SEO Technical: Indexing

Guides indexing troubleshooting and fix actions. For how to find and diagnose issues in GSC, see google-search-console.

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope (Technical SEO)

• Fix actions: noindex, canonical, content quality, URL Inspection; verify robots.txt does not block (see robots-txt)
• Noindex: Page-level index control; which pages to exclude and how. Complements robots-txt (path-level crawl control) and google-search-console (Coverage diagnosis)

Initial Assessment

Project context: Read root contextus.md when present and load only the modules relevant to this task. Without Contextus, use available project material or user-provided facts and ask for missing information; do not create a parallel context system.

Identify issue from GSC (see google-search-console for Coverage report, issue types, diagnosis workflow). Then apply fix below.

Crawled - Currently Not Indexed

Cause	Action
Low quality, duplicate, off-topic	Improve content, fix duplicates, set correct canonical
Static assets (CSS/JS)	See below
Feed, share URLs with params	Usually OK to ignore; or noindex, canonical to main URL
Important content pages	Use URL Inspection, verify canonical/internal links/sitemap, Request indexing

Static Assets (Next.js / Vercel)

Vercel adds unique dpl= params to static assets per deploy, creating many "Crawled - currently not indexed" URLs.

Do	Don't
Keep robots.txt allowing /_next/	Do not block /_next/ (breaks CSS/JS loading). See robots-txt
Accept static assets in GSC as expected	Do not block /_next/static/css/ or ?dpl=
Use X-Robots-Tag for static assets	CSS/JS should not be indexed; no SEO impact

Static assets in "Crawled - currently not indexed" is normal and expected.

Other Issue Types (from GSC Coverage)

Issue	Fix
Excluded by «noindex» tag	Remove noindex if accidental; keep if intentional
Blocked by robots.txt	See robots-txt; remove Disallow for important paths
Redirect / 404	Fix URL or add redirect
Duplicate / Canonical	Set correct canonical; usually OK
Soft-404	Page returns 200 but content says "not found" or empty—Google may treat as 404. Fix: return 404 status for truly missing pages; or add real content for 200 pages

Soft-404

A soft-404 occurs when a page returns HTTP 200 but the content indicates the page doesn't exist (e.g. "Page not found" message, empty state). Google may treat it as 404 and exclude from index.

Fix	When
Return 404	Page truly doesn't exist; use proper 404 status
Add content	Page is intentional (e.g. empty search results); ensure substantive content or use noindex
Redirect	If URL moved, use 301 to correct destination

Noindex Usage

• How: metadata.robots = { index: false } or <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> or X-Robots-Tag
• Rationale: Not all site content should be indexed; noindex is a valid choice for many pages
• Caution: Avoid noindex on important content pages
• With robots.txt: robots.txt = path-level crawl control; noindex = page-level index control. Do not block noindex pages in robots.txt—crawlers must access the page to read the directive. Use both: robots for /admin/, /api/; noindex for /login/, /thank-you/, etc. See robots-txt for when to use which.
• nofollow ≠ noindex: nofollow controls link equity only; it does not prevent indexing. To exclude from search, use noindex. See page-metadata for meta robots implementation.

Page Types That Typically Need Noindex

Category	Page Types	Typical Meta	Reason
Auth & Account	Login, Signup, Password reset, Account dashboard	Login: noindex,nofollow; Signup: noindex,follow	No search value; login indexed = security risk; signup follow allows crawl of Privacy/Terms links
Admin & Private	Admin, Staging, Test pages, Internal tools	noindex,nofollow	Not for public; avoid discovery
Conversion Endpoints	Thank-you, Confirmation, Checkout success, Download gate	noindex,follow	Post-conversion; no SERP value; allow link equity
System & Utility	404, Internal search results, Faceted/filter URLs	noindex,follow or noindex,nofollow	Thin/duplicate; 404 = error state
Legal	Privacy, Terms, Cookie Policy (optional)	Often noindex,follow	Low-value indexed; reduces clutter
Duplicate & Thin	Printer-friendly, Parameter URLs, Near-duplicate	noindex,follow or canonical	Duplicate content; canonical preferred when possible
Low-Value	Media kit, Feedback board (external), Thin press	noindex or index for brand queries	Case-by-case

noindex,follow vs noindex,nofollow: Use noindex,follow for most cases—excludes from SERP but allows link equity. Use noindex,nofollow only for login (security), staging, or temporary test pages.

Page Removal Decision Framework

When intentionally removing a page from the web, choose the method based on whether a relevant alternative exists and whether the page should remain accessible:

Scenario	Method	Rationale
Has a closely related replacement page	301 redirect	Preserves accumulated link signals and user flow
Content merged into a new page	301 redirect	Direct old URL to the new canonical location
Permanently deleted, no alternative	410 Gone	Explicitly signals permanent removal to search engines
Deleted, uncertain if permanent	404 Not Found	Safe default; can reinstate later if needed
Still accessible but should not be indexed	noindex	Page remains available to users; excluded from SERP

Before removing: Check the URL's search traffic, backlinks, internal links, and conversion value. If the page has value, consider updating or merging rather than removing.

Common mistakes:

• 404-ing pages that have relevant alternatives (wastes accumulated signals)
• Redirecting all deleted pages to the homepage (breaks user intent)
• Creating redirect chains (A → B → C) instead of direct redirects
• Removing pages without cleaning up internal links pointing to them
• Using robots.txt to block noindex pages (crawler must access the page to read the noindex directive)

Post-removal cleanup:

1. Remove deleted URLs from XML sitemap; update and resubmit
2. Update internal links to point directly to the final URL (avoid relying on redirects)
3. For 301 redirects, ensure the target URL is in the sitemap
4. In GSC, use URL Inspection to verify important pages; use Removals tool for temporary quick-hide (not permanent — use proper HTTP status or noindex)

Google Indexing API

Type	Typical use
JobPosting	Job boards
BroadcastEvent	Live platforms

Requirements: Enable Indexing API, create service account, add owner in Search Console, request quota (default 200 URLs/day).

Output Format

• Action items: Prioritized fixes
• References: Page indexing report

Related Skills

• google-search-console: Find and diagnose indexing issues in GSC
• robots-txt: Path-level crawl control; when to use robots.txt vs noindex; do not block /_next/ or noindex pages
• page-metadata: Meta robots implementation; noindex vs nofollow
• xml-sitemap: Submit and maintain sitemap
• indexnow: Faster indexing for Bing
• canonical-tag: Resolve duplicate content