This post is the continuation of our previous article that discusses 14 reasons why Google isn't indexing your site.
Read: Top 14 Causes for Google Not Indexing Your Website | Part 1
8. The plugins you're using prevent Googlebot from crawling your website
A robots.txt plugin is one example of such a plugin. Googlebot won't be able to crawl your site if you noindex it in your robots.txt file using this plugin.
Create a robots.txt file and take the following actions:
Set this to the public when you build it to allow unrestricted access for crawlers.
Make sure the following lines are absent from your robots.txt file:
User-agent: *Disallow: /The forward slash indicates that all pages from the site's root folder are being blocked by the robots.txt file. Make sure that your robots.txt file resembles something more like this:
User-agent: *Disallow:Crawlers can freely crawl and index every page on your site if the disallow line is left blank, providing that no specific pages have been designated as being noindexed.
9. Your website renders content using JavaScript
It's not necessarily a complicated problem that using JavaScript alone results in indexing issues. There isn't a single rule that states that issues only arise while using JS. To ascertain whether this is a problem, you must examine each site separately and do a problem analysis.
When JS prevents crawling by using dubious methods that may be similar to cloaking, this is when JS becomes a problem.
It's possible that Google won't crawl or index a link if you have rendered HTML as opposed to raw HTML and the link is in the raw HTML. These kinds of errors make it essential to define your rendered HTML vs. raw HTML concerns.
Don't do it if you like to hide your CSS and JS files. When crawling, Google has stated that they want to see all of your JS and CSS files.
Google wants all of your JS and CSS to be crawlable. If any of those files are banned, you may want to unlock them to allow full crawling and provide Google with the necessary view of your website.
10. Not all of your domain properties have been added to Google Search Console
All of your domain variations must be added and verified in Google Search Console if you have more than one version of your domain, especially if you recently switched from http:// to https://.
When adding your domain variations to GSC, it's crucial to make sure you don't leave any out.
To make sure you are tracking the correct domain properties, add them to GSC and make sure you confirm your ownership of all domain properties.
This probably won't be a problem for newly launched sites.
11. Your meta tags are set to nofollow and noindex
Meta tags can occasionally be changed to noindex, nofollow only by pure poor luck. For instance, before the noindex, nofollow setting was properly configured in the backend of your website, a link or page on your site may have been indexed by Google's crawler and later removed.
Due to this, it's possible that the page hasn't been re-indexed, and if you're using a plugin to prevent Google from crawling your website, the page may never be indexed at all.
The answer is straightforward: replace any meta tags that now contain the terms noindex, nofollow to index, follow.
However, you can face an uphill battle if you have thousands of pages like this. It's one of those situations when you just have to grit your teeth and keep at it.
The performance of your website will eventually appreciate it.
However, you can face an uphill battle if you have thousands of pages like this. It's one of those situations when you just have to grit your teeth and keep at it.
The performance of your website will eventually appreciate it.
12. You Don't Utilize A Sitemap
You must employ a sitemap!
The pages on your website are listed in a sitemap, which is also a way for Google to discover the content you have. This tool will aid in ensuring that Google Search Console crawls and indexes each page.
Google is flying blind if you don't have a sitemap unless all of your pages are already indexed and getting traffic.
However, it's vital to remember that Google Search Console no longer supports HTML Sitemaps. Today, XML Sitemaps are the preferred sitemap format.
You should submit your sitemap frequently for crawling and indexing to inform Google of the key pages on your website.
13. You've received Google penalties in the past, but you haven't changed your behavior. Google, however, has emphasized that sanctions may follow you
Google won't index your site if you've received a penalty in the past and haven't fixed your behavior.
The answer is simple: if it has been punished by Google, they might not be able to do anything about it since penalties stick with you like an unwanted guest that drags their feet across the carpet as they enter each area of your home.
If you're asking why, given that you're already having issues with search engines, you would still leave off some information from your website.
The problem is that while there are ways to avoid punishment, many people don't know how or are unable to do so for various reasons (maybe they sold their company). Others believe it will be sufficient to just delete pages and copy their old material onto a new website, but this is false.
The best course of action in case you are punished is to completely clean up your previous behavior. You must create entirely new material, redesign the domain from the ground up, or completely revamp the content. Google explains that they anticipate it will take you the same amount of time to get out of a penalty as it did to enter one.
14. You're terrible at technical SEO.
Without a doubt, ordering technical SEO from Fiverr.com is like buying a Lamborghini from a dollar store: you're more likely to receive a fake service than a genuine article.
Correctly executing technical SEO is worthwhile because Google and your users will appreciate it.
Let's look at some typical issues, their fixes, and how technical SEO might be of use to you.
Issue: Core Web Vitals numbers for your website are below average.
Solution: Technical SEO will guide you through the process of identifying problems with your Core Web Vitals and addressing them. Don't solely rely on a strategic audit because it won't always be helpful in these situations. Some of these problems might be as basic as they are sophisticated, therefore you need a thorough technical SEO audit to find them.
Issue: Your website has problems with crawling and indexing.
Solution: To find and fix them, you'll need a skilled technical SEO because they might be quite complex. If you discover that your site is not gaining any momentum or performing at all, you must identify them.
Additionally, check WordPress to make sure the "discourage search engines from crawling your website" box hasn't been inadvertently checked.
Issue: Your website's robots.txt file unintentionally prevents crawlers from accessing vital files.
Solution: Once more, Technical SEO is here to save you from certain doom. Some websites have problems that are so severe that there may be no solution other than wiping the slate clean and beginning afresh. Not always is going nuclear the best course of action. A technical SEO expert with experience is helpful in this situation.
Finding Website Indexing Problems Is Difficult, But Well Worth It
Maintaining the performance trajectory of your site requires careful attention to content, technical SEO, and linkages. The other SEO components, however, will only help you so far if your website has indexing problems.
Make sure to check off all the boxes and confirm that you are promoting your website in an ideal way.
Remember to optimize each page of your website for pertinent keywords as well! The more effectively Google can crawl, index, and rank your site, the better your results will be, therefore it is worthwhile to ensure that your technical SEO is up to snuff.
Your website's traffic and Google will both be grateful.
