Google’s indexing requirements are minimal: Googlebot access, HTTP 200, and indexable content, and that’s it. Word count, schema markup, and sitemap frequency, the things teams obsess over, aren’t even on the list.
Most indexing failures trace to six common mistakes. Fix those, and indexing handles itself. Everything else is optimisation on top of fundamentals.
Key Takeaways
- Indexing has only three requirements: Googlebot access, HTTP 200 status, and visible, indexable content. Everything else is secondary.
- Most pages fail due to basic technical blockers like robots.txt restrictions, accidental noindex tags, soft 404s, rendering issues, or server errors.
- Internal links drive indexing. Google discovers new pages mainly through crawlable links, while sitemaps are only supportive hints.
- Site performance affects crawl speed. Slow servers, errors, and redirect chains reduce crawl frequency and delay indexing.
- Ignore indexing myths. Word count, schema, repeated “Request Indexing,” or paid services don’t influence whether a page gets indexed.
What Does Google Need to Index a Page?
Google’s technical requirements for indexing are surprisingly minimal. A page is eligible if it meets three conditions:
- Googlebot can access it. Not blocked by robots.txt, not behind a login, not gated by access controls.
- The page returns HTTP 200. Not a redirect, not a 404, not a server error. A clean 200 status code.
- The page has indexable content. Not empty, not spam, not a policy violation.
That’s it.
- Word count isn’t listed.
- Schema markup isn’t listed.
- Backlinks aren’t listed.
These three conditions form the minimum bar for indexing eligibility.
Everything beyond this point influences whether Google decides to index a page, not whether it can. And even when all conditions are met, Google explicitly states that indexing is never guaranteed.
What Practices Help Indexing?
Once the fundamentals are satisfied, certain practices consistently improve indexing outcomes.
Discoverability
Google finds new pages primarily by following links from pages it already knows. Internal linking is the primary discovery mechanism.
What works:
- Standard <a href> links that Googlebot can crawl (not JavaScript-only navigation)
- Links from high-traffic pages in your site’s navigation
- Sitemaps as a secondary signal (helpful for large sites, new sites, or sites with few external links)
What doesn’t work as expected:
- Submitting a sitemap doesn’t guarantee indexing. Google treats sitemaps as hints, not commands.
- The <priority> and <changefreq> fields in sitemaps are ignored. Google only uses <lastmod> if it’s consistently accurate.
Technical Health
Crawl capacity depends on your infrastructure’s ability to serve pages quickly and reliably.
What works:
- Fast server response times
- Server-side rendering or pre-rendering for JavaScript-heavy pages (Google renders JS, but SSR reduces failure modes)
- Clean URL structures without long redirect chains
- Keeping render-critical resources (CSS, JS) unblocked
What costs you:
- Slow servers cause Google to reduce the crawl rate
- HTTP 500 errors signal Google to back off
- Long redirect chains waste crawl budget
- Blocked resources can prevent Google from seeing your content
Intentional Controls
Indexing controls should be deliberate, not accidental.
Key principles:
- noindex removes pages from search when Googlebot crawls them. Use it intentionally.
- noindex in robots.txt doesn’t work. It must be in meta tags or HTTP headers.
- If robots.txt blocks a page, Google can’t see any indexing directives on that page. Blocking and noindexing are often mutually exclusive.
- Canonical tags help Google choose which version of duplicate content to index. Use them consistently.
What Mistakes Block Indexing?
Six mistakes account for most indexing failures:
1. Accidentally blocking Googlebot
Robots.txt disallow rules, login requirements, IP-based access controls, or geo-blocking can all prevent Googlebot from accessing pages. Check Crawl Stats and URL Inspection in Search Console to confirm access.
2. Leaving noindex on templates
Developers often add noindex to staging environments or template files. When those propagate to production, pages disappear from search. URL Inspection shows what Googlebot actually received.
3. Returning soft 404s
A page returns HTTP 200 but renders empty or shows an error state. Google treats these as “soft 404s” and excludes them from search. This happens when render-critical resources fail or when content depends on user state that Googlebot can’t access.
4. JavaScript content is invisible after rendering
Google indexes the rendered HTML, not the source. If content only appears after user interaction or if JavaScript fails to execute, Google won’t see it. Test with URL Inspection to verify what Googlebot sees.
