SPIOUNby 6SIndexing states
What Google has and has not stored, and the reason for each page.
What this tab shows
- Indexing
- Google’s verdict for every page, checked one by one with Google’s own inspection tool: stored or not, and why.
- Why pages are or are not indexed
- Google's reasons grouped. Green is indexed; the rest tells you what to look at.
- Sitemaps
- The sitemaps you submitted in Search Console and whether Google read them.
- Every URL
- Every URL SPIOUN found in your sitemaps, with Google's answer for each.
- Inspect one URL
- Ask Google about a single address of one of your properties.
The numbers at the top
- URLs inspected
- Pages SPIOUN asked Google about.
- Indexed
- Pages Google has stored and can show.
- Not indexed
- Pages Google knows but has not stored.
- Errors
- Pages Google could not process or that failed inspection.
Issues on this page
- Discovered – currently not indexed
- Crawled – currently not indexed
- URL is unknown to Google
- Page with redirect
- Excluded by 'noindex' tag
- Duplicate without user-selected canonical
- Duplicate, Google chose a different canonical
- Alternate page with proper canonical tag
- Not found (404)
- Soft 404
- Blocked by robots.txt
- Server error (5xx)
- Redirect error
- Blocked (403 or 401)
- Blocked due to other 4xx issue
- Indexing blocked
- Google could not fetch the page
- Google chose a different canonical
- Inspection failed
- No canonical
- Canonical points elsewhere
- noindex in the page
- noindex sent by the server
Discovered – currently not indexedIndexing
What
Google knows the address but has not visited it yet.
Why
Usually a matter of time on new or small sites. It becomes a problem only if it lasts for months or affects important pages.
How
Make sure the page is in your sitemap and linked from other pages. Then wait; Google decides when to visit. Nothing to fix in the page itself. Steps for your platform →
Crawled – currently not indexedIndexing
What
Google visited the page but decided not to store it.
Why
Google saw little value: thin, duplicate or very similar content, or a site it rarely visits.
How
Improve the page: more useful text, a clear title, links from other pages. Pages that are near copies of others can be merged. Steps for your platform →
URL is unknown to GoogleIndexing
What
Google has never heard of this address.
Why
Normal for new pages. It also happens when a page is in your sitemap but Google has not read the sitemap recently.
How
Check the page is in the sitemap and that Google read it (Indexing → Sitemaps). Resubmit the sitemap if it is old. Then wait. Steps for your platform →
Page with redirectIndexing
What
This address forwards to another one, and Google stored the destination instead.
Why
Expected after a page moves. A problem only if your sitemap still lists the old address.
How
Replace the old address with the new one in the sitemap and in your links. Steps for your platform →
Excluded by 'noindex' tagIndexing
What
The page asks Google not to store it.
Why
Nobody will find it in search. Fine if intended.
How
If people should find it, turn indexing back on in the page's settings. Steps for your platform →
Duplicate without user-selected canonicalIndexing
What
Google found this page is a copy of another and you did not say which is the main one.
Why
Google picked one itself; it may not be the one you want.
How
Set the canonical on both pages to the one you want shown, or make the pages different. Steps for your platform →
Duplicate, Google chose a different canonicalIndexing
What
You marked this page as the main version, but Google chose another one.
Why
Google shows the other address. Usually the two pages are near-identical.
How
Make the pages clearly different, or accept Google's choice and point your canonical at it. Steps for your platform →
Alternate page with proper canonical tagIndexing
What
This page points to another as its main version, and Google agrees.
Why
Working as intended; the main version is the one that ranks.
How
Nothing to do, unless this page should rank on its own.
Not found (404)Indexing
What
Google tried the address and the page does not exist.
Why
Dead ends waste Google's visits. If the address is in your sitemap or linked, visitors hit it too.
How
Redirect the old address to the new page if it moved. Remove it from the sitemap if it is gone for good. Steps for your platform →
Soft 404Indexing
What
The page says it exists but looks empty or like an error page to Google.
Why
Google will not store it.
