Cursor Codebase Index Stale After Rebase or Branch Switch
After a rebase or branch switch, Cursor references files and line numbers that no longer exist. Indexer fell behind your git state. Force re-index and harden the workflow.
#Indexing
Articles tagged with #Indexing
Hreflang Has No Return Tag and Google Ignores the Cluster
Search Console reports "No return tags" on your hreflang cluster. Page A points to page B, but B doesn't point back to A. Google ignores the whole annotation.
JavaScript-Rendered Content Not Showing Up in Google Index
Your SPA renders fine for users, but Search Console shows the page indexed with a blank `<body>`. Why Googlebot's rendering quirks lose your content — and how to fix it.
Indexing Dropped After Google Switched Site to Mobile-First Indexing
You got the Search Console email confirming mobile-first indexing. Two weeks later, pages and impressions drop. The desktop version had content the mobile version doesn't.
Paginated Pages Set to noindex,follow and Deep Articles Dropped
A common SEO myth says set `noindex,follow` on page 2+. Google treats long-term noindex,follow as noindex,nofollow — and your deep articles stop getting discovered.
Query-Parameter URLs Creating Duplicate Index Entries
Search Console reports thousands of duplicate URLs with `?utm_*`, `?sort=`, `?ref=` variants. Each parameter combination got indexed as a separate page.
robots.txt Blocks CSS and JS and Indexing Quality Drops
You disallowed `/assets/` or `/_next/static/` in robots.txt to "save crawl budget." Googlebot can no longer render your page. Rankings and rich results decline.
Sitemap Exceeds 50,000 URLs and Google Stops Processing It
Your sitemap.xml has 73,000 URLs in a single file. Search Console reports "Couldn't fetch" or processes only the first 50,000. How to split a sitemap correctly.
GSC Coverage Report by Folder: Debug Indexing Drift
When indexed-page counts move and you do not know why, slicing Search Console by folder turns a vague problem into a debuggable one in 15 minutes.
Internal Search Result Pages: Index or Noindex?
Most internal search result pages should be kept out of the index. Here is why, and the two exceptions where letting them in actually wins traffic.
Noindex vs Nofollow vs Disallow: When to Use Each
Three controls, three different jobs. Pick the wrong one and you either leak pages into the index, waste crawl budget, or hide content from yourself by accident.
Infinite Scroll Pages Don't Get Indexed
First 20 items render, the next 100 load via JS — Googlebot never sees them.
New Category Pages Not Indexed
You just split content into categories, and the new category pages refuse to show up in Google. Why category pages need more than a list of links.
Pages Suddenly Deindexed After a Policy Action
A previously well-ranking page disappears from Google. Sometimes this is a quality update, sometimes a manual action. How to tell which.
Google Crawls My Homepage But Never the Article Pages
Search Console shows the homepage gets crawled regularly but inner article pages stay at "Discovered — currently not indexed" or are never crawled.
Googlebot Crawl Spikes But Impressions Stay Flat
Crawl Stats show Googlebot fetching hundreds of URLs per day, but the Performance report stays at the same flat impression line. Why crawling does not equal traffic.
Indexing Coverage Drops After a Site Redesign
After redesigning the site, the indexed page count drops in Search Console. What is real damage vs. normal re-evaluation.
Large Content Site Indexing Slowly
Site has thousands of pages but only a fraction get indexed. Why this happens and what actually moves the needle.
New Site Stuck in the Discovery Phase
A new domain has been live for 4–8 weeks. Sitemap is submitted, URL Inspection shows pages as "Discovered". Nothing seems to be moving forward.
Orphan Pages — No Internal Links, So No Indexing
A URL is in your sitemap but has zero internal links pointing to it. Google sees it as unimportant and either delays crawling or skips it entirely.
Page Is Indexed But Has Zero Impressions in Search Console
Search Console says the page is indexed, but the Performance report shows it has never gotten a single impression. Here is what that actually means.
Why Resubmitting URL Inspection Does Not Solve Indexing
You hit "Request Indexing" 10 times. The URL is still not in Google. Here is why URL Inspection is not what most people think.
Search Console Pages Report Sees Drops With No Obvious Reason
The "Indexed" line in Search Console drops by 50–200 URLs overnight. No errors, no changes. What is going on.
Pages in My Sitemap Don't Appear in Search Console (2026)
Sitemap.xml is submitted, the URLs are clearly listed, but Search Console's Pages report shows none of them. Causes and fixes.
Tag Pages Get Indexed But Article Pages Lag Behind
Google has indexed all your tag archive pages but article pages are still showing as "Discovered" or "Crawled — currently not indexed".
Thin Pages Get Deprioritized by Google
Google quietly stops crawling and indexing the thinnest pages on a site, even if there is no explicit penalty.
I Used the Removal Tool — Now What?
The Removals tool in Search Console blocks a URL from appearing in search for ~6 months. People misuse it as a permanent delete or a "fix indexing" button.
When "Slow Indexing" Is Actually Normal
Indexing delays cause panic. Here is the realistic baseline for new sites, new sections, and post-redesign sites.
Setting Up Sitemap.xml Properly in Astro
How to generate, validate, and submit a sitemap.xml in Astro — including hreflang pairs, exclusion rules, and what Google actually does with it.
What "Alternate Page With Proper Canonical Tag" Actually Means
Search Console says alternate — it's not an error. Here's how to read it.
