If you’ve opened Google Search Console and noticed pages labeled “Crawled – Currently Not Indexed,” you’re not alone, and you’re not necessarily in trouble.
This status means Google saw the page but chose not to index it. For low-value pages, like tag archives, faceted category URLs, or filtered search results, that’s often expected and fine. But when it shows up on product pages, landing pages, or blog posts you actually care about, it’s a problem.
This week on The SEO Pub, I’m breaking down why this happens, how to diagnose it, and the exact steps you can take to get your pages re-evaluated, and ideally indexed. There is no magic trick here or “hack”. It is some basic fundamentals you will want to be sure you are paying attention to.
If visibility and ROI matter, this is one issue you can’t afford to ignore.
What “Crawled – currently not indexed” Means
In Google Search Console, the “Crawled – currently not indexed” (CCNI) status tells you that:
- Googlebot successfully crawled the page
- But Google chose not to index it (at least for now)
This doesn’t mean the page is broken, blocked by robots.txt, or returning an error. It simply means that after crawling, Google decided the content didn’t meet the threshold for indexing. This can often be due to perceived low value, duplication, or lack of uniqueness.
These pages aren’t permanently excluded. In many cases, they’re just in limbo. Google may re-evaluate them later, especially if signals improve. But if the page is important to your SEO goals, waiting isn’t a strategy. You need to understand why it was skipped and what to improve to get it indexed.
One tip to remember is that sometimes there may be more than one issue. A combination of these solutions is what is necessary.
Validate with the URL Inspection Tool
Before making any changes, use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool to confirm the page’s status and uncover technical issues.
The URL Inspection Tool and the Pages Report in Google Search Console work at a different refresh rate. The Inspection Tool is updated more frequently, so before doing anything, you should confirm that the pages in question are indeed not indexed.
Enter the URL in the tool and check for:
- Last crawl date: See when Google last visited the page. If it’s recent, it may still be under review. If it’s old, Google may have deprioritized it.
- Enhancements: Ensure structured data, mobile usability, and Core Web Vitals pass. Poor signals can affect indexing.
Even if everything looks fine technically, Google might still be skipping the page based on content quality or duplication, which we’ll cover next. But start here to rule out crawlability or rendering issues first.
Check for Rendering Discrepancies
Sometimes a page gets crawled, but when Googlebot tries to render it, key content is missing, especially if your site relies on third-party JavaScript or CSS.
This commonly happens when your page relies on third-party JavaScript or CSS to display dynamic elements like:
- Tabbed content
- Image galleries
- Product reviews or charts
- Custom widgets or plugins
If those resources are blocked by their own robots.txt file, Google may not be able to fetch or render them, even if your page loads fine in a browser. That can make a rich, interactive page appear thin or even empty to Google.
How to diagnose it:
Use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool:
- Enter the URL and click “Inspect”
- Click “View Crawled Page”
- Go to the More Info tab
- Look under “Page resources” to see which scripts or files failed to load
If any essential resources show as “Not retrieved,” and they control visible content, Google may be seeing a stripped-down version of your page.
Fix it by:
- Hosting critical JS/CSS resources yourself when possible
- Avoiding render-blocked content that relies on third-party scripts
- Ensuring third-party content is progressive-enhanced or non-critical
Diagnose Content Quality Issues
Once you’ve ruled out technical problems, the next step is to evaluate whether the page is worth indexing from Google’s perspective. That comes down to content quality and your site structure, which we will cover next.
Ask yourself:
- Is the content original?
Thin, templated, or duplicated content, especially across product pages or category variants, may get skipped. - Does the page offer unique value?
Pages that merely restate what’s already available on other indexed pages, or across the web, are less likely to be indexed. Now I’m not a big believer in that your content needs to be 100% original to be indexed. Google indexes duplicate content all the time, However, if you don’t have the authority to back it up, I’m seeing Google get more picky about this. - Is the intent clear and useful?
If the content lacks purpose, clarity, or depth, Google may choose not to serve it in search.
Examples of content that often triggers this issue:
- Product pages with minimal or duplicate descriptions
- Thin blog posts with little substance
- Pages auto-generated by filters, tags, or internal search
Use this opportunity to improve the content:
- Add useful details, comparisons, FAQs, or visuals
- Make sure it answers a specific user query or need
- Avoid boilerplate copy across multiple URLs
And this one is big:
- Think about creating a unique page structure
In the days of correlation tools like POP, Frase, Cora, Surfer, Market Muse, and others, more and more content is being generated with heading and page structures that are very similar, if not damn near identical.
With that in mind, consider creating something more unique. If all the top ranking pages are starting with a long-winded introduction, instead start your page with the answer to the query it intends to answer. Then go into an introduction, the history of whatever it is you are talking about, or a more detailed discussion of the problem that brought the visitor to the page in the first place.
If most of the top pages are starting with the standard headings we see so often of:
- What is XYZ?
- Why is XYZ important?
- How to use XYZ
- Tips for using XYZ
Change it up to something like:
- Do you really need XYZ?
- Other ways to accomplish ABC without XYZ
- How XYZ makes it easier to ABC
- How to get started with XYZ
You are still going to be covering the same topic, but from just a slightly different approach.
Google doesn’t want to index everything. It wants to index what’s valuable, unique, and helpful. If your page doesn’t check those boxes yet, improve the content before you request reindexing.
Eliminate Duplicate or Near-Duplicate Pages
One of the most common reasons Google skips indexing is content duplication, especially on e-commerce and large content sites. I know I touched on duplicate content in the section above, but this one is deserves its own discussion.
If Google detects multiple URLs with similar or identical content, it will often choose to index just one and skip the rest.
