How to use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console
Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool lets you check exactly how Google sees any page on your site. It tells you whether the page is indexed, when it was last crawled and any issues Google found. This guide walks you through how to use it, step by step.
Who needs the URL Inspection tool?
If you have published a new page and it is not showing up in search results, or you updated an existing page but the changes have not appeared in Google, the URL Inspection tool is where you start. It is the quickest way to diagnose indexing problems and request that Google re-crawls a page. You need Google Search Console set up for your site first. If you have not connected it yet, our guide on how to connect Search Console to your Victory Digital dashboard walks through the process.
Step 1: Open the tool
Log in to Google Search Console at search.google.com/search-console. Select your site property (the domain or URL-prefix type). In the top-left corner of the dashboard you will see a search bar labelled Inspect any URL. Paste the full URL of the page you want to check and press Enter.
Step 2: Read the status
The tool returns one of three results.
URL is on Google. Google has crawled and indexed this page. The screen shows when it was last crawled, whether it is included in the index, and any sitemap associations.
URL is on Google, but has issues. The page is indexed but Google found problems such as a missing title tag, missing meta description, or mobile usability issues. The issues are listed below the status and should be fixed.
URL is not on Google. The page has either not been crawled yet, or Google crawled it but decided not to include it. This screen shows the specific reason, which may be Crawled - currently not indexed, Page with redirect, Page with noindex tag, or Blocked by robots.txt. Each reason points to a different fix.
Step 3: Check the page details
Scroll down past the summary. You will see the last crawl date, whether the page is referenced in any sitemap, and which pages link to it internally. Two important sections appear here:
User-declared canonical. This is the canonical URL you specified, either in the HTML head with a rel=canonical link tag or in the HTTP header.
Google-selected canonical. This is the URL Google chose as canonical. If these two do not match, Google has overridden your preference, and you may need to investigate why.
Step 4: Request indexing
If the page is not on Google and you have fixed any underlying issues, click the Request indexing button. Google adds the URL to its crawl queue. It usually takes a few hours to a few days for Google to process the request. You can only request indexing for a limited number of URLs per week, so use this on your most important new or updated pages.
Step 5: Check the result after a few days
Come back to the same URL in the Inspection tool after a few days to confirm the status has changed. If it still says URL is not on Google, check the specific reason listed and address it. Common fixes include removing noindex tags, unblocking the page in robots.txt, or improving the content quality if the page was flagged as thin.
Common issues and how to fix them
Crawled - currently not indexed. Google found the page but chose not to index it. The most common cause is duplicate or thin content. Improve the page with original information, make sure it offers unique value, and add internal links from other pages on your site.
Discovered - currently not indexed. Google knows the page exists but has not crawled it yet. This often means Google is prioritising other pages. Speed up discovery by linking to the page from a high-authority page on your site and submitting the sitemap.
Page with redirect. The URL redirects to another page. If the redirect is intentional, this is normal. If it is unintentional, check your redirect rules and server configuration.
Blocked by robots.txt. A robots.txt rule is stopping Google from crawling the page. Edit your robots.txt file to allow access if the page should be indexed.
Tying it to your Victory Digital dashboard
If you are a Victory Digital client, your monthly SEO reports already include indexing status from Search Console. The URL Inspection tool is a deeper, page-level view you can use between reports to check specific pages. Our team uses it as part of routine technical SEO monitoring, so if you spot a page that is not indexed, flag it to your account manager and we can investigate.
Start with a free SEO report at https://victory.digital/run-a-seo-report to see how your site currently performs, or book a discovery call at https://victory.digital/book/discovery-call to discuss technical SEO support.
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