Debug Indexing Issues in Google Search Console

Google crawled your page but won't index it. This happens to millions of pages daily. The Page Indexing report in Google Search Console shows exactly which pages have issues and why.

Understanding Page Indexing Status

Google Search Console's Page Indexing report shows six main statuses:

Good Statuses

Indexed: Page appears in Google's search index. This is what you want.

Warning Statuses

Discovered - currently not indexed: Google found your page but hasn't crawled it yet. The page sits in Google's queue. This is normal for new sites and low-priority pages.

Crawled - currently not indexed: Google crawled your page but chose not to index it. This means Google decided your content isn't worth showing in search results.

Excluded Statuses

Excluded by robots.txt: Your robots.txt file blocks Google from accessing the page. Check your robots.txt configuration.

Blocked by noindex tag: Page has a noindex meta tag or HTTP header. Remove it if you want the page indexed.

Duplicate without canonical: Google found multiple identical pages without proper canonical tags. Set canonical URLs.

Soft 404: Page returns a 200 status code but looks like a 404 error to Google. Fix by returning proper 404 status codes for missing content.

Fixing "Crawled - Currently Not Indexed"

This status means Google crawled your page but decided it wasn't worth indexing. Google doesn't explicitly state why, but five main causes exist.

Thin or Low-Quality Content

Google skips pages with little unique value. Product pages with only titles and prices, blog posts under 300 words, and auto-generated content typically get excluded.

Fix: Add substantial content. Write detailed product descriptions, expand short blog posts to 800+ words, include images and videos, answer user questions comprehensively.

Duplicate Content

Multiple pages with identical or near-identical content waste Google's crawl budget. Common culprits: paginated URLs without proper canonicals, URL parameters creating duplicate versions, tag/category archives with the same posts.

Fix: Implement canonical tags pointing to the primary version. Consolidate similar pages. Use useSeoMeta() in your Nuxt pages:

<script setup>
useSeoMeta({
  canonical: 'https://yoursite.com/primary-page'
})
</script>

Or set site-wide canonical logic in nuxt.config.ts:

export default defineNuxtConfig({
  site: {
    url: 'https://yoursite.com'
  },
  modules: ['@nuxtjs/seo']
})

The Nuxt SEO module automatically generates canonical URLs based on your site URL and current route.

Too Many Similar Pages

Sites with thousands of nearly-identical pages (e.g., faceted search, filter combinations) trigger quality filters. Google picks representative pages and excludes the rest.

Fix: Use meta robots noindex on filter pages, parameter-based URLs, and search result pages. Consolidate similar content into fewer comprehensive pages.

<script setup>
const route = useRoute()

// Noindex pages with filter parameters
const shouldNoIndex = computed(() =>
  route.query.color || route.query.size || route.query.sort
)

useSeoMeta({
  robots: shouldNoIndex.value ? 'noindex,follow' : 'index,follow'
})
</script>

Low Site Authority

New sites with few backlinks face stricter indexing thresholds. Google prioritizes crawling trusted sites.

Fix: Build backlinks through guest posting, create linkable assets (tools, research, guides), get listed in industry directories, promote content on social media. This takes months—be patient.

Orphan Pages

Pages without internal links from other pages on your site signal low importance to Google. Orphan pages lack link equity and often don't get indexed.

Fix: Add internal links from relevant pages. Include new pages in your main navigation or sidebar. Link from high-authority pages on your site.

<!-- Link to important pages from your main layout -->
<template>
  <nav>
    <NuxtLink to="/important-page">
      Important Page
    </NuxtLink>
  </nav>
</template>

Fixing "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed"

This status means Google knows your page exists but hasn't crawled it. Three main causes exist.

Site Too New

Google takes weeks to crawl new sites. For brand-new domains, expect 2-4 weeks before regular crawling starts.

Fix: Wait. Submit your sitemap. Request indexing for critical pages via URL Inspection tool. Keep publishing content regularly.

Crawl Budget Issues

Large sites (10,000+ pages) run into Google's crawl budget limits. Google won't crawl everything if your site has slow server responses, too many low-quality pages, or complex URL structures.

