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Glossary · SEO basics

indexing

Also called search index

Reviewed 31 Oct 2026 By Madiha Fatima 4 min read Check it yourself: yes, free

4 min
Definition

Indexing is the step where a search engine stores a copy of your page in its database so it can show that page in results. Google first finds a page by crawling it, then decides whether it is worth keeping. A page that is not indexed cannot rank for anything, however good it is.

Being indexed is a pass mark, not a prize. Google indexes most pages it finds on a healthy site and quietly drops the ones it considers thin, duplicated or blocked. The usual surprise for an owner is not a missing site but a missing page: the one service page that was never indexed and never had a chance.

Short version: not indexed means not findable.
Why it matters for your business

The page you built
that Google never kept.

Every page you pay to have written is a bet that someone will find it. If it is not indexed, the bet is lost before it is placed. We regularly meet sites where a new service page, a location page or an entire blog was never indexed because a setting on the staging site came across with the launch, and nobody looked.

Indexing problems also hide inside reports that look fine. Traffic to the homepage can be steady while a third of the site is missing from Google. The Search Console Page indexing report shows exactly which pages are in and which are out, with the reason. It is free and it is where any SEO audit should start.

The opposite problem costs you as well. Thousands of indexed junk pages, such as tag archives, filter combinations on a shop or internal search results, dilute the site and waste Google's attention. A good index is the pages customers need and nothing else.

Example

A law firm with twelve practice areas
and seven of them in Google.

What the partners see

Twelve practice-area pages, each written by a lawyer, each published. The firm ranks well for two of them and wonders why the other ten bring nothing.

What Search Console shows

Seven pages indexed, five listed as 'Discovered, currently not indexed'. The five were added later, are linked only from a dropdown menu built with scripts Google did not run and share one paragraph of boilerplate. Two changes fixed it: a plain link to each page from the practice-areas hub and the footer, plus an opening paragraph of its own. All five were indexed within a month. No new content budget, no new links from outside. Two of them now bring enquiries.

How to check it on your site

Four ways to see what Google kept.

Tick each one as you go. 0 of 4 checked on your site.

  1. Search site:yourdomain.com

    Type site:yourdomain.com into Google. The results are the pages Google holds. Scan for the pages that matter most: each service, each location, the contact page. If one is missing, search for it directly with site:yourdomain.com/that-page/.

  2. Read the Page indexing report

    In Google Search Console, open Pages under Indexing. Indexed pages are counted in green, everything else by reason. 'Not found (404)' and 'Excluded by noindex' are either deliberate or a problem. 'Discovered, currently not indexed' means Google knows the page and did not bother, usually because nothing points at it.

  3. Inspect the one page you care about

    Paste a URL into the inspection bar at the top of Search Console. It tells you whether the page is on Google, when it was last crawled and which canonical Google chose. If it is not on Google, press Request indexing once. Pressing it ten times does nothing extra.

  4. Look for a stray noindex

    Open the page, view the source (Ctrl+U) and search for noindex. On WordPress, also check Settings, Reading, for the box 'Discourage search engines from indexing this site'. It is meant for staging and it is ticked on more live sites than you would think.

Related terms

Usually in the same sentence.

Read next

Where this shows up in practice.

SEO Website not showing on Google

The step-by-step version of this page, from 'is it indexed' to 'why does it not rank'.

 Technical SEO What technical SEO actually means

Indexing, crawling and the other technical items a proposal lists, in plain English.

 Service SEO & AI search

The index check is the first job in month one of the SEO service.
Related service

Finding the pages Google dropped and getting them back in is the first week of the SEO service. Prices are on the price list, not on a call.

See the SEO service
Reviewed by Madiha Fatima, founder of 99creatix

Every entry in this glossary is written and checked by the person who runs the agency, reviewed at least once a quarter and dated. Last reviewed 31 October 2026.

Spotted an error or a term we are missing? Tell us and it is fixed within the week.

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