and using a content delivery network (CDN). Additionally, ensure your site is responsive and renders properly on various screen sizes to provide a seamless experience for mobile users.

Fixing Crawl Errors and Broken Links

Crawl errors and broken links can hinder search engines from accessing and indexing your content. Regularly monitor your site for 404 errors, server errors, and other crawl issues using tools like Google Search Console. Implement proper 301 redirects for permanently moved or deleted pages to guide search engines and users to relevant content. Broken internal and external links not only waste crawl budget but also provide a poor user experience. Use tools to identify and fix broken links promptly⁹.

Implementing Proper Canonicalization

Duplicate content can lead to indexing issues, as search engines may struggle to determine which version of a page to index and rank. Implement proper canonical tags to specify the preferred version of a page and avoid duplicate content problems². Use self-referencing canonical tags on unique pages and point to the canonical URL on duplicate or similar pages. Ensure consistency in your internal linking and use canonical tags appropriately across your site to send clear signals to search engines.

By focusing on these technical SEO factors and continually monitoring and refining your strategies, you can significantly improve your website’s crawlability, indexing, and overall search visibility¹. Remember that technical SEO is an ongoing process, and staying up-to-date with best practices and addressing any issues promptly is essential for maintaining a strong presence in search results.

Crawled – currently not indexed

For ecommerce websites, product pages for expired or out-of-stock items frequently receive the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status in Google Search Console³. This occurs because Googlebot assesses product availability during the crawling process, and if a product is found to be unavailable, the corresponding page may be excluded from the search index³. Google’s objective is to prevent the display of unavailable products in search results, thereby enhancing the user experience³.

To address this issue, it is crucial to ensure that your product feed accurately reflects the current inventory of in-stock products¹. Moreover, consider implementing the noindex tag for products that are temporarily out of stock until they become available again¹. This approach helps to limit duplicate content and guide Google towards the original, canonical content¹.

Other common reasons for the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status include RSS feed URLs and paginated URLs³. Additionally, 301 redirects can temporarily cause destination URLs to be labeled as “Crawled – currently not indexed” until Google recognizes the redirection³. Thin content pages may also be excluded from the index due to Google’s perception of their lack of usefulness³.

When optimizing ecommerce SEO, focus on ensuring that essential product pages are indexed while avoiding the indexing of expired, out-of-stock, or duplicate pages⁵.

To further improve indexing chances, concentrate on developing a logical website architecture that aids search engine bots in discovering content and comprehending the relationships between pages¹. Utilize proper internal linking, canonical tags, and XML sitemaps to direct Google to the original, high-quality content¹. By implementing these strategies and regularly monitoring your website’s indexing progress, you can effectively minimize the occurrence of the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status for your essential ecommerce pages¹⁵.

Submitting Pages for Recrawling and Indexing

After addressing the issues that led to pages being “crawled – currently not indexed,” the next step is to submit these pages to Google for recrawling and indexing. This process helps ensure that the improvements made to the content and technical aspects of the site are recognized by Google, increasing the likelihood of the pages being indexed and appearing in search results.

Using the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console

The URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console is a valuable resource for checking the indexing status of individual pages and requesting indexing if necessary. To use this tool, simply enter the URL of the page you want to check, and Google will provide information on its current indexing status. If the page is not indexed, you can use the “Request Indexing” feature to ask Google to recrawl and potentially index the page¹.

It’s important to note that requesting indexing does not guarantee immediate inclusion in the search index. Google takes various factors into account when deciding whether to index a page, such as its content quality, relevance, and overall site authority¹. However, requesting indexing can expedite the process and alert Google to the changes you’ve made.

Leveraging XML Sitemaps for Indexing

XML sitemaps play a crucial role in helping search engines discover and index the important pages on your website. Ensure that your XML sitemap includes all the key pages you want indexed, and submit it to Google through the Search Console¹. Regularly update your sitemap as you add or remove pages to keep Google informed of any changes to your site’s structure⁵.

In addition to your main sitemap, consider creating a temporary sitemap specifically for pages that have been fixed but are still not indexed. This temporary sitemap can help alert Google to recrawl these pages and potentially include them in the search index¹. As these pages get indexed, you can remove them from the temporary sitemap and add them to your main sitemap.

