How to Identify Which URLs Have Been De-Indexed in Your Website
Monitoring your website’s indexed URLs is crucial for maintaining optimal SEO performance and ensuring that your content is properly visible to search engines. If you notice a decrease in your indexed pages—such as a drop from 158 to 132 over a month—you might wonder which specific URLs have been de-indexed and how to identify them efficiently, especially without manual checks or historical sitemaps.
Understanding the Importance of Tracking De-Indexed URLs
Declines in indexed URLs can stem from various factors, including site restructuring, technical issues, or updates to your content. Recognizing which pages have been removed from search results allows you to troubleshoot potential problems and maintain comprehensive visibility.
Challenges Without Historical Data or Sitemaps
Without access to past sitemaps or prior data snapshots, pinpointing de-indexed URLs appears daunting. However, there are effective methods to analyze and track these changes without extensive manual effort.
Strategies for Identifying De-Indexed URLs
- Use Google Search Console’s ‘Coverage’ Report
The Google Search Console (GSC) provides valuable insights into your site’s indexing status. - Navigate to the Coverage report.
- Check for pages marked as Excluded—particularly those labeled as ‘Crawled -Currently Not Indexed’ or ‘Removed’.
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Use the URL Inspection Tool to verify the current indexing status of individual pages.
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Export Your Current Indexed URLs
- From GSC, export the list of Valid URLs currently indexed.
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Save this data for comparison.
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Compare with Previous Data or Internal Records
- If you have access to historical exports or previous sitemap data, compare current indexed URLs against past data to identify missing entries.
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Even without a previous sitemap, if your website generates a sitemap dynamically, consider exporting it for reference.
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Leverage Third-Party Tools and Scripts
Several SEO tools and scripts can help automate the detection of de-indexed URLs: - Screaming Frog SEO Spider: Can crawl your site and identify URLs not appearing in search results.
- Online Index Checker Tools: Some websites offer bulk URL status checks against Google’s index.
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Custom Scripts: Using Google’s Search Console API, you can develop scripts to fetch and compare URL indexing statuses over time.
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