Discovered or crawled, currently not indexed

Discovered - currently not indexed

The page was found by Google, but not crawled yet. Google says it typically wanted to crawl the URL but expected that to overload the site, so it rescheduled the crawl. That is why Last crawl is empty.

What to do: Link to it from pages Google has indexed, keep it in the sitemap, and request indexing once if it matters.

Crawled - currently not indexed

The page was crawled by Google but not indexed. It may or may not be indexed in the future, and there is no need to resubmit it for crawling.

What to do: Make the page worth indexing: more that is its own, not a near copy of another page. Then link to it and request indexing once.

Soft 404

The page returns a friendly "not found" message without a 404 status code. Google suggests a real 404 for missing pages, and more information on pages that aren't missing.

What to do: If the page is real, check how Google sees it in URL Inspection and give it more of its own content near the top.

Duplicate without user-selected canonical

The page is a duplicate of another page and doesn't name a preferred one, so Google chose the other page. Google says this is not an error.

What to do: Nothing, if the other page is the one you want. Otherwise set a canonical tag or make the pages different.

Alternate page with proper canonical tag

The page points to its canonical page, which is indexed, so there is nothing to do.

What to do: Nothing.

Page with redirect

A non-canonical URL that redirects to another page, so this URL will not be indexed. The page it redirects to may or may not be.

What to do: Nothing, unless the redirect is a mistake. Link to the final URL, not the old one.

URL marked 'noindex'

Google found a noindex directive on the page, so it did not index it.

What to do: Remove the noindex if you want the page in Google, then request indexing.

Not found (404)

The page returned a 404. Google says that is not necessarily a problem if the page was removed with no replacement.

What to do: Redirect it if a page replaced it. Otherwise leave it.

Blocked by robots.txt

Your robots.txt file blocks Google from the page. Google notes this does not guarantee the page stays out of the index.

What to do: Remove the block if you want the page crawled. To keep a page out of Google, remove the block and add noindex, so Google can read it.

Seeing Duplicate without user-selected canonical? When it matters and how to see which URL Google chose. Seeing Blocked by robots.txt? Test which robots.txt line blocks the page.

• /wordpress was Discovered at our October 17 and 20 checks, was crawled on October 23 and was indexed at the next check. Of the three pages that went live on October 24, one was crawled on November 10 and indexed by our November 11 check, one is still Discovered, and one is a Soft 404.
• Crawled - currently not indexed can clear fast. /seo-report-template had that status on October 26, the day it went live, and was indexed two days later.
• Google can class a thin page as a Soft 404 even when it loads fine. Our /tools hub was one until we added text explaining each tool, and was indexed by our next check, three days later.
• A page can move from Crawled - currently not indexed to Soft 404 at its next crawl. Our cannibalization checker did on October 29. Above the fold it showed mostly the tool with a made-up example, so on October 31 we added a short answer to what the page is about. By November 11 Google hadn't crawled it again, so we don't know yet if that fixed it.
• A page nobody links to in the body, like our privacy policy, can go uncrawled for a long time. That one doesn't need to rank.
• A sitemap is a hint, not a request. Our /blog-post-template showed “URL is unknown to Google” after four days in the sitemap, was Discovered two days later, and was crawled on November 10, 17 days after it went live, and was indexed by our next check.

We'll update these tables as the pages move.

1. 1

   Rule out a block

   Inspect the URL in Search Console and click Test live URL. If the live test says the page can't be indexed, fix what it names (robots.txt, noindex, a login, a server error) before anything else.

2. 2

   Link to it from pages Google already indexed

   A sentence with a link in the body of a related page, not only a menu or footer link. On a new site with few outside links, internal links are the main signal you control that a page matters.

3. 3

   Keep it in the sitemap

   With a lastmod date that changes only when the page really changes. A sitemap helps Google find URLs, but Google says it doesn't guarantee they get crawled or indexed.

4. 4

   Request indexing once

   In URL Inspection, for the few pages that matter most. Google says requesting a crawl several times for the same URL won't get it crawled any faster, and that there is a quota.

5. 5

   Give it a few weeks

   Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Spend that time on links and on the pages Google already shows.

1. 1

   See what Google saw

   In URL Inspection, open View crawled page (or View tested page after a live test) and check the screenshot and HTML. If text your visitors see is missing there, Google judged a thinner page than yours.

2. 2

   Check it isn't a near copy

   If another page on your site covers the same search, Google may keep only one. Merge the two, or make each answer a different question.

3. 3

   Add what only you have

   Your own numbers, a worked example, a table, a clear answer at the top. Google says it prioritizes fast inclusion of high quality, useful content.

4. 4

   Link to it, then request indexing once

   After a real change, not before. For a crawled page, Google says there is no need to resubmit it for crawling, so asking again only helps once the page is different.

5. 5

   Let some pages go

   Tag pages, filtered lists and thin pages rarely earn a place. Google says not to expect every URL on your site to be indexed, only the canonical pages. Add noindex to the ones you don't need.

Two pages competing for one search? Find them with the keyword cannibalization checker. Tracking indexing each month? It has its own section in the SEO report template. Indexed pages losing clicks? See if the drop lines up with a confirmed Google update in the Google update checker.

Our three Soft 404 pages

• /tools was a Soft 404 on October 17. It was a list of links with almost no text. We added a paragraph explaining each tool that day, and it was indexed at our next check, three days later.
• The keyword cannibalization checker became a Soft 404 at its October 29 crawl. The top of the page was mostly the tool with a made-up example. We added a short answer above the tool on October 31. Google hasn't crawled it since, so it is still listed as a Soft 404.
• The schema markup generator has been a Soft 404 since its October 27 crawl. A Googlebot user agent gets the full page with no error wording. The top of the page is mostly a form filled with example details, so our guess is that Google read it as an empty tool. We reworded one of its check messages after that crawl, and Google hasn't crawled it since.

What this taught us: a fix counts only after the next crawl, and Google can wait two weeks or more to crawl a page it has labeled Soft 404. Link to the fixed page from pages that are indexed, so Google has a reason to come back.

Sources, checked November 11, 2026: Search Console Help: Page indexing report (Soft 404); Google Search Central: How HTTP status codes affect Google Search (2xx and soft 404); Google Search Central: Fix Search-related JavaScript problems (soft 404s in single-page apps).

• Request indexing for the same URL every day. Google says repeat requests won't get it crawled any faster.
• Click Validate fix before every listed page is fixed, or click it again while it runs. Validation typically takes up to about two weeks.
• Publish many short pages hoping some stick. Thin pages often end up as Crawled - currently not indexed, and each one splits the links your good pages could use.
• Buy links or link packages. Google's spam policies list buying links for ranking as link spam.

• Resubmits your sitemap in Search Console, when Search Console is connected.
• Pings IndexNow for Bing and other engines once your key is verified (not available on Webflow, Shopify or Ghost).
• With Search Console connected, checks the URL in URL Inspection a day later, shows the status on the article, and checks again after a week if it isn't indexed yet.
• Sends you an in-app notice if the article still isn't indexed after seven days.
• Suggests links to the new article from your related posts, for you to approve, or adds them in auto mode on articles Serpwright wrote. Each article is also written with links to your related pages.

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