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All lessons in SEO for Beginners Lesson 4.2 of 26

Module 0: Introduction

  1. 0.1What is a search engine?
  2. 0.2How do search engines work?
  3. 0.3What is SEO?
  4. 0.4How to start SEO

Module 1: Keyword Research

  1. 1.1What are keywords in SEO?
  2. 1.2What is search intent?
  3. 1.3How to find keywords for your website
  4. 1.4Keyword difficulty
  5. 1.5Keyword mapping

Module 2: On-Page SEO

  1. 2.1What is on-page SEO?
  2. 2.2How to optimize a page for a keyword
  3. 2.3How to write title tags and meta descriptions
  4. 2.4How to use headings for SEO
  5. 2.5Internal linking for SEO

Module 3: Link Building

  1. 3.1What is link building?
  2. 3.2What makes a good backlink?
  3. 3.3How to get backlinks for beginners
  4. 3.4Blogger outreach

Module 4: Technical SEO Basics

  1. 4.1What is technical SEO?
  2. 4.2How to check if a page is indexed
  3. 4.3How to find broken links on a website
  4. 4.4XML sitemap and robots.txt for beginners
  5. 4.5How to do a basic SEO audit

Module 5: Measuring SEO Results

  1. 5.1How to set up Google Search Console
  2. 5.2Clicks, impressions, CTR, and position explained
  3. 5.3Your SEO action plan

How to check if a page is indexed

In this lesson

  • How to use the site: search
  • How to use URL Inspection in Search Console
  • What to do if a page is not indexed

Short answer

To check if a page is indexed, search site: plus the page URL in Google or Bing. If it appears, it is likely indexed. For an exact answer, use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console or the URL Inspection tool in Bing Webmaster Tools. If a page is not indexed, check for a noindex tag, robots.txt blocks, thin content, or missing links.

Check indexing: site search, URL Inspection, then fix and request indexingsite: searchQuick checkURL InspectionExact statusFix the reasonnoindex, links...Ask againOnce is enough
Start quick, confirm exactly, fix, then ask search engines to look again.

Method 1: The site: search (quick check)

The site: search operator shows pages a search engine has indexed from one website.

  1. Open Google or Bing.
  2. Type site:yourdomain.com to see indexed pages from your whole site.
  3. Type site:yourdomain.com/page-name/ to check one page.
  4. If the page appears, it is indexed. If nothing appears, it may not be.

The site: search is a rough check. The number of results is an estimate, and new pages may not show yet.

Method 2: URL Inspection (exact check)

Bing Webmaster Tools has its own URL Inspection tool, and a URL Submission tool for new pages.

Step 1 of 5

Open Google Search Console

and choose your site. (Set up in Lesson 5.1.)

Method 3: The Page indexing report

In Search Console, open Indexing, then Pages. You will see how many pages are indexed and the reasons others are not. Check it monthly.

Common reasons a page is not indexed

ReasonWhat it meansHow to fix
Excluded by noindex tagThe page tells search engines not to index itRemove the noindex tag if you want it in search
Blocked by robots.txtCrawlers cannot access the pageEdit robots.txt (Lesson 4.4)
Discovered, currently not indexedGoogle knows the page but has not crawled it yetAdd internal links and wait
Crawled, currently not indexedGoogle visited but chose not to indexImprove the content so it is more useful
Duplicate without user-selected canonicalGoogle sees it as a copy of another pageMake it unique or set a canonical tag
Not found (404)The page does not existFix the link or restore the page

A canonical tag tells search engines which version of a page is the main one.

Quick quiz

1. What does site:yoursite.com show?
2. Which tool gives an exact index status in Google?
3. A page says “Excluded by noindex tag.” What should you do if you want it indexed?

Common mistakes

  • Expecting new pages to show instantly. Indexing can take days or weeks.
  • Requesting indexing again and again. Once is enough. Fix the real problem.
  • Wanting every page indexed. Login, cart, and thank-you pages do not need to be.
  • Only checking Google. Check Bing too, since it powers other search services.

Your action

Key terms

Indexed page
A page stored in a search engine’s index and able to appear in results.
site: operator
A search command that shows indexed pages from one site.
URL Inspection tool
A Search Console tool that shows a page’s index status.
Page indexing report
A Search Console report listing indexed and non-indexed pages.
Request indexing
Asking a search engine to crawl a page again.
Canonical tag
A tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one.

Questions beginners ask

Why is my homepage indexed but not my other pages?

Your other pages may lack internal links, be too new, or have thin content.

Can I force Google to index a page?

No. You can request it, but Google decides. Better content and links improve your chances.

Related lessons

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