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Indexability Checker: can Google index this page?

See what stops Google indexing a page: status, redirects, robots.txt, noindex, canonical and HTML size.

  • Free to use
  • Nothing to install
  • No sign-up

How to use the Indexability Checker

Read what the guide says

This is the Indexability Checker.

It shows whether anything stops Google from indexing a page.

Use it when a page is missing from Google, to rule out the usual blockers.

It checks the status code, redirects, robots.txt, noindex, the canonical link and the HTML.

Enter the full address of one page.

Or press Try an example: a sample page of a made-up clinic, which is noindex on purpose.

Press Check page. We follow its redirects, and read robots.txt and the page as the server sends it.

The top card gives the answer: this page cannot be indexed, because of a noindex rule.

It also shows the reason Search Console's Page indexing report gives for it.

The signals show what Google reads first. Here, the robots meta tag blocks it.

Do these first ranks the fixes by how much each helps, and how quick it is.

Number two here: only 75 words of text are in the HTML the server sends.

Open How to fix to see why it matters and the steps.

Here, remove noindex from the robots meta tag in the HTML itself, not with a script.

Choose the platform your site runs on to see where to change it.

After the fix, check the page here again.

Then test it with URL Inspection in Search Console, and request indexing.

You can also email yourself a PDF of the result.

The full address of one page. We follow its redirects and read robots.txt and the page as the server sends it. The example is a sample page that is noindex on purpose.

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About the Indexability Checker

Enter a page address to see whether anything stops Google from indexing it. We follow its redirects as Googlebot does, then check the status code, robots.txt for Googlebot, noindex in the robots meta tags and the X-Robots-Tag header, the canonical link and the page it names, and the size and text of the HTML. Each blocker comes with the reason Search Console's Page indexing report shows for it and the steps to fix it. A page that passes can still be left out: Google does not promise to index every page.

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Enter the full address of the page, for example a service page or a blog post.

  2. Step 2

    We follow its redirects, read robots.txt and the page as the server sends it, and open the page its canonical link names.

  3. Step 3

    Fix what is flagged, then test the URL with URL Inspection in Search Console and click "Request indexing".

What stops a page being indexed

Google does not index a page that returns an error (4xx or 5xx), or one that redirects: it indexes the final URL instead. A noindex rule in a robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag header keeps the page out; "none" means noindex and nofollow, and when rules conflict Google follows the most restrictive one. A canonical link to another URL is a strong hint to index that URL instead.

robots.txt is not noindex

robots.txt controls crawling, not indexing. Google cannot read a blocked page, so it never sees its noindex, and the bare URL can still appear in results if other pages link to it. To keep a page out of Google, let it be crawled and use noindex. Google does not support noindex in robots.txt.

What this tool cannot do

It cannot see Google's index: only URL Inspection in Search Console shows whether a page is indexed and which canonical Google chose. We fetch the page as our own tool, not as Googlebot, so a firewall that treats Googlebot differently can give it another answer. We read the HTML as the server sends it, up to 2 MB, without running JavaScript.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my page not indexed by Google?

First check the blockers this tool looks for: an error status, a redirect, a robots.txt block, noindex, or a canonical link to another URL. If none applies, open the Page indexing report in Search Console. "Crawled - currently not indexed" means Google crawled the page but has not indexed it, and it may later. "Discovered - currently not indexed" means Google knows the URL but has not crawled it yet.

Does robots.txt stop a page from being indexed?

No. robots.txt stops crawling, not indexing. Google can still index a blocked URL from links on other pages, without a description, and it cannot see a noindex on a page it may not crawl. Use noindex, in the robots meta tag or the X-Robots-Tag header, on a page Google is allowed to crawl.

What is the difference between noindex and a canonical link?

noindex keeps the page out of Google's index. A canonical link is a strong hint that another URL is the main version, and Google may still choose a different one. Use a canonical for copies of the same content, such as URLs with tracking or filter parameters, and noindex for pages that should not be in search at all. Google advises against using noindex to choose a canonical.

Can I remove noindex with JavaScript?

It may not work. When Google sees noindex in the HTML the server sends, it may skip running JavaScript, so a script that removes the tag later may never run for Google. If you want the page indexed, take noindex out of the page code itself.

How do I ask Google to index a page?

Fix what blocks it, then open Search Console, paste the URL into URL Inspection and click "Test live URL". If the live test says the page can be indexed, click "Request indexing". Asking more than once does not speed it up, crawling can take from a few days to a few weeks, and Google does not guarantee that every page is indexed.

Related reading

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