Google Rewrites Its Help Text for Crawled, Not Indexed Pages

Google has rewritten the Crawled - currently not indexed entry in its Search Console page indexing report help. It now calls this a common message for many sites.

Seeing crawled, currently not indexed all over your report? You’re the reader this rewrite is for.

What the old and new text say

The old entry was a single line. It said the page was crawled but not indexed, might or might not be indexed later, and didn’t need resubmitting.

The new one runs to three short paragraphs, according to Search Engine Roundtable’s side-by-side. They say three things:

• Google doesn’t index all pages across the web, so the status doesn’t necessarily point to an issue.
• For important pages, use URL Inspection and other tools to look for something on your site that stops them appearing, such as blocking Google’s crawlers.
• Suspect a site-wide indexing bug after a full diagnosis? Use the report an indexing issue form.

So what’s missing from the new text? Any word about quality.

Barry Schwartz found that odd. Google has tied this status to quality issues before, he notes, and he links two earlier cases where it did.

What to do if your pages are stuck

Here’s how I’d work through pages marked Crawled - currently not indexed, using the rest of that help page:

• Sort your list first. Google says some URLs might be duplicates or carry no meaningful information.
• Run each page that earns you traffic or leads through URL Inspection, and look for a block you didn’t mean to set, in robots.txt or anywhere else.
• Fewer than 500 pages? Google says you probably don’t need this report at all.
• Keep the indexing issue form for a site-wide problem.

That third point is the one I’d expect to surprise small site owners. A site: search for your key pages tells you whether your homepage and best pages are in Google.

Why it matters

My read: Google is tired of people treating this status as an error.

The old line only told you not to resubmit. The new one says it doesn’t necessarily mean an issue that needs attention. I think that will calm a lot of owners.

But I wouldn’t shrug it off for the pages that pay your bills.

A product page or your best guide stuck as crawled, currently not indexed for weeks is traffic you don’t get, whatever the text says.

So what would I check first? Crawl blocks.

That’s the one cause the new text names, and a technical SEO audit catches most of them. Then I’d go through these:

• Does the page add anything to what already ranks?
• Is it a duplicate or a filtered version of another page?
• Do indexed pages link to it?

That last check is mine. Google’s text skips it.

This follows Google’s late October Search Central doc changes. In practice, it’s a wording change in the help docs, and Google hasn’t announced a change to indexing itself.

Still, clearer docs help.

Common Questions

Is Crawled - currently not indexed in Google Search Console a problem I need to fix?

Not necessarily. Google’s updated help text says it doesn’t index all pages across the web, so Crawled - currently not indexed is a common message for many sites and doesn’t necessarily indicate an issue that needs your attention.

What should I do if important pages show Crawled - currently not indexed in Search Console?

Google says to use the URL Inspection tool and other tools to check for anything on your site that stops those pages from appearing in Google Search, such as a robots.txt rule blocking Google’s crawlers. Fix any block you find first.

When should I use Google’s report an indexing issue form?

Only after you’ve fully diagnosed potential issues on your own site, including anything blocking Google’s crawlers, and still suspect an indexing bug caused by a complete, site-wide problem with indexing in Google Search. For single pages marked Crawled - currently not indexed, Google points you to URL Inspection instead.