How to Fix Indexing Issues in Google Search Console (Step-by-Step Guide)

Google Search Console (GSC) is one of the easiest to navigate and, in my opinion, the most beneficial free tools available to website owners and SEO professionals. It gives you important details about how Google views your website, reports problems with indexing, and helps in optimizing your site for search performance.

Indexing problems are often the most reported issue in Google Search Console, and if Google cannot index your pages correctly, those pages will not appear in search results – and you will lose traffic and opportunity. In this guide, we will detail common indexing problems and then summarize a clear, step-by-step process to correct them.

Understanding Indexing Issues

Indexing is when Google finds, analyzes, and records your web pages in its database. An indexed page may appear in search results. Pages can fail to be index for a number of reasons, including technical problems, problems with content, or problems with configuration on your website.

In Google Search Console, there is a section of Coverage Report, which shows the indexing status of your pages. Pages can fall into categories like the following:

• Error – page failing to index.
• Valid with Warnings – page indexed, but has issues.
• Valid – page indexed successfully.
• Excluded – page not indexed, either intentionally or discovered, but failing to be indexed.

   

Step 1: Check the Coverage Report

To begin with, when it comes to checking for indexing problems, you should consult the Coverage Report.

1. Open Google Search Console and go to Index > Coverage.
2. Check the distribution of Errors, Valid with Warnings, Valid, and Excluded.
3. Click any of the errors and see the URLs affected by that error and any other specific details to that particular error.

    

Common Errors You May See

• Submitted URL not found (404)
• Server errors (5xx)
• Crawled – currently not indexed
• Duplicate without a user-selected canonical
• Blocked by robots.txt
• Submitted URL marked ‘noindex’

   

Each of the above errors has a specific action to fix it.

Step 2: Fix 404 Errors (Page Not Found)

What it means: A 404 error indicates that Google could not find a page you submitted in your sitemap. Google cannot index any page that does not exist.

How to fix:

1. Open the broken URL in your web browser to double-check that it cannot be found. 
2. If the page should exist: You can fix the issue by either restoring it or creating the page with relevant content. 
3. If the page is outdated: Redirect with a relevant page with a 301 redirect or remove the page from the submitted sitemap. You need to check your sitemap and submit it with the change in GSC

    

4. Indexing > Sitemaps.

Step 3: Resolve Server Errors (5xx)

What it means:
Server errors are presented as a result of Google not being able to access your page due to some server issue, either temporary or persistent.

How to fix:

1. Check your hosting server logs to check whether there are any errors.
2. Ensure that your server is online and that it can serve traffic.
3. Where possible, minimize crawl load ( Crawl rate settings in Google Search Console ).
4. In case the mistake remains even after you have attempted to resolve it, troubleshoot the URL in GSC (Google Search Console) under the URL Inspection menu and select the Test Live URL.
5. After ensuring that the server is stable, re-indexing in GSC is requested.

Step 4: Handle Crawled – Currently Not Indexed

What it means:
Your page was crawled by Google and it has not been indexed. This is probably to occur in the case of too thin content, copied content, or content of low quality.

How to fix:

1. Enhance the quality: Adding significant, useful, new and elaborated content.
2. The internal linking should serve as a guideline to Google about the importance of your content.
3. Make sure that you have optimized your meta tags and that you do not have a noindex tag.
4. Request the page to be crawled/re-indexed in GSC: URL inspection > Request Indexing

    

Step 5: Resolve Duplicate Content and Canonical Issues

Errors to check:

• Duplicate, no user-selected canonical
• Alternate page with canonical tag

What it means: Google contains a couple of pages with the same content, and it is not clear which one to index.

How to fix:

1. Use a rel=canonical tag on the preferred version. 
2. Along with the subsequent thin or duplicate content, consolidate it into a single source of authority.
3. Do not make unnecessary URLs with query parameters that have been duplicated.

    

Step 6: Remove “Noindex” Errors

Error: Submitted URL marked ‘noindex’

What it means: You have a page which has already been sent to the indexing process which has a noindex tag in its HTML coding.

How to fix:

1. Decide whether or not the page is to be indexed.
   • Yes: remove the noindex tag.
   • No: delete the URL in the sitemap so as to avoid confusion.

      

2. Submit the new page in URL Inspection > Request Indexing.

    

Step 7: Fix Robots.txt Blocking Issues

Error: Blocked by robots.txt

What it means: Your robots.txt file is indicating to Google that they can’t crawl the page. 