Common culprits include:
- Product pages with only slight variations (e.g., color or size)
- Filtered category pages that generate new URLs with minimal content change
- Blog tag or archive pages with the same post previews as the main blog feed
- Thin landing pages targeting slightly different keyword variations with the same core copy
If you have pages that are nearly identical:
- Canonicalize appropriately—point duplicate or variant pages to a primary URL
- Merge content where it makes sense—combine similar posts or consolidate product variants
- Block low-value variations via robots.txt or noindex if they don’t serve a distinct purpose
- Add unique content to pages that should stand on their own (e.g., original descriptions, FAQs, reviews)
Google wants to index one best version of a topic, not five diluted ones. Cleaning up duplicates reduces crawl waste, clarifies your content structure, and increases the likelihood that key pages will make it into the index.
⚠️ What About Programmatic SEO Pages?
Programmatic SEO can be powerful, but it’s also one of the most common sources of “Crawled – currently not indexed” pages.
If you’re generating hundreds or thousands of pages using data + templates, Google will crawl many of them, but only index what it considers valuable and unique.
Your pages may get skipped if:
- They use the same structure and copy across all pages
- The only difference is a keyword, location, or data point
- There’s little or no internal linking to individual pages
- They target ultra-long-tail queries with no clear demand
To improve indexation:
- Prioritize quality over volume—start small, then scale what works
- Layer in unique content: contextual intros, examples, or commentary
- Strengthen internal linking: build hub pages, filters, or cross-links
- Use log files or crawl tools to identify waste and prune aggressively
Google doesn’t want massive index bloat. If your programmatic pages don’t add something original and useful, they’ll sit in crawl limbo indefinitely.
Fix Internal Linking & Site Architecture
If Google crawled your page but didn’t index it, weak internal linking is often the underlying reason. To me, this is usually the number one cause of a page not being indexed.
Internal links signal importance. And if your own site doesn’t treat a page as valuable, why should Google?
Ask yourself:
- Is this page linked to from any important templates (like the homepage, nav, or hub pages)?
- Is it buried several clicks deep with no clear path from other indexed content?
- Do anchor texts clearly describe the value of the linked page?
Pages with few or no internal links are easy for Google to overlook, especially if they live in tag archives, or only show up in filtered results. And if they are orphaned, forget about it.
To fix this:
- Link to the page from relevant, higher-authority pages (e.g., top-performing blog posts, category hubs)
- Use descriptive, contextual anchor text to reinforce the page’s topic
- Avoid relying solely on sitemaps to get content discovered ==> links matter more
In addition to improving links inside your content, this is an example of where I would consider using HTML sitemaps. A topic I have talked about many times here in previous notes such as these:
Google prioritizes what you prioritize. A strong internal link structure not only helps with crawl paths, it sends a clear signal that the page belongs in your indexable, valuable content set. If you want a page indexed, make sure your site treats it like it matters.
Improve User Signals
Even if your page is crawlable and well-written, poor user interaction can keep it out of the index. One of the clearest signs to Google? Users clicking through to your page, then quickly returning to the search results to try another.
That behavior, known as pogo-sticking, suggests the page didn’t satisfy the query. If it happens often, Google may deprioritize the page for indexing or visibility.
Here’s how to improve engagement and alignment:
- Use Google Search Console (GSC) to review which queries are triggering clicks
- Check: Does the page actually answer those queries directly and clearly?
- Refine the title and meta description to better reflect the content—and the intent behind the query
- Lead with value: address the user’s likely question in the first paragraph
- Use internal links, subheadings, and visuals to improve dwell time and page clarity
Google wants to index pages that satisfy user intent. If the query-to-content match is off—even slightly—you’ll get clicks but lose the indexation battle.
💡 Tip: Mismatched Queries? That’s a Signal to Split the Topic
If you see a page in GSC getting impressions or clicks for queries it only sort of addresses, that’s a sign the content might be too broad, or the intent isn’t clearly served.
Example:
You have a page about “How to improve category pages for SEO,” but it’s getting clicks for queries like “internal linking for product pages.”
Rather than overloading the existing page, consider:
- Creating a new post specifically about internal linking strategies
- Internally linking between the two pages to strengthen topical relevance
- Making each page more focused, satisfying intent more clearly
This helps improve user satisfaction, prevents mixed signals to Google, and increases your chances of both pages being indexed and ranked appropriately.
Understand When It’s Not Worth Fixing
Not every CCNI page is a problem.
In fact, sometimes it’s the right outcome.
Google doesn’t want to index every single page on your site, and neither should you. Index bloat can dilute crawl budget, confuse topical relevance, and clutter reporting. If a page doesn’t serve a clear SEO or user goal, it’s okay (even smart) to let it go.
When it’s probably not worth fixing:
- Archive or tag pages that duplicate existing category structures
- Filtered product URLs (e.g., color=blue, size=small) that add no new value
- Location pages or programmatic pages that don’t include unique content or intent
- Pages created for internal users, search only, or temporary campaigns
- Sitemap entries for broken, soft 404, or nearly blank pages
Ask yourself:
Would I want this page to show up in Google Search?
Sometimes the best fix is knowing when not to force it. Focus your energy on pages that matter. Let the rest stay where they belong: out of the index.
Getting Indexed Is About Proving Value
“Crawled – currently not indexed” doesn’t mean your site is broken. It means Google didn’t see enough reason to include that page in its search results. That’s a signal, not a penalty.
Fixing it isn’t about tricking the algorithm. It’s about showing that your page is:
- Worth linking to internally
- Worth reading by a real user
- Different from the rest of your site (and the web)
- Aligned with the search intent of the queries it appears for
In some cases, the fix is technical. In others, it’s content. Often, it’s structural. And sometimes, the smartest move is to walk away and focus on what’s truly worth indexing.
