I updated my website in September, but Google has only indexed 8 out of 50-60 pages so far.
Here’s what happened: I didn’t keep the same URLs because the old ones were in the ‘www’ format and had other differences. I set up 301 redirects for some pages, but many weren’t salvageable.
My site isn’t huge, and it’s not slow, so I don’t think I’m over my crawl budget. Still, Google seems really slow to index it. I’ve been trying, but nothing seems to work. Any advice or ideas?
You should add your new sitemap to Google Search Console (GSC) and delete the old one. Then, manually request indexing for each unindexed link in GSC.
Hope that helps.
Will1 said:
You should add your new sitemap to Google Search Console (GSC) and delete the old one. Then, manually request indexing for each unindexed link in GSC.
Hope that helps.
I’m not sure what the process is to regenerate a sitemap. Any tips?
@benoitmichel
If you’re using an online sitemap generator, you’ll need to regenerate it every time you add a page and then resubmit it to GSC. But if you’re using something like RankMath on WordPress, it updates automatically whenever you add a new page or post. In that case, you only need to submit it once in GSC.
Will1 said:
You should add your new sitemap to Google Search Console (GSC) and delete the old one. Then, manually request indexing for each unindexed link in GSC.
Hope that helps.
Here’s a placeholder image for reference: https://placehold.co/600x400.png
@oliviamartin
To remove old sitemaps from GSC:
Removing it won’t stop Google from crawling; you can also manage that through ‘robots.txt’ or ‘noindex’ tags. For faster results, place your new sitemap in the ‘robots.txt’ file and manually inspect it in GSC.
It could be about authority. If Google is showing ‘Crawled but not Indexed,’ then it’s not a technical issue.
Matt Cutts once said it depends on your authority. Here’s a video explaining more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIlwMEfw9NA
@PostPundit
What about ‘Discovered but not Indexed’?
James_Spader said:
@PostPundit
What about ‘Discovered but not Indexed’?
That can happen if your content quality isn’t great or there’s too much repetition. I had the same issue but saw improvement after improving content. Avoid duplicate content—it helps a lot.
James_Spader said:
@PostPundit
What about ‘Discovered but not Indexed’?
It’s similar. Google found and read your page but didn’t index it because of low authority. For example, if your site is about mining in Iowa but you post about skydiving in Antarctica, Google may not index it if your site isn’t authoritative on that topic.
@PostPundit
How can I start building authority and getting backlinks effectively?
Have you tried submitting each page manually in GSC?
BlogBeaconBeth said:
Have you tried submitting each page manually in GSC?
Isn’t that bad to do over and over?
BlogBeaconBeth said:
Have you tried submitting each page manually in GSC?
Isn’t that bad to do over and over?
It’s fine if the content is useful, but there’s a daily limit. Just don’t spam it.
Big changes to a site can take months to reflect. Not all pages get indexed, so focus on better content, adding FAQs, and building topical authority. Share pages on social platforms to get more attention.
I had a similar issue with a WordPress theme that was hard to crawl. Switching to GeneratePress sped up indexing to under 4 hours sometimes.
I found the problem by testing my site in GSC, copying the HTML, and checking it with an online HTML compiler. It showed the site was full of elements without content for crawlers.
It sounds like your crawl budget isn’t the issue—your site is too small for that.
You need to properly set up 301 redirects and make sure nothing is missing. Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help audit your site. Look for broken links, redirect chains, or duplicate content.
Once everything is fixed, keep checking your site health with these tools and GSC to catch any new problems.