How to fix:

1. Go to robots.txt on your domain (example.com/robots.txt). 
2. Look for Disallow: rules that are blocking important pages. 
3. Now update your file to allow indexing of relevant pages. 
4. Use GSC > Robots.txt Tester to test your changes, and then resubmit your pages to be indexed.

    

Step 8: Solve Mobile Usability Issues

What it means: Page errors on mobile usability can negatively impact indexing since Google is mobile-first indexing.

Common issues:

• Text is too small
• The spacing of elements that are clickable is close.
• The text is broader than the view.
• Missing a viewport meta tag 

How to fix:

1. Use responsive design with CSS grid or flexbox.

    

Set viewport meta tag:

<meta name=”viewport” content=”width=device-width, initial-scale=1″>

1. Enlarge font size (minimum 16px). 
2. Give clickable elements more space. 
3. Check if your pages are mobile-friendly using Google Mobile-Friendly Test.

    

Step 9: Address Core Web Vitals Problems

Core Web Vitals are important for indexing and ranking. These metrics are:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): the speed in which a page loads
• FID (First Input Delay): How fast the site is interactive
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): How stable is the visual experience

   

How to fix:

• LCP – Optimize images, leverage lazy loading, and improve server response time. 
• FID – Reduce JavaScript as much as possible – use async/defer for your scripts.
• CLS- Update image dimensions, and be certain that you are not inserting new elements above existing content. 

Test using Pagespeed Insights and Lighthouse.

Step 10: Correct AMP Errors

What it means: Your pages for Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) may have syntax or validation errors.

How to fix:

1. You can use the AMP Test Tool in GSC. 
2. You can confirm that your AMP pages are valid using (amp.dev/validator). 
3. Fix any invalid HTML, missing attributes, or structured data errors. 
4. Resubmit your fixed AMP pages in GSC.

    

Step 11: Fix Redirect Issues

Error- Page with Redirect

What it does this mean: The URLs submitted in your sitemap are redirected to a different page.

How to fix:

1. You will have to delete the redirected URLs in the sitemap and retain the resolved URLs only.
2. Any permanent change of URL has to be done through 301 redirects, and any temporary change is done through 302 redirects.

    

Step 12: Handle Manual Actions

What it means: Google has issued a manual penalty to your site related to Google Search Guidelines.

How to fix:

1. From GSC, go to Security & Manual Actions > Manual Actions.
2. Identify the type of manual action (i.e., spammy links, cloaking, etc.)
3. Fix the issue in its entirety.
4. Once you think you’ve resolved it, go ahead and submit a Request Review and outline the steps you have taken to fix the issues.

    

Step 13: Use the URL Inspection Tool

The URL Inspection Tool provided by GSC will allow you to inspect any URL for:

• Is it indexed?
• Crawl issues/errors?
• Mobile usability issues?
• AMP or other Structured data errors/issues?

Step-by-step:

1. Put the URL in the inspect bar.
2. Click the Test Live URL button to see the current status.
3. If everything has been resolved, then click the button that says “Request Indexing.”

    

Step 14: Submit a Clean Sitemap

A sitemap without errors allows Google to easily find all pages on your website.

Tips:

• You should only submit URLs that return a status code of 200.
• Don’t include pages with redirects or have pages blocked from being crawled in robots.txt.
• Keep the sitemap to no more than 50,000 URLs and 50MB.
• Once it is complete, resubmit it in GSC: Indexing > Sitemaps.

   

Step 15: Monitor and Prevent Future Indexing Issues

1. Conduct a site audit on a regular basis. Use a third-party tool like Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, or Sitebulb.
2. Check Core Web Vitals after an update or redesign.
3. Keep the robots.txt and Sitemap updated.
4. Set up emails for notifications in GSC.
5. Conduct an inspection of any new URLs before publishing the page.

    

Conclusion

Indexing problems can have severe consequences for both your website’s SEO and its organic traffic. Google Search Console provides an easy way to find, diagnose, and fix these kinds of problems. Using the step-by-step method above, you can make sure your pages are indexing correctly, to boost your site’s visibility in search results, and improve user experience. 

And don’t forget the importance of being watchful – check your website regularly, try to fix errors as soon as they arise, and keep your technical SEO in check. By forming these healthy habits, your website will be healthy, search-friendly, and ready to grow for a long time.

If you’re still facing challenges or want professional assistance to fix Google Indexing Issues, connect with Device Doctor India — your trusted partner in SEO, web development, and digital marketing.