Indexability Checker
The Indexability Checker determines whether search engines can index a specific page by checking all factors that might prevent indexing. This is crucial for ensuring your important pages can appear in search results and aren't accidentally blocked.
The tool examines meta robots tags, robots.txt rules, canonical tags, HTTP headers, response codes, and redirect chains to identify any blocking signals. It not only tells you if a page is indexable but explains exactly what's preventing indexing if issues exist.
Essential for troubleshooting pages that aren't appearing in search results, verifying new pages are indexable before promotion, and ensuring important content isn't accidentally blocked by technical configurations. Each issue comes with specific instructions for resolution.
How It Works
Get results in just a few simple steps
Enter the page URL to check
Fetch page and HTTP headers
Check meta robots tags
Verify robots.txt rules
Analyze canonical tags
Check response status codes
Provide indexability verdict with fixes
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't make these frequent errors
Accidentally adding noindex to important pages
Conflicting signals between meta robots and robots.txt
Canonical tags pointing to noindex pages
Not removing noindex after development
X-Robots-Tag headers overriding meta tags
Frequently Asked Questions
What prevents pages from being indexed?
Common blockers include noindex meta tags, noindex in X-Robots-Tag headers, robots.txt disallow rules, password protection, 4xx/5xx status codes, and canonical tags pointing to other pages. Any of these signals tells search engines not to index.
How do I fix indexability issues?
Remove noindex tags from pages you want indexed, ensure robots.txt allows crawling, fix canonical tags to be self-referencing or correct, resolve any server errors, and check for conflicting directives in headers versus meta tags.
Should all pages be indexable?
No, some pages should be noindex: admin pages, thank you pages, internal search results, duplicate content, and thin pages. The key is intentionally controlling what's indexed rather than accidentally blocking important content.
How quickly do indexability changes take effect?
Once you fix indexability issues, search engines need to recrawl the page. This typically happens within days to weeks. Use Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool to request immediate recrawling for faster updates.
Related Resources
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