Fix: Optimize server response times (target under 200ms). Remove or noindex low-value pages. Fix redirect chains. Reduce duplicate content. Block unnecessary URLs in robots.txt:

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@nuxtjs/robots'],
  robots: {
    disallow: [
      '/admin/',
      '/search?*',
      '/*?filter=*',
      '/print-version/'
    ]
  }
})

Slow Server Response

If your server takes over 500ms to respond, Google may crawl fewer pages.

Fix: Enable caching, use a CDN, optimize database queries, upgrade hosting. Monitor server response times in Search Console's Crawl Stats report.

Nuxt's SSR caching helps with this:

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    // Cache static pages for 1 hour
    '/blog/**': { swr: 3600 },
    // Cache API responses
    '/api/**': { cache: { maxAge: 60 } }
  }
})

Pages Only in Sitemap

If pages exist only in your sitemap without internal links, Google considers them low priority.

Fix: Add internal links. Don't rely solely on sitemaps for discovery. Internal linking signals importance.

Verifying SSR in Nuxt

Nuxt renders pages on the server by default, which helps indexing. Verify your SSR is working correctly:

Check Server Response

View your page source to confirm content is in the initial HTML:

# Check if content is in server-rendered HTML
curl -s https://yoursite.com/page | grep "expected content"

All your content should be visible in the raw HTML response. If it's not, check that:

1. Your page doesn't have ssr: false in definePageMeta()
2. Data fetching uses useAsyncData() or useFetch() (not client-only methods)
3. Your nuxt.config.ts doesn't have ssr: false

Verify Data Fetching

Ensure data loads during SSR, not just on client:

<script setup>
// CORRECT: Data available during SSR
const { data: products } = await useFetch('/api/products')

// WRONG: Only loads on client
// onMounted(async () => {
//   products.value = await $fetch('/api/products')
// })
</script>

<template>
  <div v-for="product in products" :key="product.id">
    {{ product.name }}
  </div>
</template>

Handle Client-Only Content

For content that must load client-side, provide fallback text that Google can index:

<template>
  <div>
    <h1>Product Catalog</h1>
    <ClientOnly>
      <LazyProductList />
      <template #fallback>
        <p>Loading 500+ products from our catalog...</p>
      </template>
    </ClientOnly>
  </div>
</template>

Test Rendering Modes

Nuxt supports hybrid rendering. Verify your route rules are configured correctly:

// nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  routeRules: {
    // Static pages (prerendered)
    '/': { prerender: true },
    '/about': { prerender: true },

    // Dynamic pages (SSR)
    '/blog/**': { swr: 3600 },

    // Client-only pages (if needed)
    '/dashboard/**': { ssr: false }
  }
})

Use Search Console's URL Inspection tool to verify Google sees server-rendered content:

1. Open Search Console → URL Inspection
2. Enter your page URL
3. Click "Test Live URL"
4. Click "View Tested Page" → "Screenshot"

Compare the screenshot to your actual page. With proper SSR, they should be identical.

Requesting Re-Indexing

After fixing issues, request re-indexing via URL Inspection:

1. Search Console → URL Inspection
2. Enter fixed URL
3. Click "Request Indexing"

Google prioritizes these requests but doesn't guarantee indexing. It still evaluates content quality.

For many URLs, request indexing programmatically using the Google Indexing API:

// server/api/request-indexing.post.ts
import { google } from 'googleapis'

export default defineEventHandler(async (event) => {
  const { url } = await readBody(event)

  const auth = await google.auth.getClient({
    scopes: ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/indexing']
  })

  const indexing = google.indexing({ version: 'v3', auth })

  await indexing.urlNotifications.publish({
    requestBody: {
      url,
      type: 'URL_UPDATED'
    }
  })

  return { success: true }
})

Monitoring Progress

Track indexing status changes over time:

1. Search Console → Page Indexing
2. Check "Not indexed" count weekly
3. Look for status changes from "Crawled - not indexed" to "Indexed"

Expect changes to take 1-4 weeks. Google doesn't index on demand—it re-evaluates pages on its schedule.