A long list of "not indexed" pages in Search Console is not, by itself, a problem. Google says most sites have some unindexed pages and that not every URL should be indexed: duplicates, filtered versions of a collection, redirected URLs and removed pages are meant to stay out. The question that matters is narrower: are the pages you actually want people to find indexed?
Start there, then read the status only for the pages that fail that check.
Check your key pages first
Make a short list of the pages that bring you business: the homepage, main category or service pages, best-selling products, the articles you care about. For a small store that may be a few dozen URLs.
Inspect each one with the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. It tells you whether the URL is on Google and, if not, why. Google's help for the Page indexing report suggests exactly this, and adds that if your site has fewer than about 500 pages, you probably don't need the full report at all: searching Google for your key pages, or inspecting them one by one, tells you what you need.
If all your key pages are indexed, the grey "not indexed" count is mostly housekeeping. If some are missing, the status tells you which kind of problem you have.
What each status means
Status names below are as Google's help page lists them.
| Status | What it means | Normal? | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawled - currently not indexed | Google fetched the page and chose not to index it for now. It may or may not be indexed later. | Can be, for thin or near-duplicate pages | No need to resubmit. Act only if it's a key page (see below). |
| Discovered - currently not indexed | Google knows the URL but postponed the crawl, typically to avoid overloading the site. | Can be, especially on new or large sites | Wait. Check internal links to key pages. |
| Page with redirect | The URL redirects elsewhere, so it isn't indexed itself. | Yes | Check that the redirect target is the page you want. |
| Alternate page with proper canonical tag | The page points to a canonical version that is indexed. | Yes | Nothing to do. |
| Duplicate without user-selected canonical | Google treats it as a duplicate and chose another page as canonical. | Yes, for true duplicates | Fine for true duplicates. If it's a key page, make it clearly distinct or set the canonical yourself. |
| Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user | You marked this page canonical, Google picked another URL. | Sometimes | Inspect both URLs. If they really are the same content, accept it or merge them. |
| URL marked 'noindex' | The page tells Google not to index it. | Yes, if you meant it | If it's a page you want in Google, remove the noindex. |
| URL blocked by robots.txt | Your robots.txt stops Google crawling it. | Yes, if intended | Unblock pages you want indexed. To keep a page out, use noindex instead. |
| Not found (404) | The page returns a 404. | Yes, for removed pages | Fix only 404s you link to or list in a sitemap; redirect moved pages. |
| Soft 404 | The page looks like "not found" but returns a success code. | No | Return a real 404, or add real content if the page should exist. |
| Server error (5xx) | Your server returned an error when Google requested the page. | No | Check server logs and hosting. |
| Redirect error | A redirect loop, a chain that's too long, or a bad URL in the chain. | No | Fix the redirect so it goes to the final URL in one step. |
The last three point to something to fix. Everything above them depends on whether the page is one you want indexed.
When "crawled" or "discovered" is worth acting on
Google says there is no need to resubmit a page marked "Crawled - currently not indexed". Requesting indexing again and again won't get it crawled any faster. The status means Google saw the page and decided it wasn't worth indexing yet, so the useful question is why.
Act if a key page has this status. Reasons you can check:
- It is near-identical to other pages. Product variants with separate URLs, tag pages that repeat category pages, or location pages with only the town name changed. Google's How Search works guide lists low-quality content among the common reasons a page isn't indexed, and the duplicate statuses in the table above show the same logic: Google indexes one version.
- It has very little on it. A product page with one line of manufacturer text and no other information gives Google little reason to index it over the same product elsewhere.
- Nothing links to it. The page is listed in the sitemap but not linked from your menus, categories or other pages. Google's help says a page must be linked from a known page or listed in a sitemap to be found; that it then treats an unlinked page as less important is an inference, but adding links from relevant pages is a change you control and can watch.
Say you sell candles and 60 scent pages show "Crawled - currently not indexed", while the 8 collection pages are indexed. Check whether the scent pages differ beyond the name. If they share the same description, either write what is actually different (notes, burn time, size options) for the ones people search for, or accept that the collection page is the one that should rank.
For "Discovered - currently not indexed", Google's explanation is a postponed crawl, so time is the first answer. If a key page stays there for weeks, check that it is linked from the navigation or from pages that are already indexed.
The real problems
These are the cases where a page you want in Google is blocked by something you control:
- A noindex left on by mistake. It can happen after a redesign, a staging copy going live, or a theme or SEO plugin setting. Inspect the page and check whether the noindex is in the page or in an HTTP header.
- A wrong canonical. Every product points its canonical to the homepage or to one collection, so Google indexes only that page.
- Redirects or removed pages in the sitemap. Your sitemap should list only the final URLs you want indexed.
- Robots.txt blocking a section you want in search, such as /products/ or /blog/.
- Thin duplicates at scale, for example from filter or sort parameters (?color=green, ?sort=price). Google says duplicate URLs shouldn't be indexed; make sure your real pages are the canonical ones.
After you fix a pattern that affects many URLs, use Validate fix in the Page indexing report. Google says validation typically takes up to about two weeks, and sometimes much longer.
What requesting indexing and sitemaps do, and don't do
Request indexing in URL Inspection asks Google to crawl one URL. Google's recrawl guidance is direct about the limits: there is a quota, asking several times for the same URL won't get it crawled faster, crawling can take from a few days to a few weeks, and a request does not guarantee the page will be included in results at all.
A sitemap helps Google find URLs, especially on large sites, but Google says it doesn't guarantee that the URLs in it will be crawled and indexed. Sites of roughly 500 pages or fewer with good internal links may not need one.
So use a request for a new key page or one you just fixed. Don't use it as a way to push pages Google has already decided not to index.
Indexed but not showing in search
Indexed means eligible to appear, not ranked. Google's help page says plainly that an indexed page won't show up for every search, or at the same position, because results depend on the searcher's location, history and other factors. If URL Inspection says a page is on Google, you can assume it is indexed; whether it ranks is a separate question about relevance and competition.
A quick test: search for a distinctive sentence from the page in quotes, or use site:yourdomain.com with the product name. If it appears there but not for "scented candles", the page is indexed and the work ahead is about content and competition, not indexing.
Where a crawler tool helps
The free route can be enough for a small site: URL Inspection for key pages, the Page indexing report for patterns, and a look at your own robots.txt and sitemap.
A site crawler such as the Site Audit tool in Semrush is useful when you have hundreds of pages and need to find the pattern fast: which pages carry noindex, which canonicals point somewhere odd, which sitemap URLs redirect. Keep its limit in mind. It crawls your site with Semrush's own bot, so it shows what is on your pages, not what Google decided to index. The free plan covers a small number of pages per month, and larger audits depend on your plan. For a 30-page site, URL Inspection is enough.