The dreaded ‘Discovered - Currently Not Indexed’ in Google Search Console.Essentially, this means that Google is aware of these URLs, but they haven’t been crawled and are therefore not indexed.Keep in mind that this differs from ‘Crawled - Currently Not Indexed’, as this means that the page was crawled by Google but not indexed.Today, we’re outlining the four reasons why your pages are Discovered - Currently Not Indexed in Google Search Console.
What does Google have to say?
This issue has become far more prominent in 2022 when compared to previous years.This basically means that content needs to be of a much higher standard to make sure that Google bots routinely crawl and index new content.
How can I troubleshoot this problem?
Here are the four most common reasons behind the ‘Discovered - Currently Not Indexed’ status in Google Search Console.
Content quality issues
If you’re producing high volumes of content, your quality may not be where it should be. The most common reasons for SEO content quality issues are with websites that fall into one of the following categories:
- Short content - 300 words or less
- Poorly written content - doesn’t provide the reader with any value
- Poorly planned copy - does this add any value to your site?
- Local SEO pages with a high volume of super similar location pages
- Content is very similar to other webpages
Overall - make sure that the content you publish is worthy of being indexed in Google search. Google will be far more likely to publish content which is fresh, original, and of genuine value to search users.
No internal linking
Internal linking plays an important role in communicating value to Google.When publishing new content, make sure to update any relevant pages on your website with links to this new content.Adding these internal links will help establish the authority of your site, as well as allowing Google to effectively understand the context of this new content.
Sitemap exclusion
When using a static XML sitemap, it’s likely that the page was not added to this XML sitemap when created.We suggest switching to a dynamic sitemap that adds new URLs as they are created, streamlining the process for yourself.If the URL isn’t included in your XML sitemap, Google is therefore likely to think that it is less valuable in the scheme of your website, therefore excluding it from the index.
Duplicate content
In many cases, particularly e-commerce, you might be using supplier content or specifications that use large copy blocks seen on other sites.Google may be vague around how duplicate content impacts your rankings, but it’s always important to keep your content both unique and valuable to readers.
It’s wrap up time!
Now, more than ever, Google is very selective over what actually ranks.If you’re seeing the Discovered - Currently Not Indexed status on Google Search Console, use the above points to your advantage.Keep your content unique and valuable - and good luck!Don’t forget to get a free proposal with Local Digital to see how we can give your business the extra edge - and rid yourself of Discovered - Currently Not Indexed forever.
