Danny Andrawes 13 May 2025 16 minutes

Demystifying Site Indexing: Learn How Crawl Budget, Google Search Console, and Technical SEO Impact Your Site’s Discoverability

Indexing is one of the core components of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), but it often feels like an elusive concept to many. It’s more than just a technical aspect of search engines; it’s vital for making sure your website is visible and discoverable by users searching for relevant content. So, let’s dive into what indexing really means and explore the various dimensions of indexability, crawlability, and how these concepts intersect with your site’s visibility.

What is Indexability in Online Marketing and SEO?

Indexability refers to the ability of search engines, like Google or Bing, to access and list the content of a webpage in its database. Without proper indexability, even the most valuable content on your site will remain unseen by search engines. Think of it like a book in a library.

If the book is never cataloged (indexed), it’s as if it doesn’t exist in the library, and therefore, readers can’t find it. In the context of SEO, indexability is the key to ensuring that search engines can discover, crawl, and catalog your pages in their indexes.

Understanding Search Engines Indexability - by OMG
Understanding Search Engines Indexability

What is Crawlability?

Crawlability, on the other hand, refers to a search engine’s ability to discover and navigate through the pages of a website. It’s about ensuring that search engine bots can easily find and follow links from one page to another.

If your site is well-structured with clear internal links, search engine crawlers can “crawl” through your pages more effectively. If there are roadblocks preventing crawlers from accessing certain pages (like poor internal linking or blocking files), it can negatively impact how the site gets indexed.

Difference Between Page Indexing and Website Indexing

When we talk about indexing, we often focus on individual pages as well as the entire website. Page indexing refers to the inclusion of a specific webpage in the search engine’s index. When a page is indexed, it’s stored in the search engine’s database, and it has the potential to show up in search results.

Website indexing, however, encompasses the indexing of the entire domain. It means that all the accessible pages on a website are crawled, and the relevant ones are included in the search engine’s index. So, while page indexing focuses on individual pages, website indexing is concerned with the overall site and its visibility on search engines.

Crawlability vs. Indexability

Crawlability and indexability are often used interchangeably, but they represent different steps in the process. Crawlability refers to the process of a search engine bot navigating your site and discovering new content. Once a page has been crawled, it can be indexed if there are no barriers to doing so (like a “noindex” tag).

Indexability, then, is about whether a page can be added to the index after it has been crawled. Without good crawlability, pages cannot be discovered and indexed, making crawlability a prerequisite for indexability.

What Do Search Engines Mean by “Indexing”?

When a search engine indexes a page, it’s essentially storing the page’s content in its database to be retrieved later when someone queries something relevant. Indexing isn’t about ranking a page (that’s a separate process); it’s about making sure that the page is included in the search engine’s records.

Search engines index content by analysing the text, images, videos, and other data on a page to understand its relevance to certain queries.

Search Engine Index - OMG
Search Engine Index

What is Indexability Status?

Indexability status refers to whether a page or website is eligible to be indexed by a search engine. A page may be considered “indexable” if it is accessible to crawlers and free from technical barriers that prevent it from being included in the search engine’s index. If there are issues like “noindex” meta tags, robots.txt restrictions, or other obstacles, the page will be considered “non-indexable” and will not appear in search results.

What Does “Not Indexable” Mean?

If a page is marked as “not indexable,” it means that a search engine has been instructed not to add it to its index. There are several reasons for this. For instance, a page might have a “noindex” directive in its HTML code, or it might be blocked by the website’s robots.txt file. Essentially, the search engine is being told to ignore the page when it comes to indexing, which can prevent it from appearing in search results.

How Do I Check the Indexability of a Page?

Checking a page’s indexability involves a few steps. You can use tools like Google Search Console to see which pages are indexed and identify any issues that might affect a page’s ability to be included in the index. Look for errors in the Crawl Stats section, and make sure no accidental “noindex” directives are present in the page’s meta tags. You can also check if a page is indexed by searching for its URL in Google (using “site:yourdomain.com/page” in the search bar).

How Can We Improve a Website’s Crawlability and Indexability?

Improving crawlability and indexability requires ensuring that search engine bots can easily navigate and understand your site. First, ensure that your website’s structure is clean and logical. Use an XML sitemap to guide crawlers and ensure that no important pages are missed. Make sure your internal linking structure is well-organised to facilitate crawling. Avoid excessive use of JavaScript or other technologies that might prevent crawlers from accessing key content. Also, make sure your robots.txt file doesn’t block critical pages, and use “noindex” tags wisely only for pages that shouldn’t appear in search results.

What Does “Valid URL” Mean for Indexing?

A valid URL is one that is properly structured and accessible to both users and search engines. In the context of indexing, a valid URL means that the page at that address is functioning as expected—without 404 errors, redirects, or other issues that could prevent crawlers from accessing the content. A valid URL helps ensure that the page can be indexed.

