Indexation — Definition & Meaning
What is Indexation?
Indexation is the process of Google adding your page to its searchable index. A page must be crawled, deemed valuable, and pass duplicate-content checks before it's indexed. GSC's Coverage report shows every indexation state — indexed, discovered-not-indexed, crawled-not-indexed, and excluded.
Key points
- "Discovered — currently not indexed" means Google knows about the URL but hasn't crawled it. Usually a crawl-budget or authority issue.
- "Crawled — currently not indexed" means Google crawled it and chose not to index. Usually a content-quality or duplicate issue.
- Force indexation attempts: request indexing in GSC URL Inspection, ping IndexNow (Bing + Yandex), and add strong internal links from indexed pages.
- New sites take 4-12 weeks to reach full indexation coverage — patience beats gaming.
- Track the funnel: URLs in sitemap → URLs discovered → URLs crawled → URLs indexed → URLs ranking. Each stage has different fixes.
Example
A site with 2,000 URLs in sitemap but only 300 indexed has a discovery or quality funnel leak. Fix by: internal linking from high-authority pages, tightening thin content, and pinging IndexNow every 6 hours for new URLs.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my pages not being indexed?
Most common reasons: thin content, duplicates, blocked in robots.txt, noindex tag present, low authority, or slow page speed. Check GSC → Pages → "Why pages aren't indexed" for the exact reason per URL.
How long does it take Google to index a new page?
Anywhere from minutes to weeks. Requesting indexing in GSC + strong internal links usually gets a new page indexed within 3-7 days on established sites, 2-4 weeks on new sites.
What is IndexNow?
IndexNow is an open protocol (backed by Bing + Yandex + Naver) that lets you push new or updated URLs to search engines instantly, without waiting for the next crawl.