If you’ve been working hard on your WordPress website, publishing quality content, and optimizing for SEO—but your pages still aren’t showing up on Google—it can be incredibly frustrating.
This problem is usually caused by indexing issues. Indexing is the process by which search engines like Google crawl your website and include your pages in their search results. If your pages aren’t indexed, they won’t show up in search—even if everything else is perfectly optimized.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through how to identify and fix page indexing issues in WordPress step by step.
What Is Page Indexing and Why It Matters
Search engines operate in three stages: crawling, indexing, and ranking. Crawling is when a bot discovers your page. Indexing is when that page is stored in the search engine’s database. Ranking is where the page appears in search results.
If a page isn’t indexed, it won’t be ranked—meaning it won’t bring in any organic traffic.
For most site owners, the goal is to ensure that all important pages are indexed correctly and can be found by users searching for relevant keywords.
Common Signs That Your WordPress Page Is Not Indexed
Before jumping into fixes, make sure you’re actually dealing with an indexing issue. Here are some telltale signs:
- The page doesn’t appear in Google search.
- Google Search Console reports “Discovered – currently not indexed” or similar messages.
- You see very low or no impressions in your performance reports.
- A site search using
site:yourdomain.com/page-urlshows no results.
If you’re experiencing any of these, it’s time to investigate further.
Step 1: Check Index Status Using Google
The simplest way to see if a page is indexed is to do a Google site search. Go to Google and type:
site:yourdomain.com/page-url
If the page is indexed, you’ll see it in the results. If it doesn’t show up, that’s a strong signal that the page isn’t indexed.
Step 2: Use the URL Inspection Tool in Google Search Console
Google Search Console is your go-to tool for diagnosing indexing issues.
- Log in to Search Console.
- Use the “URL Inspection” tool.
- Enter the full URL of the page you’re checking.
This tool will show you whether the page is indexed, if Google has crawled it, and if there are any issues preventing it from being added to the index.
Step 3: Make Sure You Haven’t Blocked Search Engines
WordPress includes a setting that can prevent your entire site from being indexed.
Go to your WordPress dashboard:
- Navigate to Settings > Reading
- Look for the option: “Discourage search engines from indexing this site”
- Make sure this is unchecked
This is a common oversight, especially on new or development sites.
Step 4: Check Your robots.txt File
The robots.txt file tells search engines which parts of your website they’re allowed to crawl.
Visit yourdomain.com/robots.txt and look for any lines that might be blocking access. For example:
Disallow: /
This line tells bots not to crawl any pages at all, which would explain indexing issues.
Instead, you should see something more like:
User-agent: *
Disallow:
Which allows all bots to access all content.
Step 5: Look for Noindex Tags in the Page Code
A meta tag in the page’s header can instruct search engines not to index a specific page. To check:
- Open the page in your browser
- Right-click and select “View Page Source”
- Search for
noindex
If you see something like:
<meta name="robots" content="noindex">
That page won’t be indexed. You can remove or change this tag using your SEO plugin (like Yoast or Rank Math).
For example, in Yoast SEO:
- Edit the page
- Scroll down to the Yoast settings
- Click on the “Advanced” tab
- Set “Allow search engines to show this Page in search results?” to Yes
Step 6: Submit the Page for Indexing in Search Console
If your page is crawlable, doesn’t have a noindex tag, and isn’t showing any errors, you can manually ask Google to index it:
- Go to Google Search Console
- Use the URL Inspection tool
- Click the “Request Indexing” button
This tells Google to prioritize crawling and indexing that URL.
Step 7: Strengthen Internal Linking
If a page has no internal links pointing to it, Google might not discover it easily. These are called “orphan pages.”
To solve this:
- Add internal links to the page from other content on your site
- Include the link in menus, footers, or navigation if it’s important
- Use contextual linking in blog posts or cornerstone content
The more connected your content is, the easier it is for search engines to crawl and index your pages.
Step 8: Resolve Crawl Errors and Technical Issues
Search Console may also show crawl errors that prevent indexing. Go to:
- Coverage Report
- Look under the “Excluded” and “Error” tabs
Look for issues such as:
- Soft 404s
- Redirect loops
- Blocked resources
- Server errors
Address these one by one. Sometimes the fix could be as simple as correcting a broken link or removing an unnecessary redirect.
Step 9: Improve Content Quality
If your page has thin or low-quality content, Google may crawl it but decide not to index it.
Ask yourself:
- Is the content helpful and original?
- Does it provide value beyond what already exists?
- Is it formatted well with proper headers and visuals?
Improving the quality of your page—adding images, updating information, and making it more user-friendly—can significantly improve its chances of getting indexed.
