Timeline varies significantly based on site authority and submission method: (1) High-authority sites with frequent updates: 1-24 hours, (2) Established sites with regular content: 1-7 days, (3) New sites or low-authority domains: 1-4 weeks, (4) Pages deep in site structure with few links: 2-8 weeks or longer. Ways to speed up indexing: Request indexing via GSC URL Inspection Tool, include in XML sitemap (checked daily by Google for popular sites), link from homepage or high-traffic pages, share on social media to trigger crawl, build backlinks to new pages. After request indexing: Google may crawl within hours but "requested doesn't mean guaranteed"—quality and crawl budget still matter. New site expectation: First few pages may take 1-2 weeks; as site gains authority, subsequent pages index faster. Monitor via GSC Index Coverage report.

"Discovered - currently not indexed": Google found the URL (in sitemap or via link) but hasn't crawled it yet. Google is aware it exists but hasn't visited. Usually means: low priority page, crawl budget limitations, new page in queue. Fix: Request indexing, add internal links, wait (can take weeks). "Crawled - currently not indexed": Google visited and analyzed the page but decided not to include it in search results. This is more serious—Google actively chose to exclude it. Usually means: low quality/thin content, duplicate content, low site authority, technical issues (soft 404). Fix: Improve content quality substantially, add unique value (500-1000+ words), build backlinks, increase internal links, wait 2-4 weeks and request reindexing. Key difference: "Discovered" = waiting to be crawled (patience). "Crawled" = Google rejected it (needs improvement).

This is common and can be intentional or problematic. Legitimate reasons: (1) Duplicate content—Google consolidated similar pages, (2) Low-quality pages—thin or valueless content excluded, (3) Proper canonicals—pages with canonicals pointing elsewhere aren't indexed (this is correct), (4) Intentional noindex—pages marked noindex shouldn't be indexed. Problematic reasons: (1) Site authority too low—new sites may not have all pages indexed initially, (2) Crawl budget constraints—large sites with indexation limits, (3) Technical errors—some URLs return errors or soft 404s, (4) Incorrect sitemap—includes URLs that shouldn't be indexed (parameter variations, drafts). Investigation steps: GSC → Sitemaps → check "Discovered" vs "Indexed" count, export sitemap URLs, check sample unindexed URLs with URL Inspection Tool to see specific reasons, fix recurring issues (e.g., if most are "duplicate content," address duplication). Acceptable gap: 80-95% indexed is often fine for large sites.

No, you cannot force Google to index pages—indexing is ultimately Google's decision based on quality, relevance, and resources. What you CAN do: (1) Request indexing via GSC URL Inspection Tool (speeds up crawling but doesn't guarantee indexing), (2) Include in XML sitemap (helps discovery), (3) Build high-quality backlinks (signals importance), (4) Add prominent internal links (increases crawl priority), (5) Improve content quality (meets Google's standards), (6) Fix technical barriers (noindex, robots.txt, errors). Request indexing quota: Limited to small number of requests per day per property—use strategically for important pages only. What doesn't work: Repeatedly requesting indexing (won't help if Google already rejected), submitting to outdated "add URL" tools (Google retired most of these), buying indexing services (scams), cloaking or deceiving crawlers (gets you penalized). Patience required: Even with perfect setup, indexing can take days to weeks. Focus on quality and technical correctness rather than trying to "force" it.

Regular 404: Server returns HTTP status code 404, explicitly telling browsers and crawlers "this page doesn't exist." This is correct behavior for missing pages. Soft 404: Server returns HTTP status 200 OK (success) but the page APPEARS to be a 404—contains "not found" message, very little content, or error indicators. Google detects the mismatch and treats it as an error. Why soft 404s happen: (1) CMS generates "product not found" page but returns 200 status, (2) Empty category pages with no products show "No items" but return 200, (3) Search pages with no results return 200 with "No results found," (4) Thin pages (< 100 words) that look like stubs. Why it's bad: Confuses search engines (mixed signals), wastes crawl budget (Google has to figure it out), pages may get indexed then deindexed repeatedly, indicates site quality issues. Fix: If page shouldn't exist → return proper 404 status. If page should exist → add substantial content (300+ words minimum). GSC will show soft 404s in Coverage report—investigate and fix each.

