Indexing health: why aren't my pages indexed in Google?
Indexing health in Novaverb separates technical indexability risks measured from your crawl from the indexing state Google records in Search Console, and fixes only what the available evidence supports.
Separate technical indexability risks from Google's recorded indexing state, then fix only what the available evidence supports.
What is indexing health, and why aren't some pages indexed?
Indexing health is the state of two different things kept honestly apart: whether your pages are technically indexable, measured from your own crawl, and whether Google has actually recorded them as indexed, which only Search Console can say. Pages go unindexed when a technical signal blocks them, when nothing leads to them, or when Google chose not to.
What are the signs of an indexing health problem?
The signs of an indexing health problem are a mismatch between what you published and what search shows: new pages that never appear, a sitemap far larger than the recorded index, a noindex or a canonical left behind from a template change, and Search Console reporting pages as discovered but not indexed with no technical reason the crawl can find.
- Crawlability and indexability findings
- Sitemap and internal-link evidence
- Connected Search Console evidence where available
Who has to watch indexing health?
Indexing health has to be watched by publishers whose volume of new pages makes a manual check impossible, SEO managers who own the number of indexed pages and are asked why it moved, and web teams whose deploys can change directives and canonicals across thousands of URLs. Each needs the technical risk and the recorded state on the same screen.
What does an unwatched indexing health problem cost you?
An unwatched indexing health problem costs pages silently. A template that added a noindex removes a section from search over weeks, a canonical pointing at the wrong host hands a page's presence to another domain, and a sitemap full of URLs that redirect teaches a crawler to trust it less. None of these raise an alarm on their own.
Which approach keeps indexing health honest?
The approach that keeps indexing health honest establishes the state from a crawl, separates risk from confirmed state, a page that could be blocked is not a page reported as deindexed, then rechecks on a fresh observation. Search Console evidence is shown beside the crawl's view where it exists, and its absence is stated rather than filled with a guess.
How does the indexing health workflow run, step by step?
The indexing health workflow runs in three steps. Establish the state: run the crawl and identify which indexability checks have sufficient evidence. Separate risk from confirmed state: use crawler evidence for technical risk and connected Search Console evidence for recorded status. Recheck on a fresh observation: correct the condition and monitor crawl and source data without promising an index event.
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Establish the current state
Run the crawl and identify which discovery and indexability checks have sufficient evidence.
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Separate risk from confirmed state
Use crawler evidence for technical risk and connected Search Console evidence for recorded Google status.
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Recheck on a fresh observation
Correct the technical condition and monitor subsequent crawl and source data without promising an index event.
Which Novaverb systems monitor indexing health?
Three Novaverb systems monitor indexing health. Site Health grades crawlability and indexability findings by severity from the crawl; Crawl Explorer keeps every captured URL with its directives, canonical, status, depth and sitemap membership; and Rankings reads the Search Console side, the recorded positions and impressions that show whether Google is serving the pages at all.
Site Health
A source-aware technical checklist that prioritizes supported findings and records fresh rechecks.
See how it supports the workflowCrawl Explorer
Inspect every URL captured in your project crawl, and turn each supported technical finding into an action.
See how it supports the workflowRankings
Recorded Search Console position when connected, plus an on-demand provider observation within the selected search depth.
See how it supports the workflowWhat evidence do you need before acting on indexing health?
Before acting on indexing health you need crawlability and indexability findings from the crawl, sitemap and internal-link evidence for the pages, and, where connected, Search Console's recorded state for the same URLs. With the two sides separate you can tell a page that is blocked from a page Google simply has not chosen, and the fix is different for each.
Where should you start with indexing health?
Start with indexing health by using crawler and Search Console evidence for the different questions each source can answer. Ask the crawl whether a page is reachable and indexable. Ask Search Console whether Google recorded it. Begin with important pages where the crawl shows a technical risk, and leave the pages with no technical fault to the search engine's schedule.
Use crawler and Search Console evidence for the different questions each source can actually answer.
How do you verify an indexing health fix?
An indexing health fix is verified in two stages that must not be confused. The crawl confirms the correction on the next run: the directive changed, the canonical agrees, the status is right. Search Console then shows, on its own schedule, whether the recorded state followed. The first is yours to verify at once. The second is observed, never promised.
What does the indexing health solution not assume?
The indexing health solution does not assume it can make Google index a page. No tool can guarantee indexing, and this one will not report a search-engine status when the source that would supply it is not connected. Crawlability and indexability are properties of your pages and are measured here. Being indexed is a decision made by a search engine.
Novaverb cannot guarantee indexing and does not report a search-engine status when the supporting source is not connected.
