Imagine your carefully crafted content shining like a bright star in the vast internet universe, only to be hindered by Google's "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" status, preventing it from reaching your audience. This frustrating scenario represents one of the most common challenges in SEO optimization. What causes this issue, and how can you effectively resolve it to ensure your content gets properly indexed? This article provides a systematic solution to help you overcome this obstacle and improve your website's SEO performance.
Understanding the "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" Status
The "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" status indicates that Googlebot has found your URL but hasn't yet crawled and indexed it. Think of it like a postal worker who has received your letter but hasn't delivered it to its destination. Solving this problem requires careful investigation to identify the underlying causes and implement appropriate solutions.
Step 1: Proactively Request Indexing
If only a few pages show the "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" status, the most straightforward solution is to request indexing through Google Search Console (GSC). This is like telling the postal worker, "This letter is important—please deliver it promptly!"
Follow these steps:
- Log in to Google Search Console and access the "URL Inspection" tool
- Enter the URL of the page you want indexed
- If the page isn't currently indexed, click the "Request Indexing" button
You'll typically see a message confirming the URL has been added to the priority crawl queue. Note that Google limits the number of URLs you can submit daily per website. While the exact limit isn't specified, it's generally recommended to submit 10-15 URLs per day. If the problem persists after requesting indexing, further diagnosis and solution of underlying issues will be necessary.
Step 2: Diagnosing Crawl Budget Issues
Crawl budget refers to the resources search engines allocate for crawling your website's pages. If your site has numerous crawlable URLs but limited crawl budget, Googlebot might not crawl all pages promptly, resulting in the "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" status. While Google's Gary Illyes has stated that 90% of websites don't need to worry about crawl budget, it remains an important consideration for large websites or those with specific technical issues.
Common causes of crawl budget problems and their solutions include:
Excessive Subdomain Content
If your website uses subdomains to host static resources (like cdn.yoursite.com), Google might consider them part of your main site and include them in your crawl budget. The solution is to use separate crawl budgets for CDN URLs.
Unnecessary Redirects
When you remove a page from your website, you typically add a redirect to another relevant page. However, if the deleted page has no backlinks or traffic, it's better to simply remove or replace internal links pointing to it and return a 404 error.
Duplicate Content
Duplicate content occurs when multiple URLs on your site access identical or very similar pages. Common duplicate content issues include:
- Both www and non-www versions of your site being accessible
- Both HTTPS and HTTP versions being accessible
- Development or staging instances being accessible
- Empty product or category pages with template content
Solutions for duplicate content depend on the specific situation but typically involve:
- Using 301 redirects to point duplicate URLs to preferred versions
- Using rel="canonical" tags to indicate preferred URLs
- Using Google Search Console's URL Parameters tool for parameterized URLs
Internal Nofollow Links
Nofollow links don't prevent page indexing but signal to search engines that the page isn't important. If your site contains many internal nofollow links, it might affect Googlebot's crawl priorities.
Orphan Pages
If new pages are only discoverable through your sitemap and lack internal links, Google may consider them unimportant and deprioritize crawling them.
Step 3: Enhancing Content Quality
Google doesn't index all discovered content—it prioritizes high-quality, unique, and compelling material. While Google hasn't crawled pages with the "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" warning, it may make judgments based on similar pages it has crawled, lowering their crawl priority. Content types Google is less likely to index include:
- Machine-translated content with poor quality
- Spun or rewritten content created by software
- AI-generated content without human refinement
- Thin content with little unique value
If your site contains such low-quality content, consider merging it with other thin content to create more valuable pages or removing it entirely. If the content wasn't created for organic search, prevent indexing so search engines can prioritize crawling more important pages.
Step 4: Optimizing Internal Linking
Internal links connect pages within your website. Google often treats URLs with few or no internal links as unimportant and may not index them. To check for pages lacking internal links:
- Use a site audit tool to crawl your website
- Access the page explorer tool
- Filter for "all pages" under content
- Add a column showing the number of internal links
Beyond finding orphan pages, you can identify internal linking opportunities between existing pages by:
- Using the internal link opportunities report in your site audit tool
- Entering keywords related to pages you want to link
- Selecting "keyword" as the search pattern
For example, if you've written an article about keyword research, searching for "keyword research" will find pages mentioning this term and show the context, allowing you to add relevant internal links where appropriate.
However, these strategies shouldn't replace a logical internal linking structure with good website architecture. Every website should prioritize this. One method to improve crawl depth is ensuring all internal pages link from an HTML sitemap.
HTML sitemaps help users understand your site structure and navigate more easily. Unlike XML sitemaps parsed by different systems, HTML sitemaps are designed for users. While sometimes considered outdated, they remain relevant. For large websites, consider splitting the sitemap into logical sections rather than linking to thousands of URLs from a single page.
Step 5: Building Quality Backlinks
Backlinks serve as signals Google uses to determine a page's value and crawl-worthiness. If your page has few or no high-quality backlinks, this might explain why Google deprioritizes crawling it. While building backlinks is challenging, it yields significant benefits—even one valuable link can help Google discover and index your content faster.
Common backlink-building strategies include:
- Creating high-quality, valuable content that naturally attracts links
- Conducting outreach to relevant websites and bloggers
- Participating actively in industry forums and communities
- Analyzing competitors' backlinks to identify linking opportunities
Conclusion: A Comprehensive Approach to Indexing Issues
Resolving Google's "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" status requires a multifaceted approach. From proactively requesting indexing to addressing crawl budget issues, improving content quality, optimizing internal links, and building backlinks—each element plays a crucial role. Only by implementing these strategies systematically can you effectively solve this indexing challenge and ensure your content reaches its intended audience. Remember that SEO is an ongoing optimization process requiring continuous learning and implementation for long-term success.