Remember that while sitemaps are essential for indexing, they do not replace the need for a well-structured website with proper internal linking. A good website architecture increases the chances of getting indexed by allowing search engine bots to easily discover and navigate through your content¹.

In conclusion, submitting pages for recrawling and indexing is a critical step in resolving “crawled – currently not indexed” issues. By utilizing the URL Inspection tool and leveraging XML sitemaps, you can effectively communicate with Google and encourage the indexing of your valuable content. However, it’s crucial to remain patient and focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that satisfies user intent, as this is the foundation for successful indexing and ranking in search results¹⁰.

Handling Pagination, Expired Products, and RSS Feed URLs

When optimizing your website’s visibility, it’s crucial to handle pagination, expired products, and RSS feed URLs effectively to conserve your crawl budget and ensure proper indexing. Paginated series, if not implemented correctly, can lead to a significant waste of crawl budget, hindering the indexing of more important pages². To indicate the relationship between component pages in a paginated series, use the rel=”next” and rel=”prev” tags.

Similarly, expired product pages can negatively impact your website’s quality and domain ranking if not addressed properly². For temporarily unavailable products, apply a noindex tag to the page, and for permanently discontinued products, serve a 404 status code. Avoid linking to expired pages to preserve link equity and prevent search engines from crawling and attempting to index these pages².

RSS feed URLs can also contribute to wasted crawl budget if they don’t provide unique value. Evaluate the purpose and content of your RSS feeds and decide whether they warrant indexing. If the RSS feed URLs offer little to no value, consider using the noindex tag or blocking them via the robots.txt file to prevent search engines from crawling and indexing these pages².

By strategically managing pagination, expired products, and RSS feed URLs, you can optimize your crawl budget and guide search engines to focus on indexing your most valuable content, ultimately improving your website’s visibility and SEO performance.

To learn more about fixing ‘Crawled – Currently Not Indexed’ issues and enhancing your website’s visibility, visit SEOmator’s comprehensive guide.

Here’s a quick comparison of how different URL types can affect your crawl budget and indexing:

URL Type	Impact on Crawl Budget	Indexing Considerations
Paginated URLs	Can waste crawl budget if not properly implemented	Use rel=”next” and rel=”prev” tags to indicate relationship
Expired Product Pages	Can negatively impact website quality and domain ranking	Use noindex for temporarily unavailable products and 404 for permanently discontinued products
RSS Feed URLs	Can waste crawl budget if they don’t provide unique value	Consider using noindex or blocking via robots.txt if the content is not valuable for indexing

By addressing these factors, you can minimize the occurrence of ‘Crawled – Currently Not Indexed’ pages, improve your website’s overall quality, and increase your chances of ranking higher in search results².

Building Domain Authority and Backlinks

Developing a strong backlink profile and improving domain authority are crucial factors in enhancing indexing levels and overall website visibility¹. A site’s Domain Rating (DR) is a metric that benchmarks its perceived credibility on a 100-point scale, with higher ratings signaling a more authoritative and reliable site². Sites with low DR may face the ‘Crawled – Currently Not Indexed’ status, as search engines may not consider them trustworthy enough to index all their content².

To improve domain authority and indexing, focus on acquiring high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative sites within your niche. High-quality backlinks serve as trust signals for Google when determining authoritative content, and building a robust backlink profile is essential to signal the trustworthiness and authority of your content to search engines⁹.

Developing a Strong Backlink Profile

Creating link-worthy content that naturally attracts backlinks is a fundamental strategy for developing a strong backlink profile. Produce valuable resources, informative infographics, or original research that other websites will want to link to as references or citations. Additionally, engage in outreach by promoting your content to relevant sites and offering to guest post on reputable blogs within your industry.

When building backlinks, prioritize quality over quantity. A few high-quality, relevant backlinks from authoritative sites are far more valuable than numerous low-quality or spammy links. Regularly monitor your backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to identify any low-quality or spammy links pointing to your site. If necessary, disavow these links to maintain a clean and trustworthy backlink profile¹.

Engaging in Outreach and Link Building Strategies

Proactive outreach and link building strategies are essential for acquiring quality backlinks and improving domain authority. Identify relevant websites, blogs, and influencers within your niche and reach out to them with personalized messages highlighting the value of your content. Offer to contribute guest posts, collaborate on content creation, or provide valuable insights and resources that their audience would find useful.

