The phrase “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” describes content discovered by a search engine but has not yet been crawled, indexed, and added to the search engine’s database. It is a term used to describe existing content that the search engine has not yet indexed.

Mainly search engine optimization (SEO) agencies ensure this status for curating relevant content and optimizing the webpage. However, an indexing error can arise for various reasons, including new content or a slow search engine’s indexing process.

When a search engine discovers a website, it needs to crawl the site, analyze and index the content, and store the information in its database. This process is known as indexing. Once the content has been indexed, it will be available for people to find on search engine results pages (SERPs).

What is the Importance of Understanding the “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” Status?

According to Google’s Gary Illyes, almost 90% of sites don’t need to be concerned about it.

But an SEO agency’s expertise in fixing these errors can quickly get your posts and webpages indexed.

By understanding the meaning of “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed,” webmasters and digital marketing agencies can be better informed about the status of their content in search engine results. For example, if a web admin notices that a particular page of their website has this status, they can take steps to ensure that the search engine indexes it. It can include submitting the page directly to the search engine, optimizing the page’s content, and building backlinks to the page.

Why is My Page Discovered But Not Indexed by Google?

Website owners may wonder why their pages or posts are not getting indexed by search engines. According to digital marketing agencies, this status is caused by one of the following reasons.

1. Low-Quality Content

Low-quality content is one of the most common causes of receiving a “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” error. If the content on a website is not up to the standards set by search engine algorithms, they may be unwilling to index the site. In addition, if the content within place is not relevant to the website’s topic, search engines may be less likely to index it.

2. Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is another potential cause of the error. If a website contains content that is identical or closely related to content found on other web pages, search engines may choose not to index the page. Again, it is because search engines prefer to index unique content, as it provides more value to their users.

3. Poor Website Structure

Poor website structure is also a probable cause of the “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” error. Poor website structure can prevent search engine crawlers from properly indexing a website, as they may need help navigating it properly. As such, search engines may only index a poorly structured website.

4. Slow Website Speed

If a website takes longer than necessary to load, it can cause the “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” error. It is because search engine crawlers may need more time to fully index a website if it takes too long to load. Additionally, slow website speed can hurt the user experience, resulting in search engines not wanting to index the website. Again, to quote Google’s documentation:

“If the site slows down or responds with server errors, the limit goes down, and Googlebot crawls less.“

5. Poorly Optimized Meta Tags

Meta tags are essential for search engine optimization, as they provide search engines information about a webpage’s content. If these meta tags are not correctly optimized, search engines may be less likely to index the webpage.

6. Blocked by Robots.txt File

The robots.txt file allows webmasters to specify which pages of their websites can be crawled and indexed by search engine crawlers. If a website consists of a robots.txt file that blocks search engine crawlers from certain website pages, those pages may not be indexed.

How Do I Fix Google Not Indexed Pages?

If a page is discovered but not indexed by a search engine, several steps can be taken to try and get the page indexed. It includes ensuring the page contains relevant content and optimizing the page for SEO. It is also important to build backlinks to the page, as this can help to increase its visibility and improve its ranking in search engine results.

1. Request indexing

If you come across only a few pages experiencing the “Discovered – currently not indexed” issue, you can attempt to resolve it by requesting indexing through Google Search Console (GSC). To do so, access the menu and click on “URL inspection,” then enter the URL of the respective page. If the page is not currently indexed, click the “Request indexing” button.

2. Check for Technical Issues

The first step to fixing the “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” error is to check for any technical issues on the page. It includes looking for broken links, missing images, or incorrect meta tags. If any of these issues are found, they should be resolved as soon as possible to ensure that search engines can appropriately index the page.

3. Optimize the Title and Description Tags

The title and description tags are essential elements of any web page and can significantly impact how search engines index it. Therefore, ensure the tags are optimized with relevant keywords and provide a clear, concise description of the page’s content.

4. Monitor the Page’s Performance

Once a page has been optimized, it is crucial to monitor its performance over time. This can be done through various web analytics tools, such as Google Analytics. It will allow you to identify potential issues preventing your page from being indexed correctly.

5. Check for Crawl Errors

The next step is to check for any crawl errors that may be causing the issue. These can be found in the Crawl Errors report in Search Console. Common crawl errors that could be causing the issue include server errors, soft 404s, and DNS errors.

6. Submit a Sitemap

Submitting a sitemap to search engines can help ensure that they are aware of the page and can properly index it. This can be done through various tools, such as the Google Search Console.

7. Use Relevant Internal Links

Internal links are a great way to help search engines discover and index pages. Make sure to link to the page from other pages on the site and use relevant keywords in the anchor text. It will help search engines better understand the page’s content and ensure it is properly indexed.

8. Review Page Quality

Evaluate the page’s content and ensure it meets the guidelines set by search engines. High-quality and original content is more likely to be indexed.

9. Social Sharing

Promote the page on social media platforms and encourage others to share it. Increased visibility and engagement can lead to faster indexing.

By following these steps, you can increase the chances of resolving the “Discovered – currently not indexed” issue and have your page indexed by search engines.

Other Ways to Get Pages Indexed By Google

Sometimes, the above SEO methods may not give accurate results. In that case, you may need to try other means of fixing the indexing issue. Moreover, fixing this error is crucial because it ensures that your website is optimized correctly and that your pages are indexed so potential visitors can see them.

1. Check if the page is blocked by robots.txt

Discovered – Currently Not Indexed error can occur when a page is blocked by robots.txt. The robots.txt file is primarily a text file located in the domain’s root directory and can block access to search engine bots. To fix this, you need to check if the page showing this error is blocked by robots.txt, and if it is, you need to remove the page from the robots.txt file.

2. Check if the page is canonicalized

Canonicalization indicates the preferred URL when multiple pages have the same or similar content. If a page is canonicalized to another page, search engine bots will not index the canonicalized page, and this can cause an error. To fix this, you need to check if the page is canonicalized, and if it is, you need to remove the canonicalization.

3. Check if a meta robots tag blocks the page

The meta robots tag is an HTML tag that can block search engine bots’ access. If the meta robots tag stops a page, it will not be indexed by search engines, and this can cause the Discovered – Currently Not Indexed error. To fix this, you need to check if the meta robots tag is blocking the page, and if yes, you need to remove the tag.

4. Check if the page is blocked by noindex tag

The noindex tag is an HTML tag that can prevent a page from being indexed by search engines. If the noindex tag blocks a page, it will not be indexed by search engines. To fix this, you need to check if the noindex tag is block the page, and if it is, you need to remove the tag.

5. Check page structure

In some cases, the Discovered – Currently Not Indexed error can occur due to an incorrect page structure. If the page structure is wrong, it can prevent search engine bots from crawling and indexing the page. To fix this, you must check the page structure and ensure it is correct.

6. Check server response

The server response code can also factor in the Discovered – Currently Not Indexed error. If the server response code is not 200 (OK), it can prevent search engine bots from crawling and indexing the page. To fix this, you must check the server response code and ensure it is 200 (OK).

Conclusion

Fixing the Discovered – Currently Not Indexed error is essential for ensuring that your website is optimized and that Google indexes your pages. It will help increase website traffic and visibility and improve your website’s overall SEO. Once you have identified any issues, you need to fix them to make the page indexable. Finally, you need to submit the page to the Google index and monitor it to ensure it is being indexed correctly.

Tags:- page indexing issuessearch consolesearch engine optimizationSEO