Misconfigured Canonical: 3 Failure Modes + Fix Path
Wrong canonical leads to dropped pages or wrong URL ranking.
Google Rewrote My Meta Description
Description in SERP isn't yours — usually too generic, missing the keyword, or duplicated across pages.
Fix Search Console Error: Discovered Currently Not Indexed (Quick Triage)
Updated for 2026 — quick triage page for the Search Console error: what the bucket means, the first three things to check, and how to confirm the fix worked. For indie-site authority strategy, see the linked guide.
"Duplicate, Google Chose Different Canonical Than User"
You set a canonical but Google picked another URL. Why and how to fix.
Hreflang Warning: Quick Guide to Mismatched Return Tags and Language Codes
What hreflang warnings mean, why mismatched clusters happen, and the minimal fixes that resolve return-tag and language-code errors. For the Search Console International Targeting workflow, see the linked page.
Indexing Slow on a Brand-New Site: What Actually Moves the Needle
Brand-new domain takes weeks to start ranking. Here's what actually helps.
Internal Links Not Discovered by Google
Pages exist but Google doesn't see your internal links pointing to them.
Low Content Depth Hurting Indexing
Short, thin pages get deprioritized. What "depth" really means.
Page Not Mobile-Friendly Warning
Search Console flagged pages as not mobile-friendly. Typically viewport, tap targets, or content cut-off.
Page Indexed But Not Ranking
Indexed status, zero impressions. Usually content depth, intent mismatch, or topical authority.
Pages Dropped From the Index — Investigation
Previously indexed pages now missing. Typically duplicate consolidation, quality drop, or technical regression.
Search Console "Not Indexed" — Decoded by State
The 7 most common "not indexed" reasons and the right fix for each.
Why Submitted Sitemap Does Not Lead to Indexing: 6 Most-Overlooked Causes
Submitted a sitemap to Search Console weeks ago and still no indexing — or only a few pages indexed? Sitemap submission ≠ indexing. Here are the six most common real reasons and their fixes.
Soft 404 — Page Looks Empty to Google
Google flagged your page as "Soft 404" — content too thin to be a real page.
Structured Data Warning in Search Console
JSON-LD warnings — typically missing required fields, wrong type, or out-of-spec fields.
Google Rewrote My Title — Why and How to Prevent
Google replaces your title with H1 / sitename. Usually title quality, keyword stuffing, or relevance.
What "URL is Unknown to Google" Really Means
Search Console says URL unknown. The URL exists, but Google has never seen it. Next steps.
"Crawled — Currently Not Indexed" — What It Actually Means and How to Fix It
Google crawled your page and decided not to index it. The reasons are almost always quality, duplication, or authority — not technical. The real fix list.
Discovered Not Indexed: A Strategy Guide for New Indie Sites
Why Google leaves new indie-site URLs in the Discovered bucket and the multi-week strategy that actually moves them out — authority, internal links, content depth, and realistic timelines.
When Google Won't Crawl Your New Pages — a Real Checklist
A real diagnostic checklist for when you publish content and Google ignores it. The order matters — start at the top.
Reading the Search Console Pages Report Without Panicking
The Pages report shows indexed vs. not-indexed and why. Most of the scary categories are actually fine. Here is how to triage.
Sitemap and robots.txt Basics in Next.js
A correctly served sitemap and robots.txt are non-negotiable for SEO. Here is the App Router idiom for both in 2026.
Should Your Category Pages Be Indexed?
A decision framework for indexing category / hub pages — when they earn their keep, when they cannibalize, and how to turn empty categories into real landing pages.
Should Tag Pages Be Noindex? (Hint: Probably Yes)
A clear answer to the WordPress-era question — when tag archives help SEO, when they hurt, and the exact noindex pattern to ship.
Submit a New Site to Google — 2026 Four-Step Flow with Realistic Timelines
The shortest 2026 submission flow: verify, sitemap, request indexing on one URL, link from the homepage — plus how long each step actually takes for a brand-new domain.
How to Submit a Sitemap in Search Console (and What to Check After)
The 5-minute sitemap submission flow, plus the 3 status messages that mean trouble and how to fix each.
Search Console URL Inspection — the Practical Guide
URL Inspection tells you what Google sees, when it last crawled, and why a page is or is not indexed. Read it correctly with the API + UI guide here.
What a Sitemap Actually Is (and What Google Ignores)
A plain-English explainer for sitemap.xml — what it does, what it does not do, and the four fields most generators put in that Google never reads.
Crawled — Currently Not Indexed: 5 Reasons Google Saw But Skipped It
Search Console says 'Crawled — currently not indexed'? Google looked, but chose not to index. Here are the 5 most likely causes in order, and the shortest fix path.
noindex vs robots.txt: Which One to Use, and the Trap to Avoid
noindex blocks indexing. robots.txt blocks crawling. They are not the same. A short table for when to use which, and the most common mistake that breaks both.
Submit a New Website to Google: robots.txt + Manual Indexing Playbook
The full submission playbook — Search Console, sitemap, robots.txt configuration, manual indexing requests, and internal-link signals. For the shorter 2026 four-step order, see the linked guide.
Why Is My New Website Not Showing Up on Google? 10 Most Likely Causes
Your site has been live for a week and still nowhere on Google? Work through the 10 most common causes: robots, noindex, wrong canonicals, JS rendering, sandbox period, thin content.