It depends on WHY the pages have noindex. Remove noindex if: (1) Pages have valuable unique content worth indexing, (2) Noindex was added accidentally or during development, (3) Content has been improved since noindex was added, (4) Pages target keywords with search volume. Keep noindex if: (1) Pages are genuinely low-quality or thin, (2) Duplicate/near-duplicate of other pages, (3) Internal search result pages, (4) Filtered category views with few products, (5) Admin, login, or utility pages, (6) Pages that don't serve users arriving from search (checkout steps, thank-you pages). Evaluation process: Audit each noindexed page individually, check if content is unique and valuable (300+ words, answers user intent), verify there's search demand (keyword research), ensure page has proper title, description, structure. Warning: Removing noindex from low-quality pages can hurt site quality overall—only index pages that add genuine value. Better to have 100 high-quality indexed pages than 1,000 mediocre ones.

Methods to trigger recrawling: (1) Request indexing (fastest): GSC → URL Inspection Tool → enter URL → "Request Indexing" (typically crawled within hours to days), (2) Update XML sitemap: Change <lastmod> date to current date, resubmit sitemap in GSC, (3) Add internal links: Link to updated page from high-traffic pages (signals freshness), (4) Social signals: Share on social media (sometimes triggers crawl), (5) Build new backlinks: External links speed up recrawl, (6) Significant content update: Major changes (30%+ of content) trigger natural recrawl faster. Timeline expectations: High-authority pages: 1-3 days, medium authority: 3-7 days, low authority/new sites: 1-3 weeks. After update: Use GSC URL Inspection to check "Last crawl" date and verify Google has latest version (compare "Live Test" to "Indexed" version). Bulk updates: For many pages, update sitemap and wait for natural recrawl rather than individually requesting (quota limits prevent requesting hundreds of URLs).

This message means: (1) Google found your page (it was crawled), (2) The page has a canonical tag pointing to a DIFFERENT URL, (3) Google respected your canonical directive, (4) Google indexed the canonical URL instead of this page. This is usually CORRECT behavior when you have intentional duplicates. Common scenarios where this is correct: Printer-friendly version canonicalizing to main article, product color variations canonicalizing to main product page, HTTP version canonicalizing to HTTPS, www version canonicalizing to non-www (or vice versa), mobile URL canonicalizing to desktop URL (though responsive design eliminates this). When it's a problem: If the page SHOULD be indexed separately (not a duplicate), but has incorrect canonical tag. How to check: View page source, find canonical tag, verify it points to the correct URL. Fix if incorrect: Change canonical to self-referencing (pointing to itself) or remove if unnecessary. GSC verification: URL Inspection Tool shows both "User-declared canonical" (what you set) and "Google-selected canonical" (what Google chose)—these should match if working correctly.

Yes, significantly. Direct impacts: (1) Unindexed pages get zero organic traffic (no rankings if not in index), (2) Important pages not indexed = lost revenue/leads, (3) Reduced site visibility overall (fewer pages ranking = fewer entry points), (4) Missed long-tail keyword opportunities (deep pages often rank for specific queries). Indirect impacts: (1) Indexation issues can indicate technical problems affecting indexed pages too, (2) Crawl budget wasted on low-quality unindexed pages means less crawling of important content, (3) High percentage of unindexed pages may signal low site quality to Google, (4) Duplicate content creating indexation issues dilutes ranking signals. Scale matters: 10 unindexed pages on 50-page site = 20% invisible (major problem). 1,000 unindexed pages on 100,000-page site = 1% (investigate but possibly acceptable if they're low-value). Priority ranking: Fix zero-indexed site or majority unindexed = URGENT. Fix high-value pages not indexed = HIGH. Fix low-value pages not indexed = LOW. Bottom line: Ensure your most important pages are indexed; don't obsess over every thin category/filter page.

Not automatically—evaluate each situation. Do NOT delete: (1) Pages valuable to users even if not indexed (customer service pages, detailed product specs, internal resources), (2) Pages that convert from other channels (PPC landing pages, email campaign destinations), (3) Pages that might index with improvements (add content, fix technical issues first), (4) Pages with existing backlinks (redirects pass equity even if unindexed), (5) New pages (give them time—4-8 weeks minimum). Consider deleting if: (1) Genuinely thin/low-quality content with no value, (2) Old outdated content no longer relevant, (3) Duplicate content that can't be differentiated, (4) Auto-generated pages with no unique value, (5) Pages with zero traffic from any source for 12+ months. Better alternatives to deletion: Improve content quality (expand to 500-1000+ words), consolidate multiple thin pages into one comprehensive page (301 redirect old URLs), noindex intentionally if valuable to users but not search-worthy. Decision criteria: Does page serve users? If yes, keep (index or not). If no, consider deletion. Focus on user value over indexation status.