The URL Inspection tool is a feature of Google Search Console that shows how Google has indexed a single URL and how Google can fetch and render it. It works on one page at a time, for URLs inside a property you have verified.
How does the URL Inspection tool work?
The tool offers two views. The indexed version is the snapshot of the page that Google last crawled and stored. It reports crawl and indexing status, and it shows the canonical URL Google selected next to the one the site declared. Those two can differ.
The live test fetches the URL at that moment and shows the current state. After a successful test you can look at the rendered HTML, a screenshot, loaded resources and the HTTP response. A page that passes the live test is not necessarily indexed, because the live test says nothing about the stored version.
Request indexing asks Google to crawl a URL. Google’s help page states that indexing typically takes a day or so but can take much longer, that a request does not guarantee indexing, and that there is a daily limit on how many requests you can submit.
| Status in Search Console | What happened | Cause per Help Center | What the Help Center recommends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawled - currently not indexed | Google crawled the page but did not index it. It may or may not be indexed in the future. | not stated in the Help Center | No need to resubmit the URL for crawling |
| Discovered - currently not indexed | Google found the page but has not crawled it yet. The last crawl date is empty. | typically: crawling was expected to overload the site, so Google rescheduled it | no action stated |
| Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user | The URL is marked as canonical, but Google indexed a different page as canonical | Google thinks another URL makes a better canonical | Inspect the URL and compare the Google-selected canonical with the user-declared canonical |
| Duplicate without user-selected canonical | The page is a duplicate. Google serves the other page it chose as canonical. | The page does not indicate a preferred canonical | Not an error per Google; if the choice is wrong, mark the canonical explicitly or make the content differ substantially |
| URL blocked by robots.txt | The site's robots.txt file blocked the page | a rule in robots.txt | To make sure the page is not indexed, remove the robots.txt block and use 'noindex' |
| Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt | The page is indexed although robots.txt blocks it. Google does not crawl it. | Other pages link to it; Google indexes it using information from the linking page | To exclude it, remove the block and use 'noindex'. To allow it, update robots.txt. |
| URL marked ‘noindex’ | Google found a 'noindex' directive when trying to index the page and did not index it | 'noindex' in the page source or response headers | If intended, nothing to do. Otherwise remove 'noindex' and check with the live test. |
| Soft 404 | The page shows a 'not found' message but returns no 404 status code | Google thinks the response is a soft 404 | Return 404 for real 'not found' pages; otherwise add more information and view the rendered page in URL Inspection |
Labels and explanations follow the German and English Search Console Help pages on the Page indexing report. The two language versions punctuate the labels differently (German uses an en dash, English a hyphen). The URL Inspection tool shows the status of a single URL. Sources: Search-Console-Hilfe: Bericht zur Seitenindexierung; Search Console Help: Page indexing report. Last checked: .
Limits
The tool does not check whether a page meets quality guidelines, and it does not show manual actions or security issues. It cannot tell you for sure whether a URL will appear in search results.
Example
A new product page is two weeks old and does not appear in search. The indexed version reports “URL is not on Google”. The live test shows the page loads, returns 200 and renders all content, so the next step is checking internal links and the sitemap, then requesting indexing.
Common mistakes
- Reading a passed live test as proof that the page is indexed.
- Treating “Request indexing” as a promise. Google decides whether to index.
- Looking for the Google-selected canonical in the live test, where it is not shown. It appears in the indexed version.
FAQ
How do I inspect a URL? Open Search Console, select the property, and paste the full URL into the search bar at the top.
How can I force Google to crawl a page? You cannot force it. Request indexing asks Google to crawl a URL, and sitemaps and internal links help Google find pages on its own.
Sources
- URL Inspection tool – Search Console Helpsupport.google.com
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