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What Does 'Discovered - Currently Not Indexed' Mean?
Learn why Google might discover your pages but not crawl or index them yet, and what you can do to improve their chances of getting indexed.
Understanding 'Discovered - Currently Not Indexed' Status
When Google reports a URL as "discovered - currently not indexed," it means Google has found the URL (through sitemaps, links, or other means) but hasn't yet crawled or indexed the page. This is different from "crawled - not indexed" because in this case, Google hasn't even visited the page yet.
Why Pages Get This Status
There are several reasons why Google might discover but not immediately crawl and index a page:
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Crawl Priority
Google may have assigned a lower crawl priority to the page based on its perceived importance
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Crawl Budget Limitations
Google might be conserving its crawl budget, especially on larger sites with many pages
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Site Architecture
The page might be too many clicks away from your homepage or lack strong internal linking
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URL Discovery Method
How Google discovered the URL (sitemap vs. internal links) can affect its crawling priority
How to Improve Crawling Chances
Here are effective strategies to help Google crawl and index your discovered pages:
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Improve Internal Linking
Create a strong internal linking structure to help Google understand the importance of your pages
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Optimize Site Architecture
Keep important pages within a few clicks from your homepage and maintain a clear site structure
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Submit Through My URL Monitor
Use My URL Monitor to systematically submit your URLs to Google, helping prioritize their crawling and indexing
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Monitor and Adjust
Track the status of your URLs and adjust your strategy based on what gets crawled and indexed
Important Distinction
Unlike 'crawled - not indexed', this status means Google hasn't even visited your page yet. This gives you an opportunity to optimize the page before Google's first crawl.