What “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” in Google Search Console is?
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If you’ve checked your Google Search Console (GSC), you’ve probably seen the “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” status. It means Google found the page but hasn’t crawled it yet.

This isn’t always a problem—Google naturally delays crawling some pages. But if important pages (like blog posts, product pages, or service pages) stay in this state for weeks, there might be an issue.

Why Are Pages Marked as “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed”?

Here are the most common reasons:

1. Crawl Budget Issues

Google has a limited crawl budget, especially for large sites. If your site has:

• Too many low-value URLs (e.g., faceted navigation, infinite scroll issues)
• Slow server performance (Google deprioritizes slow-loading sites)
• Tons of new pages at once (Google might delay crawling to avoid overload)

… then some pages may not get crawled.

2. Low-Quality Content

If a page offers little to no value, Google might ignore it. This often happens when:

• Content is thin or duplicated (including AI-generated content with no added value)
• Pages lack unique insights or fresh information
• The site has too many low-quality pages, diluting overall quality

3. Poor Internal Linking

Google finds pages through links. If your important pages:

• Lack internal links from key pages
• Are too deep in the site’s structure
• Have no backlinks or external references

… then Google may discover them but never prioritize crawling.

4. Technical SEO Problems

If Googlebot can’t access a page, it won’t crawl it. Common blockers include:

• Slow server response times
• Blocked pages in robots.txt
• Redirect loops or chains
• Broken canonical tags sending mixed signals

5. Google’s Prioritization

Not every page gets crawled immediately. Google prioritizes:

• Pages with high authority and strong signals
• Well-linked pages from trusted domains
• Sites with consistent, high-quality updates

New websites or those with weak authority may experience longer crawl delays.

When to Act vs. When to Wait

✅ When to Wait

• New websites: Google may take weeks or months to fully process a new domain.
• Recently published content: Pages may need time to enter Google’s crawl queue.
• Low-priority pages: Not all pages need to be indexed (e.g., admin pages, duplicate content, thin pages).

❌ When to Take Action

• Important pages (blog posts, product pages, service pages) are stuck in this status for weeks/months.
• The number of “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed” pages keeps increasing over time.
• Competitors’ similar content is indexed while yours is not.

How to Fix “Discovered – Currently Not Indexed”

If you determine that it really needs fixing, then there are a few ways to do that.

✔ Improve Internal Linking

• Link to discovered pages from high-authority pages (e.g., homepage, category pages).
• Avoid orphan pages (pages with no internal links).
• Add contextual links (within relevant content, not just in navigation).

✔ Optimize Crawl Budget

• Block low-value pages in robots.txt (e.g., filters, duplicate faceted pages).
• Use “noindex” on pages that don’t need to be indexed.
• Improve server speed to prevent Google from deprioritizing crawling.

✔ Fix Technical SEO Issues

• Check robots.txt for unintentional blocks.
• Run a site audit for broken links, redirect loops, or slow-loading pages.
• Ensure your XML sitemap only includes pages meant for indexing.

✔ Improve Content Quality

• Avoid thin, duplicate, or AI-generated content with no unique insights.
• Use Google’s E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
• Refresh and update outdated content to signal freshness.

✔ Request Indexing in Google Search Console

• Use the URL Inspection Tool to manually request indexing—but only after fixing issues.
• Don’t rely solely on this method; focus on fixing underlying causes.

✔ Increase Authority Signals

• Gain backlinks from trusted websites.
• Share content on social media and industry forums.
• Use structured data to help Google understand your content.

If you want to learn more about the famous Discovered – Currently Not Indexed, there is a longer and in-depth article on my blog.

See you in the next episode!

Best,

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P.S. If you want me to discuss a specific SEO topic as a newsletter deep dive, just reply to this e-mail.

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