5. Duplicate URL sprawl
Parameterised URLs, tracking parameters, session IDs, and infinite calendar/filter combinations create thousands of near-identical pages. Google clusters these and picks one canonical. The rest waste crawl budget and dilutes indexing signals.
6. Server overload limiting crawl capacity
When servers respond slowly or return errors, Google reduces crawl rate. For large sites, this means fewer pages get crawled per day, and new content takes longer to enter the index.
What Indexing Myths Should You Ignore?
“Pay for faster indexing”: Google doesn’t accept payment to crawl more frequently or rank higher. Services claiming to offer this are selling something Google doesn’t provide.
“Submitting a sitemap guarantees indexing”: Sitemap submission is a hint. Google may not download it, may not crawl every URL listed, and may not index pages even if crawled.
“Keep clicking Request Indexing”: There’s a quota, and repeated requests don’t make it happen faster. Request once, then wait.
“Long posts are harder to index”: Google’s indexing requirements don’t mention word count. A 5,000-word post is as eligible as a 500-word post, assuming both meet the three requirements above. Length affects performance and user experience, not indexing eligibility.
“Schema markup guarantees indexing”: Structured data helps Google understand content and enables rich results. It has no documented effect on whether a page gets indexed.
“noindex in robots.txt works”: It doesn’t. Google explicitly states this isn’t supported. Use meta tags or HTTP headers.
How Do Specific Factors Affect Indexing?
| Factor | Reality | What to do |
| Word count | Not an indexing requirement | Write to satisfy user intent, not word targets |
| Internal links | Primary discovery mechanism | Link new content from existing pages |
| Sitemaps | Helpful hint, not guarantee | Keep clean, use accurate lastmod |
| Schema/structured data | Enables rich results, not indexing | Implement for eligible content types |
| Server speed | Affects crawl capacity | Optimise response times |
| Duplicate URLs | Waste crawl budget | Consolidate with canonicals, reduce parameters |
| JavaScript rendering | Google renders JS, but SSR reduces risk | Test rendered output, consider pre-rendering |
| Crawl budget | Only matters for very large sites (100K+ URLs) | Most sites don’t need to worry about this |
| Mobile-first indexing | Google primarily uses mobile version | Ensure mobile and desktop content match |
How Do You Debug Indexing Issues?
- Confirm eligibility: Can Googlebot access the page? Does it return 200? Is there real content?
- Confirm discovery: Is the page linked from other indexed pages? Is it in an up-to-date sitemap?
- Inspect rendering: For JS-heavy pages, check URL Inspection to see if content appears in rendered HTML.
- Check for blockers: Look for unintended noindex tags, X-Robots-Tag headers, or robots.txt rules preventing crawl.
- Use Search Console tactically: Request indexing for a few key URLs (respect the quota). Submit sitemaps for bulk URLs.
- Be patient: Google says crawling and indexing can take days to weeks. Same-day indexing is the exception, not the rule.
Indexing problems are rarely about missing some advanced technique. They’re almost always about broken basics: Googlebot can’t access the page, the page returns an error, or the content isn’t visible.
Fix access. Fix discovery. Fix rendering. Everything else is optimisation.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long does indexing take?
Google says crawling and indexing can take days to weeks. Same-day indexing happens for time-sensitive content like news, but most sites should expect a longer timeline. Repeatedly requesting indexing doesn’t speed up the process.
Does mobile vs desktop matter for indexing?
Yes. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily crawls and indexes the mobile version of your site. If your mobile version has less content than desktop, that’s what Google sees. Ensure both versions contain the same content and have matching structured data.
When does crawl budget actually matter?
Google’s crawl budget documentation explicitly targets very large sites (typically 100,000+ URLs) or sites with rapidly changing content. For most sites, crawl budget isn’t a limiting factor. Focus on keeping sitemaps updated and checking index coverage in Search Console rather than optimising for crawl budget.
Can you force Google to index a page?
No. You can request indexing through URL Inspection in Search Console, but Google decides whether to index based on its own criteria. Meeting the three requirements (access, HTTP 200, indexable content) makes a page eligible, but doesn’t guarantee indexing. Google explicitly states it makes no guarantees about crawling, indexing, or serving any page.
