Google Search Console: What does “crawled – currently not indexed” mean?
- Annick Vivicorsi
- Jun 18
- 2 min read
One of the most common messages you see in Google Search Console is “Crawled – currently not indexed.” This can be confusing, especially if you think you’ve successfully published and optimized your page.
Here's what it means, why it happens, and how to respond.
1. Understand the message: “crawled – currently not indexed”
This message means that:
Google has found your page (via sitemap, internal or external link),
He explored it, that is to say the robot passed over it,
But he chose not to index it , for now.
This does not mean that the page is banned from indexing (no noindex, no robots.txt blocking), but that Google considers it not worth adding to the index at this point.
2. Possible causes
a. Content too low
Google may judge that the page does not provide sufficient value:
little text,
duplicate content,
lack of original information,
page too close to others already indexed.
b. Very recent page
New pages are sometimes crawled quickly but then held before being indexed. This is a form of temporary filtering.
c. Limited crawl budget
If the site contains many low-quality pages or too many, Google prioritizes them. Some are discarded to conserve resources.
d. Indirect technical errors
Structural errors, weak internal linking, or a poorly configured sitemap can slow down indexing.
3. How to react?
a. Analyze the quality of the content
Ask yourself the right questions:
Is the content useful, structured, and complete?
Does the page answer a specific query?
Does it provide unique information compared to others?
If not: Re-upload the content before attempting to re-index.
b. Improve internal meshing
Add a link to this page from other high-traffic content.
Place it in menus, lists, blog posts, etc.
This reinforces its perceived importance .
c. Request indexing manually
If the page is of quality and well linked:
Log in to Google Search Console
Go to “URL Inspection”
Paste the URL and click “Request indexing”
Caution: there is no point in doing this too often if the problem is not corrected.
4. Customer case: bonbain.ca
On bonbain.ca , some before/after gallery pages were marked as “crawled – not indexed”.
Cause: little text, only visuals, no optimized tags.
Action :
Adding clear and useful descriptions,
Integration into thematic blog articles,
Renaming images with keywords.
Result: the pages were indexed 2 to 3 weeks after correction and return via Search Console.
5. What if nothing changes?
If after several weeks and a manual indexing request, the page remains unindexed:
This may mean that Google still considers it useless ,
Or that the site as a whole suffers from quality problems (zombie pages, unbalanced structure, etc.).
In this case, a complete SEO audit is recommended to correct more in-depth . See my SEO offers
Conclusion
The “crawled – currently not indexed” label is a weak but important signal . It shows that Google has seen your page, but doesn’t yet deem it worthy of appearing in the results.
Before trying to “force” indexing, you have to work on the substance : content, mesh, structure, real utility.
Need a precise diagnosis? Book a slot online or contact me . See also my Wix Partner Legend profile .
Annick Vivicorsi
