Googlebot Indexing: How Google Finds & Indexes Your Pages (and How to Speed It Up)
Googlebot is the crawler Google uses to discover pages for Google Search. But discovery (crawling) isn’t the same as being stored in Google’s index. If an important page isn’t indexed, it generally can’t rank — even if the page is live and looks fine to users.
This guide walks through how Googlebot finds URLs, what happens between crawl and index, and the practical levers you can pull to get priority pages indexed faster (without relying on guesswork).
TL;DR
- Googlebot discovers new URLs mostly through links on pages it already crawled (and via sitemaps).
- Indexing is a separate step after crawling. Pages can be crawled but still not indexed.
- Internal linking is one of the highest-leverage fixes for discovery, crawl depth, and consistent re-crawling.
- For a few critical URLs, use Search Console’s URL Inspection tool to request indexing; for many URLs, submit a sitemap.
Crawling vs. indexing vs. ranking (quick definitions)
| Term | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Crawling | Googlebot fetches the URL (and may fetch its resources like CSS/JS) to understand what’s on the page. | If Google can’t crawl a page reliably, it can’t consistently evaluate or update it. |
| Indexing | Google processes the content and stores it in its index (the database it uses to retrieve results). | If a page isn’t indexed, it generally won’t appear for relevant searches. |
| Ranking | For a query, Google chooses which indexed pages to show and in what order. | Indexing is necessary — but not sufficient — for strong rankings. |
How Googlebot discovers new URLs
Google’s own documentation notes that Googlebot discovers new URLs to crawl primarily from links embedded in previously crawled pages. In other words: if a page has no crawlable links pointing to it, it’s much harder for Google to consistently find it.
- Internal links: navigation, category pages, related posts, and contextual links inside body copy. (See Google’s link best practices: SEO link best practices for Google.)
- XML sitemaps: helpful for discovery at scale and for newly launched or recently updated URLs. (Google’s guidance: Sitemaps overview.)
- External links: links from other sites can surface URLs Google hasn’t seen before.
If you’re running into indexing delays, start by asking a blunt question: “If I were Googlebot, how would I discover this URL?” If the honest answer is “I wouldn’t,” you likely have an internal linking (or crawl path) problem.
Related: Internal linking best practices and crawl depth SEO.
Googlebot isn’t one crawler (mobile-first reality)
Googlebot is a generic name for two crawler types: Googlebot Smartphone and Googlebot Desktop. For most sites, Google primarily uses the mobile version of content for indexing, so the majority of crawl requests come from the smartphone crawler.
Source: What is Googlebot (Google Search Central).
From crawl to index: what happens after Googlebot fetches a page?
At a high level, indexing requires Google to:
- Fetch the page
- Render it (especially if key content/links are created with JavaScript)
- Extract and evaluate content + links
- Decide whether (and how) to store it in the index
If your site is JavaScript-heavy, keep in mind that Google may process content in stages — first using the raw HTML, then rendering later. Here are two helpful deep-dives:
- How Googlebot handles JavaScript/AJAX-heavy websites
- How search engines handle JavaScript-created links
Common reasons pages don’t get indexed (and what to check)
The fastest way to stop guessing is to use Google Search Console:
- URL Inspection: see whether the URL is indexed, which canonical Google selected, and whether it’s eligible for indexing.
- Page indexing / Coverage: see site-wide patterns (duplicates, soft 404s, “crawled — currently not indexed,” etc.).