How to Check if a Website / Page is Valid or Not?

To check if a site or page is valid, you can use a variety of tools. Google Search Console is one such tool that can help you identify broken links, errors, and issues with a page’s accessibility. You can also use browser tools to check if the page loads correctly and returns the right HTTP status code (like 200 for a successful request). If the page is returning a 404 or a 301 redirect status, it might not be valid for indexing.

Biggest Indexing SEO Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Some common indexing mistakes include blocking important pages in the robots.txt file, using “noindex” tags incorrectly, or having broken links that prevent crawlers from accessing pages.

Guide To Indexability, Crawl Budget - by OMG Australia
‘noindex’ tags

To fix these, audit your website regularly, remove unnecessary “noindex” tags, fix broken links, and make sure that pages you want indexed are properly linked within your site.

Most Significant Aspects That Influence Indexability

Several factors influence indexability, including website structure, optimised technical SEO elements and website setup, and page content. A clean, well-organised site with fast load times and minimal technical issues is far more likely to be indexed. Similarly, high-quality, relevant content that is easy to crawl and understand will be indexed more effectively.

What does setting a page to “no index” mean?

Setting a page to “no index” means telling search engines like Google not to include that specific page in their search results. It’s like putting up a “Do Not Enter” sign for search engine bots, so they skip over that page when deciding what to show people in search results.

This is done by adding a small piece of code, called a meta tag, to the page.

The “no index” code looks something like this:

<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>

Using robots.txt file to block a page from being indexed:

Or, if using robots.txt or settings in tools like Google Search Console, website owners can also tell search engines to avoid indexing certain pages.

The important thing to remember is that “no index” doesn’t stop search engines from visiting the page—it just prevents them from adding it to search results. If the page is already indexed before adding “no index,” it might take some time before search engines actually remove it.

Why Should Some Pages Be Non-Indexable?

Why would someone want to do this? There are plenty of reasons! Maybe the page isn’t ready for the public yet, or it’s a private page meant only for specific users (like a login page or a thank-you page after a purchase). Sometimes, businesses use “no index” on duplicate pages or low-quality content they don’t want to affect their overall website ranking.

Basically, not all pages on a website should be indexed. Some pages, such as login pages, duplicate content, or internal search result pages, may not add value to search engine results and can potentially harm your SEO efforts. By setting these pages to “noindex,” you help search engines focus on the most relevant content, which can improve the overall performance of your site.

How to Know if a Page Should Be Indexed or Not?

You should carefully consider whether each page adds value to search engine results. Pages that provide original, high-quality content and are likely to be searched for by users should generally be indexed. Pages that are technical, redundant, or irrelevant to your core offering might be better off set to “noindex.”

In conclusion, understanding indexing is fundamental to a successful SEO strategy. By focusing on both crawlability and indexability, you ensure that your website’s pages are not only discoverable but also visible in search results when users are looking for content like yours. Remember, it’s not just about getting pages indexed—it’s about getting the right pages indexed.

What Does Crawl Budget Mean and How Does It Affect Indexability?

Crawl budget is a term that refers to the amount of resources a search engine allocates to crawling and indexing a website. It essentially determines how many pages a search engine bot will crawl and how often it will crawl them. A website’s crawl budget depends on various factors such as site authority, the number of pages, server speed, and how well it is structured.

For larger websites with hundreds or thousands of pages, managing crawl budget becomes critical to ensuring that the most important pages are crawled and indexed. If your website is inefficient in using its crawl budget, it could mean that search engine bots waste resources crawling pages that aren’t as important, leaving your core pages unindexed or crawled less frequently.

To optimise crawl budget, make sure your website is free of issues like broken links, duplicate content, or redirects that could waste the bot’s time. Additionally, ensure that high-value pages are easily accessible from other pages on the site to help bots find them and index them faster. Proper internal linking, along with tools like an XML sitemap, helps improve the crawlability and indexability of the most important pages.

How to Use GSC to Check a Website’s Indexability?

Google Search Console (GSC) is a powerful tool for monitoring and improving your website’s performance, and it provides insights into indexing.

To check a website’s indexability in GSC, you can:

  • Go to the “Coverage” Report: This section of GSC shows you the pages that are indexed, the pages with errors, and those that are excluded from the index. Here, you can see whether there are any pages being blocked from being indexed, such as through a “noindex” directive, robots.txt file restrictions, or crawl errors.
Guide To Indexability, Crawl Budget - by OMG Australia
Google’s “URL Inspection” Tool
  • Use the “URL Inspection” Tool: This tool allows you to enter a specific URL and check its indexability status. It will tell you whether the page is indexed, whether it has been crawled recently, and if there are any issues preventing it from being indexed.
  • Look for Index Coverage Issues: GSC will show common indexing problems like soft 404s, redirects, or server errors that could prevent a page from being indexed. Addressing these issues will help increase your site’s overall indexability.