When engaging in outreach, focus on building genuine relationships with website owners and influencers. Demonstrate your expertise and the value you can provide to their audience. By establishing yourself as a trusted and authoritative source within your industry, you’ll be more likely to secure high-quality backlinks and improve your domain authority over time.

Remember, building domain authority and a strong backlink profile is a long-term strategy that requires consistent effort and patience. SEO is a long-term strategy that requires consistent efforts in improving content quality, technical SEO, and authority to see results⁹. By regularly creating valuable content, engaging in outreach, and monitoring your backlink profile, you can gradually improve your domain authority and indexing levels, ultimately leading to better visibility and organic search performance.

Monitoring Progress and Adapting Strategies

Effective SEO requires ongoing monitoring and refinement to ensure sustained success. By regularly tracking your website’s indexing status and overall SEO performance, you can identify areas for improvement and adapt your strategies accordingly. This proactive approach allows you to capitalize on opportunities and address any issues promptly, optimizing your website’s visibility and organic search traffic.

Tracking Indexing Improvements with Google Search Console

Google Search Console is an invaluable tool for monitoring SEO progress and tracking indexing improvements. The Index Coverage report provides insights into the indexing status of your website’s pages, including those marked as “Crawled – currently not indexed.” By closely monitoring this report, you can identify patterns and trends in your indexing performance³. Additionally, the Performance report shows which pages are generating impressions and clicks in search results, helping you gauge the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.

To make the most of Google Search Console for monitoring indexing improvements, consider the following tips:

Regularly check the Index Coverage report to track the number of pages with the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status.
Analyze the affected pages to identify common issues, such as thin content, technical errors, or duplicate content¹¹.
Use the URL Inspection tool to submit individual pages for recrawling and indexing after addressing any issues.
Monitor the Performance report to see which pages are driving organic search traffic and adjust your content strategy accordingly.

Continuously Refining SEO Efforts Based on Results

Monitoring SEO progress is only the first step; acting on the insights gained is crucial for continuous improvement. By analyzing the data from Google Search Console and other SEO tools, you can identify areas where your website excels and aspects that need attention. This information enables you to refine your SEO strategies and allocate resources effectively.

Consider the following approaches for continuously refining your SEO efforts:

Conduct regular content audits to identify underperforming pages and update or optimize them for better indexing and rankings.
Monitor your backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, and focus on acquiring high-quality, relevant links from authoritative sources¹¹.
Stay up-to-date with the latest Google algorithm changes and adjust your SEO tactics accordingly to maintain compliance and avoid potential penalties.
Continuously test and optimize your website’s technical aspects, such as page speed, mobile-friendliness, and structured data implementation¹¹.
Engage in competitor analysis to identify successful strategies and opportunities for differentiation in your niche.

By consistently monitoring your SEO progress and adapting your strategies based on the results, you can effectively address indexing issues like “Crawled – currently not indexed” and improve your website’s overall search engine visibility. This iterative process of tracking, analyzing, and refining ensures that your SEO efforts remain agile and responsive to the ever-evolving search landscape.

Common Misconceptions and Myths

When it comes to the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status, there are several SEO myths and misconceptions that can lead to confusion and misguided optimization efforts. One prevalent myth is that this status always indicates a low-quality page, but in reality, there can be various technical reasons behind it¹². Another misconception is that having non-indexed pages hurts your overall site, but it’s important to note that a few such pages are normal and expected.

Some webmasters assume that using the noindex tag alone causes the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status. However, Google may choose not to index a page even without a noindex tag, based on factors like content quality, relevance, and site importance¹². It’s crucial to understand that while compressing sitemap files into zipped folders may seem like a way to increase crawl budget, this is a myth and does not actually impact crawling efficiency¹³.

Another common SEO myth is that Google has trouble crawling query parameters and prefers clean URLs, but this is not true¹³. Google’s algorithms are capable of handling various URL structures effectively. Additionally, some believe that smaller, less popular sites aren’t crawled as often as large, popular sites, but this is another misconception¹³. The periodicity of site crawling depends on factors like content quality, relevance, and site importance, rather than solely on site size or popularity¹².