Here’s a practical cheat sheet of common blockers and fixes:
| Issue | How it shows up | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Noindex present | URL Inspection shows “Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag” or similar. | Remove the noindex directive (meta robots or X-Robots-Tag) if the page should be indexable. |
| Blocked from crawling | Robots.txt blocking; URL Inspection may show “Blocked by robots.txt.” | If you want the page indexed, don’t block crawling. Use noindex for pages you don’t want indexed (not robots.txt). |
| Duplicate / canonical issues | Google selects a different canonical than you intended. | Fix canonical tags, consolidate duplicates, and clean up parameterized URLs where possible. |
| Thin / low-value content | “Crawled — currently not indexed” can sometimes indicate quality or duplication concerns. | Improve uniqueness, depth, and usefulness; add supporting internal links and clarify intent. |
| Orphaned page (no internal links) | Page exists but is rarely crawled and doesn’t show up in navigation or related content. | Add contextual internal links from relevant pages and reduce crawl depth where possible. |
| Server errors / slow responses | 5xx errors, timeouts, or very slow TTFB can reduce crawl efficiency. | Stabilize hosting and performance. Related: how server response time impacts Googlebot indexing. |
How to speed up indexing (practical checklist)
Indexing speed is mostly about removing friction from discovery and processing. Use this workflow:
- Make sure the page is actually indexable.
- HTTP 200 (not a soft 404), not blocked by robots.txt, and no noindex directive.
- Correct canonical tag (or no canonical if not needed).
- Give Googlebot a clean discovery path (internal links).
- Link to the page from at least 1–3 relevant pages that are already crawled frequently.
- Use descriptive anchor text (avoid “click here”).
- Prefer standard
<a href="...">links (Google’s guidance: make links crawlable).
- Add it to your XML sitemap (and submit/refresh the sitemap).
- This is especially important for new pages, large sites, and pages that aren’t easily discovered via navigation.
- Request indexing for priority URLs (URL Inspection tool).
- Google notes crawling can take days to weeks, and repeated requests won’t make it faster — there’s a quota.
- Reference: Ask Google to recrawl your URLs.
- Related Linkbot guide: how to use URL Inspection for indexing issues.
- Reduce duplicate URL noise.
- Clean up faceted navigation / parameters where feasible.
- Use consistent internal linking (one preferred URL), and canonicalize true duplicates.
- Improve crawl efficiency (especially if you’re a large site).
- Fix 5xx errors, redirect chains, slow server responses, and JS rendering bottlenecks.
Want a faster path for high-value pages? If you have a subset of “must index” URLs (new product pages, new content hubs, updated pricing pages), pair strong internal links with a focused indexing workflow. Linkbot’s Priority Indexer approach is designed around getting key URLs discovered and revisited faster by strengthening the internal link signals that drive discovery.
Why internal links matter so much for Googlebot indexing
Internal links do more than “pass authority.” They shape how easily Googlebot can:
- Discover pages (new URLs come from links)
- Prioritize crawl paths (important pages should be close to your crawl entry points)
- Understand relationships (anchor text + surrounding context help define topical relevance)
If a page sits 6+ clicks deep and has no contextual links, it’s often treated like it’s optional. If you bring that page into a tighter topic cluster and reduce crawl depth, you’re giving Googlebot a much better route to re-crawl and re-process it.
FAQ
How long does it take for Google to index a page?
It varies. Google notes crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on site signals and discovery paths. Use Search Console (URL Inspection + indexing reports) to monitor progress.
Can robots.txt remove a page from the index?
No. Robots.txt controls crawling, not indexing. If you want a page not indexed, use noindex or restrict access (and let Google crawl to see the noindex).
Should I request indexing multiple times?
Repeated requests won’t get a URL crawled faster and you can hit quotas. Instead, focus on the fundamentals: internal linking, sitemap inclusion, and fixing indexability/quality issues.
Final CTA: make indexing predictable (not a coin flip)
If indexing feels inconsistent, it’s usually because discovery and crawl paths are inconsistent. The simplest way to stabilize indexing over time is to build a deliberate internal linking system — one that keeps important pages close to your crawl entry points and continuously connected to relevant content.
Linkbot helps you find orphan pages, strengthen internal link pathways, and keep topic clusters interlinked as your site grows. If you want to see what this looks like in practice, check Linkbot pricing (or start with the Priority Indexer workflow for your highest-value URLs).