For your website to appear in Google search results, it must be indexed. Indexing is the process by which Google discovers, analyzes, and stores web pages in its database. If your website isn’t indexed, it won’t rank or show up in search results—no matter how great your content is.
🔍 What Does "Indexed" Mean?
When Google indexes a page, it means the content is analyzed and added to Google’s searchable database. Crawling comes first, followed by indexing. If a page is crawled but not indexed, it won’t be shown in search results.
✅ Step-by-Step: How to Check if Your Website is Indexed
1. Use the "site:" Operator
Open Google and type:
site:yourdomain.com
If pages appear, they’re indexed. If no results are found, your site may not be indexed yet.
2. Use Google Search Console
- Visit Google Search Console and sign in.
- Select your property (website).
- Use the URL Inspection Tool to check individual pages.
- If it says “URL is on Google,” it’s indexed. If not, it will provide details.
3. Check the Coverage Report
- Go to the “Indexing” > “Pages” section in Search Console.
- Review statuses like:
- Indexed — Pages that appear in Google search.
- Discovered – currently not indexed — Found, but not yet indexed.
- Crawled – currently not indexed — Crawled, but not added to the index.
- Excluded — Blocked by noindex, canonical tag issues, etc.
🚫 Reasons Why Your Site May Not Be Indexed
- Noindex directive in HTML or HTTP headers.
- Blocked in robots.txt file.
- Broken internal linking — Google can't find your pages.
- Low-quality or duplicate content.
- Site is too new — Google hasn’t discovered it yet.
- Manual actions or penalties applied by Google.
🧩 How to Ensure Your Website Gets Indexed
1. Submit a Sitemap
A sitemap helps Google understand the structure of your site. Create a sitemap (e.g., sitemap.xml) and submit it in Search Console:
- Go to “Indexing” > “Sitemaps”.
- Enter the path to your sitemap (e.g.,
sitemap.xml).
- Click Submit.
2. Make Sure Robots.txt Is Not Blocking Important Pages
Your robots.txt file should not block pages you want indexed. Example of allowed setup:
User-agent: *
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
3. Remove Noindex Tags
Ensure you do not have the following tag in pages you want indexed:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">
If it exists, remove or change to:
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
4. Improve Internal Linking
- Link to all important pages from your homepage or navigation.
- Use descriptive anchor texts to help Google understand page relevance.
5. Build Backlinks
- Get external sites to link to your pages — helps Google discover and trust your content.
- Share links on social media and directories to encourage discovery.
6. Use “Fetch as Google” or “Request Indexing”
In Search Console's URL Inspection Tool, click “Request Indexing” after inspecting a page. This queues the page for fast crawling and indexing.
📈 Best Practices to Keep Your Site Indexed
- Post high-quality, original content regularly.
- Keep technical SEO optimized (mobile-friendly, fast loading, HTTPS).
- Avoid thin content and excessive duplicate pages.
- Fix crawl errors shown in Search Console.
- Ensure your server is always available (no 5xx errors).
🔗 Helpful Tools
🧠 Final Thoughts
Getting indexed is the first step toward SEO success. Make sure your website is accessible, crawlable, and optimized with quality content. Keep monitoring your indexing status using Search Console and address issues proactively to maintain strong visibility in Google Search.