Google’s Indexing Reports: What Those Emails Really Mean
If I’ve learned one thing from 10 years in SEO, it’s that Google likes to send scary emails. If you’ve ever panicked a little after receiving one of those monthly emails from Google Search Console with a subject like “Indexing issues detected on your site,” you're not alone.
These notifications can make it sound like something is terribly wrong with your website, but in many cases, they’re far less urgent than they seem. As an SEO professional with access to hundreds of websites in Google Search Console, I get dozens of client emails every time these messages go out. So let’s break down what they actually mean and whether you really need to worry.
What Are These Emails, Really?
Every month, Google sends site owners a summary of pages that weren’t indexed, meaning pages Google knows about but hasn’t included in its search results.
This doesn’t always mean something is broken. In fact, many of the reasons are completely normal and expected.
TL;DR: Here’s a Quick Guide:
Common Reasons Pages Aren’t Indexed (And What They Mean)
Here are some of the most common issues you might see in the report, and what they typically indicate:
1. Crawled – currently not indexed
Translation: Google saw the page but decided not to include it in the index for now.
Is this bad? Not necessarily. This is super common for:
Recently published pages
Thin or duplicate content
Pages that don’t add much unique value
Tip: Give new pages time, or look for ways to improve thin content if the page matters to your SEO goals.
2. Discovered – currently not indexed
Translation: Google knows the URL exists but hasn’t crawled it yet.
Is this bad? It depends. On very large or newly launched sites, it’s often due to crawl budget limits.
Tip: Make sure it’s linked from other indexed pages and included in your XML sitemap.
3. Duplicate without user-selected canonical
Translation: Google thinks this page is a duplicate and isn’t sure which version to index.
Is this bad? It can be — if your preferred version isn’t the one being indexed.
Tip: Use canonical tags to clearly indicate the preferred URL, especially on ecommerce and blog sites with filtered or paginated content.
4. Alternate page with proper canonical tag
Translation: This page points to another version as the canonical, and Google agrees.
Is this bad? Nope! This is working as intended.
Tip: No action needed unless the canonical tag is incorrect.
5. Soft 404
Translation: Google thinks the page doesn't offer meaningful content (even if it technically loads).
Is this bad? Possibly. It usually means the page looks empty or irrelevant.
Tip:
Make sure the page has helpful content and a clear purpose.
6. Not Found (404)
Translation: Google tried to crawl this page, but it doesn't exist (404 error).
Is this bad?
Not always. 404s are totally normal for:
Old blog posts or product pages that were removed
Mistyped or outdated URLs
Broken links from other websites
But! If important pages are returning 404s, it can hurt SEO and user experience.
Tip:
Double-check if the URL should exist.
If it should, restore the page or redirect to a similar one.
If not, create a redirect to a similar, live page.
7. Page with Redirect
Translation: The URL redirects to another page, so Google doesn’t index the original one.
Is this bad?
Nope, this is often intentional, especially after:
A site restructure
Merging content
Changing URL formats
However, problems arise when:
Redirects are broken or looping
You didn’t mean for the redirect to happen
The final destination page isn’t indexed either
Tip:
Use tools like Screaming Frog or GSC’s URL Inspection Tool to test the redirect path.
Make sure important pages redirect to relevant, indexable destinations.
8. Blocked by robots.txt
Translation: Googlebot is explicitly forbidden from crawling the page because of your robots.txt file.
Is this bad?
Sometimes. It’s only a problem if the page should be discoverable by search engines.
If a page is blocked by robots.txt, Google can’t see its content and can’t index it even if it isn’t marked noindex.
Tip:
Audit your robots.txt to make sure it’s not accidentally blocking key sections (e.g. /blog/ or /services/).
Use the robots.txt tester in GSC to verify.
Should I Panic When I Get These Emails?
Short answer: Nope.
Longer answer: Most of these indexing exclusions are not “errors.” They’re Google making editorial decisions about what to include in its search index.
In many cases, it’s normal and even strategic for some pages on your site to not be indexed (e.g. thank you pages, internal-only content, or testing pages).
If you’re unsure whether a page should be indexed:
Ask whether it offers unique, valuable content for search users
Check if it's linked in your site structure
Confirm it's not disallowed in robots.txt or by a noindex tag
Email me for help!
What Should I Do Next?
Here’s a simple process for dealing with these reports:
Skim for high-priority pages – Are key blog posts, service pages, or product listings being excluded?
Ignore the noise – Not every page needs to be indexed.
Focus on content quality and internal linking – These are the biggest indexing levers.
Don’t chase every alert – Google’s messages are helpful, but they tend to be a bit… dramatic.
Final Thoughts: Indexing Is a Journey
Remember: Google’s index is a living, breathing thing. Just because a page isn’t indexed today doesn’t mean it won’t be tomorrow.
If you’re ever in doubt, it’s worth chatting with your SEO partner (👋 hi!) before sounding the alarm.
Contact me for help!
