There could be several reasons why your new pages are not being indexed by Google Search Console (GSC) for two months. Here are potential issues and solutions:
1. **Crawl Budget Issues**: If your site has a large number of pages, Google may not be allocating sufficient resources to crawl your site efficiently. Ensure that your site architecture is optimal, with good internal linking, and reduce crawl potential waste by eliminating unnecessary URL parameters.
2. **Robots.txt File Restrictions**: Check if your `robots.txt` file unintentionally blocks Googlebot from crawling and indexing certain parts of your site. Use the “Robots.txt Tester” in GSC to identify and fix any issues.
3. **Noindex Tags**: Verify whether any of your new pages have `` tags which would prevent indexing. Correct or remove these tags as needed.
4. **Server Errors**: If your server is returning 4xx or 5xx errors, Googlebot might not be able to reach these pages. Examine server logs for errors and address them promptly.
5. **Sitemap Issues**: Ensure that your XML sitemap is updated regularly and correctly submitted to GSC. Check for any errors in the sitemap and ensure all new pages are included.
6. **Quality of Content**: Google might not index pages if it perceives them as low quality, thin content, or duplicate content. Enhance the content quality, provide unique value, and avoid plagiarism.
7. **Backlink Profile**: Although not a direct indexing factor, having some external backlinks can signal to Google that a page is worthwhile to crawl and index.
8. **Manual Actions & Penalties**: Check GSC for any manual actions taken against your site. If any penalties exist, rectify the issues and submit a reconsideration request.
9. **Technical Issues**: Technical misconfigurations can impact indexing. Tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb can help diagnose potential technical SEO problems.
10. **URL Inspection Tool**: Use the “URL inspection” tool in GSC to check if Google has any specific issues with individual pages. Request indexing directly from the tool if issues are fixed.
Understanding and addressing these reasons will help improve your pages’ chances of getting indexed by GSC.
One response to “What causes new pages to be unindexable via GSC over the last two months?”
Thank you for sharing such a comprehensive overview of potential issues impacting the indexing of new pages in Google Search Console (GSC). I’d like to add that timing can also be a significant factor in how quickly Google indexes new content.
Google’s algorithm continuously evolves, and changes in its crawling and indexing priorities can lead to delays, especially when new updates are rolled out. If you’re experiencing recent delays, it might coincide with a broader trend or change in Google’s indexing behavior.
Additionally, I recommend monitoring your site’s performance metrics in GSC after you’ve made adjustments. Watching your impressions and clicks over time can provide valuable insights into how your changes are impacting indexing and visibility.
Lastly, engaging proactively with Google’s community forums or attending SEO webinars can provide not just support, but also emerging strategies and insights from other webmasters who might be experiencing similar challenges. This communal knowledge can often lead to new solutions you might not have considered.
Keep experimenting and optimizing; SEO is indeed a marathon, not a sprint!