Step 10: Check for Duplicate Content
Duplicate content is another reason why Google might ignore a page. This can happen if multiple URLs show the same or very similar content.
You can fix this by:
- Consolidating similar content into one authoritative page
- Using 301 redirects to send duplicate traffic to the main URL
- Adding canonical tags to let Google know which version to index
Step 11: Optimize Page Load Speed
Google considers site performance in its crawling strategy. If your site is too slow, Googlebot may not crawl all your pages effectively.
To improve speed:
- Use a lightweight theme
- Install a caching plugin like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache
- Optimize images using a plugin like ShortPixel or Smush
- Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) like Cloudflare
Faster pages improve user experience—and increase the likelihood of being indexed.
Step 12: Use a Clean Sitemap and Submit It to Google
Your sitemap is a file that helps search engines discover your content. It should only include URLs that you want indexed.
- Use Yoast or Rank Math to generate a sitemap
- Go to Google Search Console > Sitemaps
- Submit the sitemap URL (usually yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml)
Make sure the sitemap doesn’t include broken, redirected, or noindex URLs.
Step 13: Update and Republish the Page
Sometimes, Google skips indexing because the page looks outdated or not useful. A simple refresh can help.
- Add new information
- Update the publish date
- Refresh meta descriptions and titles
After republishing, request indexing again.
Step 14: Add Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data helps Google understand your content better. You can use schema for articles, products, events, etc.
- Use a plugin like Schema Pro or Rank Math (which includes schema features)
- Add the appropriate markup for each page
- Validate it using Google’s Rich Results Test
This doesn’t guarantee indexing, but it improves crawlability and visibility.
Step 15: Make Sure Hosting Isn’t Slowing You Down
Sometimes indexing problems stem from server-side issues like timeouts or poor uptime.
If your host is unreliable:
- Switch to a better WordPress hosting provider
- Monitor your site uptime using tools like UptimeRobot
- Check server logs for crawl errors
Reliable hosting ensures search engines can access your site consistently.
Final Thoughts
Fixing indexing issues in WordPress takes a bit of technical know-how and patience—but the results are worth it. By following these steps, you’ll dramatically increase the chances that your content will be discovered, indexed, and ranked by search engines.
If you’ve checked all the boxes and are still experiencing issues, it might be worth consulting with an SEO specialist or developer to dig deeper into the technical side.
Remember: publishing content is just the first step. Ensuring it gets indexed is where real SEO begins.
Great idea! Here’s a set of FAQs you can include at the end of your blog post on fixing page indexing issues in WordPress. These will help boost SEO, improve user experience, and answer common questions your readers might have.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What does it mean when a page is not indexed?
When a page is not indexed, it means that search engines like Google have not added the page to their search results database. If it’s not indexed, it won’t appear in search engine results, regardless of how well it’s optimized.
2. How long does it take for a new WordPress page to be indexed by Google?
Typically, it can take anywhere from a few hours to several days for Google to index a new page. The time varies depending on your site’s authority, crawl budget, internal linking, and how frequently you publish new content.
3. Why is Google Search Console showing ‘Discovered – currently not indexed’?
This status means Google found the page but hasn’t yet crawled or indexed it. It could be due to low page quality, crawl budget limits, or the page being new with no internal or external links pointing to it.
4. Does having a sitemap guarantee my page will be indexed?
No. A sitemap helps search engines discover your pages, but it does not guarantee indexing. The content must still meet Google’s quality guidelines and be accessible, crawlable, and valuable.
5. Should I worry if only some of my pages are not indexed?
Not necessarily. Google may choose not to index pages it considers low value or duplicate. Focus on ensuring that your most important pages (like service pages, blog posts, and product pages) are indexed.
6. How can I check which pages are indexed?
You can use the site: search operator in Google, like this:
site:yourdomain.com
Or, go to Google Search Console and check the Coverage Report to see a list of indexed and non-indexed pages.
7. Can plugins cause indexing issues in WordPress?
Yes. SEO plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, or All in One SEO can apply noindex tags or modify robots.txt files if not configured correctly. Always double-check your settings after activating or updating any SEO plugin.
8. How often should I check for indexing issues?
It’s a good habit to check your Search Console at least once a week. If you regularly add new content or make technical changes, you should monitor indexing more frequently.
9. Can slow hosting affect indexing?
Yes. If your server is too slow or frequently down, Googlebot might fail to crawl your site efficiently. Over time, this can impact how often and how deeply your site is indexed.
10. Is it okay to use “noindex” on some pages?
Absolutely. It’s best practice to use “noindex” on low-value pages like admin login pages, thank-you pages, or duplicate versions of content. Just make sure you’re not accidentally applying it to pages you want to rank.