How
Give the page real content, or make it answer with a proper 404 if it is gone. Steps for your platform →
Blocked by robots.txtIndexing
What
Your robots.txt forbids Google from visiting this page.
Why
Google cannot read a page it may not visit, so it cannot rank.
How
Remove the rule in robots.txt that blocks this address, unless the block is intended. Steps for your platform →
Server error (5xx)Indexing
What
Google got a server error when it tried the page.
Why
Repeated errors make Google drop the page.
How
Check the page loads for you; if not, fix it with your hosting, then re-inspect. Steps for your platform →
Redirect errorIndexing
What
The redirect from this address is broken: a loop, a chain too long, or a bad destination.
Why
Google gives up and the page is lost.
How
Make the old address forward directly to the final page, in one step. Steps for your platform →
Blocked (403 or 401)Indexing
What
The server refuses Google (403 or 401).
Why
Google cannot read the page.
How
Public pages must open without a login or IP restriction. Check security plugins and hosting firewalls. Steps for your platform →
Blocked due to other 4xx issueIndexing
What
The server answered Google with an error.
Why
Google cannot read the page.
How
Open the page in a private browser window. If it fails, fix the error; if it loads, re-inspect in a few days. Steps for your platform →
Indexing blockedIndexing
What
Google says indexing of this page is blocked.
Why
The page cannot appear in results.
How
Look for a noindex in the page or in the response headers and remove it if the page should be found. Steps for your platform →
Google could not fetch the pageIndexing
What
Google could not fetch the page properly.
Why
What Google could not read, it cannot rank.
How
Check the page opens normally and is not blocked by robots.txt, a login or a firewall. Steps for your platform →
Google chose a different canonicalIndexing
What
Google shows this page under a different address than the one you declared.
Why
The address in results is not the one you intended.
How
Usually the two addresses serve the same page. Make the declared canonical the one that works best, and redirect the other. Steps for your platform →
Inspection failedIndexing
What
Google's inspection service did not answer for this page.
Why
Usually a quota or temporary error, not a problem with the page.
How
Run the inspection again later.
No canonical
What
The page does not say which address is its main one.
Why
When the same page is reachable through several addresses (with and without www, with tracking parameters), Google may split it or pick the wrong one. Most builders add this automatically.
How
Set the canonical to the page's own clean address. Site builders usually do this for you; check the platform settings. Steps for your platform →
Canonical points elsewhere
What
The page says another address is its main one.
Why
Google will show that other address instead of this one. Correct when this page is a copy; a mistake when it is the real page.
How
If this page should rank on its own, point the canonical at its own address. If it is a copy of the other page, nothing to do, but remove it from the sitemap. Steps for your platform →
noindex in the page
What
The page tells Google not to store it.
Why
A page with noindex never appears in search results. Fine for private or utility pages. A problem when it is listed in your sitemap or you want it found.
How
If people should find this page, turn indexing back on in the page's settings and remove the noindex. If not, remove it from the sitemap. Steps for your platform →
noindex sent by the server
What
The server sends a noindex instruction for this page.
Why
Same effect as a noindex in the page: Google will not store it.
How
Check your hosting or SEO settings for a rule that adds X-Robots-Tag: noindex, and remove it for pages you want found. Steps for your platform →
Words used here
- Indexed
- Google has read the page and stored it. Only indexed pages can appear in search results. Glossary
- Not indexed
- Google knows the page exists but has not stored it, or has decided not to. Google gives a reason for each page; SPIOUN shows it in the Indexing tab. Not every reason is a problem: a page that redirects or a duplicate with a correct canonical is fine. Glossary
- Canonical
- A line in the page's code that says "this is the main address of this page". It matters when the same content can be reached through several URLs, for example with and without www. Google uses it to decide which address to show. Glossary
- noindex
- An instruction in the page (or in a response header) that tells Google not to store the page. Useful for thank-you pages or internal pages. A mistake if it ends up on a page you want people to find. Glossary
- Rich results
- Search results with extras: star ratings, prices, FAQs, breadcrumbs. They come from valid structured data. Glossary