By regularly monitoring GSC and fixing any indexing issues, you can ensure that your site is optimised for search engines and that valuable content isn’t being ignored or excluded.

How Does Site Indexing Affect Rankings?

Site indexing plays a crucial role in your site’s rankings because, without being indexed, pages cannot appear in search engine results. However, simply being indexed doesn’t guarantee that a page will rank highly; it’s the next steps—such as relevance, user engagement, and the quality of the content—that impact ranking.

When search engines crawl and index pages, they look for a variety of factors to determine how relevant and authoritative the content is. Indexed pages with high-quality content, fast loading times, mobile-friendly optimised for usability, and proper op-page SEO optimisations (like relevant keywords, titles, and meta descriptions) are more likely to rank higher than pages that are poorly optimised.

Moreover, Google’s indexing algorithm considers how well the content aligns with the user’s search intent. A page that provides valuable and relevant answers to search queries is more likely to rank higher than pages that don’t.

Does the Number of Pages Indexed Impact How High a Site Ranks?

The number of pages indexed on a website doesn’t directly correlate with higher rankings. In fact, having too many low-quality pages indexed can hurt your SEO efforts. For example, duplicate content, thin pages (with little useful information), or pages that don’t contribute to the main focus of your site can dilute your SEO power.

On the other hand, having a moderate number of high-quality, well-optimised web pages indexed is far more valuable than having thousands of poorly optimised pages. It’s better to focus on quality over quantity. Ensure that the pages indexed are well-designed, provide value to users, and are aligned with your targeted keywords.

However, if your website offers a broad range of content and services, it’s still important to have as many relevant pages indexed as possible to capture various search intents and serve different user needs. Pages must be optimised to support ranking across different keywords, so having a solid strategy is key.

Is It Better to Have More or Fewer Pages Indexed?

The question of whether to have more or fewer pages indexed ultimately depends on the quality of the pages themselves. For those that truly understand and know what Search Engine Optimisation / SEO is, they know that quality will always trumps quantity. If you have a large website, having a lot of pages indexed can be beneficial, but only if those pages provide high-value content that answers user queries.

Fewer indexed pages might be better if they are all highly optimised, relevant, and authoritative. For instance, a blog with a few well-researched, long-form posts is better than one with hundreds of shallow, poorly written posts. On the other hand, if your website covers a broad range of topics or services, ensuring that as many important pages as possible are indexed is vital for capturing diverse search traffic.

Ultimately, your goal should be to have all your valuable content indexed. Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor which pages are indexed and which are not, and optimise accordingly.

What Should I Focus on If I Want More Pages Indexed and Ranking Better for More / Varied Keywords?

If your goal is to get more pages indexed and ranking for a broader set of keywords, you need to consider several factors.

Here are some of the indexation factors:

Regularly Update Content: Keep your content fresh by updating older articles, adding new information, or creating follow-up posts. Search engines tend to favor pages with up-to-date information, which can help those pages rank for more and varied keywords.

Submit an Updated Sitemap: Once you’ve optimised your content and fixed indexing issues, submitting an updated XML sitemap to Google via Search Console helps crawlers discover the new or updated pages faster.

By consistently applying these strategies, you’ll improve the chances of your pages being indexed and ranking for a broader set of keywords.

These additional sections help deepen the understanding of indexing, crawl budget, and strategies for improving a website’s crawlability and indexability. By considering all of these factors and regularly monitoring your site’s performance in Google Search Console, you can fine-tune your SEO efforts to ensure that the most valuable content on your site is properly indexed and optimised for search engines.

Optimising for Visibility with Online Marketing Gurus

In today’s competitive digital landscape, mastering the concepts of crawlability and indexability is no longer optional; its essential for SEO success. As we’ve explored, ensuring that search engines can efficiently crawl, interpret, and index your content directly impacts how and whether your pages appear in search results. From managing crawl budgets to avoiding indexing pitfalls, the key lies in a proactive, technically sound SEO strategy.

That’s exactly where our expert SEO services come in; we identify indexibility issues, optimise your site structure, and ensure your most valuable content gets the visibility it deserves.

Let’s work together to make sure your website isn’t just online; but actually found. 

Ready to get your pages indexed and ranking? Speak to one of our digital marketing experts at Online Marketing Gurus and unlock any websites full potential

SEO Expert And Author Danny Andrawes of OMG

About the Author

Danny Andrawes

Danny Andrawes, Chief Executive Officer of OMG, plays a pivotal role in shaping the agency's strategic direction. With nearly 20 years of experience, he progressed from Content Specialist and Digital SEO Specialist to CEO, leveraging his impressive background in SEO/SEM delivery, client acquisition and retention, and change management to enhance OMG's service offerings. Danny’s leadership emphasises client partnerships and the integration of cutting-edge tools to optimise digital campaigns, positioning OMG as a trusted partner for businesses worldwide.