Indexability refers to whether a web page is technically in a state that allows it to be included in a search engine’s index. For a page to be indexable, there must be no technical barriers preventing it.
Checks that affect indexability:
- Does the page return a 200 OK HTTP status code?
- Is robots.txt blocking the page?
- Does the meta robots tag contain
noindex? - Is the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header imposing a restriction?
- Does the canonical tag point to another URL?
- Is the page behind a password-protected area?
- Is JavaScript-rendered content visible to the bot?
Being indexable does not guarantee that a page will be indexed. A page being technically free of obstacles is a prerequisite, but Google also considers signals such as quality, originality, and value when making the final indexing decision.
Tip: When investigating why a page is not indexed, first check its indexability. The “URL Inspection” tool in Search Console shows where a page gets stuck at each step of the indexing process.