# Diagnose a page not indexed by Google > Start with URL Inspection, then check robots.txt, noindex rules and Google's chosen canonical, in that order. Google never guarantees indexing, so a page can meet every requirement and still be left out. A page missing from the index is also missing from AI Overviews and AI Mode. - URL: https://geo.casa/playbooks/page-not-indexed/ - Guide ยท Officially documented - Reviewed: 2026-10-26 ## Before you start - Search Console access for the property that contains the URL. - The exact URL, including protocol and trailing slash, as users reach it. ## 1. Inspect the URL > **Officially documented:** > Open the URL in the URL Inspection tool. "URL is not on Google" means the URL won't appear in Google Search results, and the Page indexing section shows why. If you've changed the page since Google last crawled it, run **Test live URL**. The indexed result reflects the last crawl. > > Sources: [Google Search Console Help: URL Inspection tool](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289) Work through the following steps in the order of the Page indexing fields ([URL Inspection tool](https://geo.casa/measurement/url-inspection/)). ## 2. Is crawling blocked? > **Officially documented:** > A page blocked by robots.txt can still appear in search results without a description if other pages link to it. > > Sources: [Google Search Central: Introduction to robots.txt](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro) If **Crawl allowed?** is "No" and you want the page indexed, remove the blocking rule ([robots.txt](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/robots-txt/)). If you want the page *out* of results, robots.txt is the wrong tool. See step 3. ## 3. Is indexing blocked? > **Officially documented:** > "For the noindex rule to be effective, the page or resource must not be blocked by a robots.txt file." If it is blocked, the crawler never sees the noindex rule. > > Sources: [Google Search Central: Block Search indexing with noindex](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing) If **Indexing allowed?** is "No", find the `noindex` in the `` tag or the `X-Robots-Tag` header and remove it. Templates, CMS settings and staging configuration are the usual source. ## 4. Did Google choose another canonical? > **Officially documented:** > Google ranks these methods by strength. Redirects and `rel="canonical"` are strong signals, and sitemap inclusion is weak. Google says they can stack, so combining them increases the chance your preferred URL is chosen. > > Sources: [Google Search Central: How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls) If **Google-selected canonical** is a different URL, Google has indexed that one instead. That is correct if the pages are duplicates. If it isn't, make the signals agree: canonical tag, internal links and sitemap all pointing at the URL you want ([Canonical URL signals](https://geo.casa/crawling-indexing/canonical-signals/)). ## 5. Nothing technical is wrong > **Officially documented:** > "Google doesn't guarantee that it will crawl, index, or serve your page, even if your page follows the Google Search Essentials." > > Sources: [Google Search Central: In-depth guide to how Google Search works](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works) > **Officially documented:** > A valid live test only confirms that Google-InspectionTool can access your page for indexing. The page must also not be a duplicate, and "The page quality must be high enough to warrant indexing." > > Sources: [Google Search Console Help: URL Inspection tool](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289) At this point the question is whether the page is worth indexing. See [People-first content](https://geo.casa/foundations/people-first-content/). ## Verify - Run **Test live URL** after each fix. Then request indexing for that one URL, or resubmit the sitemap for many. - Re-inspect after Google recrawls. Requesting indexing has a daily limit and doesn't guarantee indexing. ## Common mistakes - Reading "URL is on Google" as proof the page shows in results. It means eligible. Search for the URL to check. - Blocking a page in robots.txt *and* adding `noindex`. Google never sees the `noindex`. - Requesting indexing repeatedly instead of fixing the cause. ## Why it matters for AI search To appear as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet ([Google AI Overviews](https://geo.casa/ai-search/google-ai-overviews/)). A page missing from the index is missing there too. ## Sources - [Google Search Console Help: URL Inspection tool](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289) - [Google Search Central: In-depth guide to how Google Search works](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works) - [Google Search Central: Introduction to robots.txt](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro) - [Google Search Central: Block Search indexing with noindex](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing) - [Google Search Central: How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls)