By Shad Super in Questions —

What Causes Pages to Be Categorized Under "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" in Google Search Console, and How Can I Ensure They Get Crawled and Indexed?

Summary

Pages in Google Search Console categorized under "Discovered - currently not indexed" occur when Google identifies the page but has not yet indexed it, due to a variety of potential reasons, like crawlability or site quality issues. By addressing these issues and integrating SEO best practices, these pages can be duly crawled and indexed by Google.

Understanding "Discovered - currently not indexed"

Google's Indexing Process

Google's indexing process is a two-step method, with discovery and indexing as distinct stages. First, Google "discovers" a page, often through sitemaps or linking to other pages. Then, Google analyzes (crawls) and stores (indexes) the page. The "Discovered - currently not indexed" status signifies that Google has identified the page but hasn't taken the next step of indexing it. A variety of reasons can lead to this [Introduction to Indexing, Google Developers].

What Causes "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed"

Crawlability Issues

Google may have trouble accessing a page due to faulty robots.txt rules, nofollow attributes, or improper directives in meta tags. It's advisable to verify your site's crawlability [Overview of crawl, index, and serve, Google Developers].

Quality Issues

A page of inferior quality or lacking original content may not be indexed. Google aims to provide users with high-quality, unique content, which could be a consideration here [Google's quality guidelines, Google Developers].

Technical Errors

Technical issues, such as server errors, redirect errors, or page load problems, can also deter Google indexing [Crawl Errors, Google Developers].

Ensuring Your Pages Get Crawled and Indexed

Improve Crawlability

To ensure Google can access your page, review your robots.txt rules, ensure all critical resources are crawlable, and review your use of the 'nofollow' attribute and meta tag directives [Create a robots.txt file, Google Developers].

Improve Page Quality

Enhance the quality of your content by ensuring it's unique, informative, and relevant to your audience. Also, assign proper headings, meta descriptions, and alt texts for images to adhere to SEO best practices [Google's quality guidelines, Google Developers].

Fix Technical Issues

Rectify any technical errors you find, ensure your server is reliable, pages load quickly, and there are no broken links or improper redirects [Crawl Errors, Google Developers].

Use Google Search Console

Use Google Search Console's URL inspection tool to analyze specific URLs, where you can request indexing once issues are resolved [Google's quality guidelines, Google Developers].

Conclusion

"Discovered - currently not indexed" pages are a common occurrence and not a penalty. A methodical approach to address potential crawlability, quality, and technical issues can encourage Google to index such pages successfully.

References