Lastly, a common SEO myth is that Google prefers fresh content, and constantly tweaking a page will lead to higher rankings. However, this is not accurate¹³. While fresh content can be valuable, it’s not a guaranteed ranking factor. In fact, Google has over 200 ranking factors, and the platform a website is built on is not one of them¹⁴. It’s essential to focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that satisfies user intent rather than relying on misconceptions about freshness or word count¹⁴.

By dispelling these SEO myths and misconceptions surrounding the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status, website owners can concentrate on implementing effective optimization strategies that genuinely improve indexing and visibility in search results.

Conclusion

Fixing pages with the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status is crucial for optimizing website visibility and ensuring that search engines properly index valuable content. Common reasons for this status include thin or low-value content, duplicated content, lack of internal linking, false positives, and content not matching search intent¹⁵. Other factors like expired products, 301 redirects, RSS feed URLs, and paginated URLs can also contribute to indexing issues³.

To address these challenges, focus on creating high-quality, unique content that adheres to search intent and provides value to users¹⁵. Improve site architecture and internal linking to help search engines discover and understand the content better. Resolve technical SEO issues such as slow page load speed, crawl errors, and improper canonicalization. Strategically use noindex tags for temporarily out-of-stock products or low-value pages.

Regularly monitor indexing progress using tools like Google Search Console, and continuously refine SEO strategies based on the results. Building domain authority through quality backlinks and staying updated on the latest Google algorithm changes can further enhance indexing and ranking performance. By addressing the often overlooked “Crawled – currently not indexed” issue, websites can experience improved organic search traffic and conversions, ultimately leading to better online visibility and success.

FAQ

What does “Crawled – currently not indexed” mean in Google Search Console?

When a page has the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status in Google Search Console, it means that Google has crawled or visited the page but decided not to include it in its search index. As a result, the page will not appear in search results, as Google deems it not valuable enough to rank or finds some technical issues with it.

Why is it important to fix pages with the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status?

Fixing “Crawled – currently not indexed” issues is crucial because each non-indexed page represents a missed opportunity for organic search visibility, potential traffic, and conversions. A high number of such pages may also signal to Google that your website isn’t high-quality, potentially impacting your overall domain’s ability to rank.

How can I monitor my website’s indexing coverage?

To monitor your website’s indexing coverage, use the Index Coverage report in Google Search Console. This report shows the indexing state of all pages that Google has visited or tried to visit on your site. Regularly review the “Crawled – currently not indexed” list to spot important pages missing from Google’s index.

What are some common reasons for pages getting the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status?

Common reasons for pages getting the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status include low-quality or irrelevant content, thin content pages with little value, duplicate content, technical SEO issues like slow loading pages or crawl errors, and incorrect canonical tags or lack of mobile-friendliness.

How can I improve my content to avoid the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status?

To avoid the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status, ensure your pages provide high-quality, unique content that satisfies user intent and engages readers. Avoid thin content pages and eliminate or improve any duplicate content. Expand pages with low word count to comprehensively cover the topic, and ensure your content matches the search intent of your target queries.

What role does website architecture and internal linking play in indexing?

A clear website structure with strategic internal linking helps search engines discover and understand your content better. Create a logical hierarchy for your site and ensure important pages are linked to from other relevant pages. Improving your internal link structure shows Google that your pages are relevant and helps pass link equity to them.

How can I fix technical SEO issues that hinder indexing?

To fix technical SEO issues hindering indexing, optimize your page load speed, make your site mobile-friendly, find and fix any crawl errors or broken links, use canonical tags correctly to indicate the preferred version of a page, and monitor structured data markup using the Enhancements report in Search Console.

What should I do after fixing issues causing the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status?

After fixing issues causing the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status, submit the affected pages to Google for recrawling and indexing. Use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console to check a specific page’s indexing status and request indexing if needed. Ensure your XML sitemap includes all important pages you want indexed and submit it to Google.

Are there any common misconceptions about the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status?

Yes, some common misconceptions about the “Crawled – currently not indexed” status include believing it always indicates a low-quality page, assuming that having non-indexed pages hurts your overall site, and thinking that using the noindex tag alone causes this status. It’s important to understand that there can be various reasons for this status, and a few such pages are normal and expected.

Crawled – currently not indexed | Optimizing Website Visibility