What changes when indexing health is under control?
When indexing health is under control, the technical side is clean: no important page carries a blocking directive, a stray canonical or a bad status, and each crawl confirms it. The Search Console side is watched beside it, so a gap between indexable and indexed is visible as a gap and not mistaken for a fault you could fix.
What does an indexing health finding look like in practice?
In practice an indexing health finding reads like this: 412 product pages are indexable by every crawl measure, yet Search Console records them as discovered and not indexed. The crawl finds no technical fault, so the response is not a directive fix but stronger internal paths and content work, and the recorded state is watched rather than declared solved.
Which plan covers indexing health?
Indexing health is covered from the Free plan, where Site Health, Crawl Explorer and Rankings's Search Console position are all included; what the Search Console side shows depends on connecting the property. Tiers differ in URLs per crawl, audits and data credits a month, tracked keywords, seats, workspaces and history depth.
How much does indexing health monitoring cost with Novaverb?
Indexing health monitoring costs what your plan costs, nothing is licensed separately, and the Free plan includes the three systems. Plans are priced on scale, URLs per crawl, audits and data credits a month, tracked keywords, seats, workspaces and history depth, and the current amounts for each tier are on the pricing page, read from one source.
How do you begin monitoring indexing health today?
Begin monitoring indexing health today by creating a free workspace, crawling the site you own and connecting Search Console; Site Health lists the indexability findings by severity, Crawl Explorer shows the directives and canonicals per page, and the Search Console fields sit beside them. Fix the technical faults first and watch the recorded state on later crawls.
Which related solutions continue from indexing health?
Indexing health continues into related solutions in the Discover family. Content discoverability repairs the paths, links, depth and sitemap membership, that keep pages from being reached; the technical site audit works the same crawl by decision; and the priority website check orders every finding on a site you own by severity.
Best practices for indexing health
The best practices for indexing health are about keeping two facts apart and one habit steady. Never read a crawl result as an index state, connect Search Console before arguing about indexing, check directives and canonicals after every deploy, and treat a page Google has not indexed with no technical fault as a content and linking question, not a bug.
- Never read a crawl result as an index state; they are different facts
- Connect Search Console before any conversation about indexing
- Check directives and canonicals in the crawl after every deploy
- Keep the sitemap to the pages you want considered
- Treat an indexable page Google skipped as a linking and content question
Frequently asked questions about indexing health
These are the questions that decide whether indexing health is being read honestly: whether a tool can confirm indexing at all, why an indexable page may still be absent, which technical faults are measured, how a regression after a deploy is caught, and what a submission can and cannot do.
Can Novaverb tell me whether a page is indexed by Google?
Only from connected Search Console, which is Google's own report of the recorded state. From your crawl Novaverb tells you whether the page is reachable and indexable, which is a different fact. The two are shown side by side when the property is connected, and the search-engine status is never reported when the source is absent.
Why does indexing health say a page is indexable but Google has not indexed it?
Because indexable is a property of the page and indexed is a decision by a search engine. When the crawl finds no technical fault, the gap usually asks for stronger internal paths, sitemap membership or content that earns a visit, and for patience while Google's schedule runs; Novaverb will not promise an index event.
What technical problems does indexing health find?
The ones your crawl can measure: noindex directives, canonicals pointing elsewhere or at pages that fail, status codes and redirect chains, pages missing from the sitemap, excessive depth and pages nothing links to. Each is a finding with its affected pages, ordered by severity in the site audit.
How does indexing health monitoring detect a regression after a deploy?
By crawling again. Each crawl is a timestamped record, so a directive or canonical that changed across a template shows up as a difference between two crawls with the pages listed, and the same criterion that passed last month fails this month. Watching Search Console beside it shows whether the recorded state followed.
Does submitting a sitemap or requesting indexing solve indexing health?
It can support discovery, and the sitemap is one of the signals the workflow checks, but no submission can guarantee that a search engine will crawl or index a page. Indexing health fixes the technical conditions you control and watches the recorded state; anything that implies more is selling a decision it does not own.
Which plan do I need for indexing health monitoring?
The Free plan includes the site audit, the crawler and the rank tracker's Search Console position, so indexing health can be monitored from the first crawl once the property is connected. Paid tiers raise URLs per crawl, audits, tracked keywords, seats, workspaces and history; the current amounts are on the pricing page.
Turn indexing health into the next action you can verify
Turn indexing health into the next action you can verify: create a free workspace, crawl the site you own, connect Search Console and fix the technical faults the crawl proves. Then watch the recorded state on later crawls, which is the only honest way to know whether Google followed.