LaunchRepoShort answer
- Expect days to a few weeks. Google writes that it can take “a week or so” to start crawling and indexing a new site, and that crawling can take “a few days to a few weeks”.
- The best first step for a new site, according to Google: request indexing of your homepage in Search Console. Google then follows your links from there.
- Make every important page findable: linked from your homepage with normal links and listed in an XML sitemap that you submit.
- Most “not indexed” cases on a new site are either a setting you can fix (noindex, robots.txt, a wrong canonical) or simply too early. The decoder below tells you which.
- Nobody can buy faster indexing. Google does not accept payment to crawl more often, and asking again for the same URL does not make it faster.
What to expect, and when
Google gives ranges, not promises. These are the stages a new site typically goes through, each with the sentence from Google’s own documentation it rests on.
- Day 0Site is live, sitemap submitted, indexing of the homepage requested in Search Console.
For a new website, the best first step is to request indexing of your homepage, which should start Google crawling your website.
- A few daysSingle URLs you requested are typically processed. Check them in URL Inspection.
Indexing typically takes a few days.
- About a weekGoogle starts crawling and indexing the new site more broadly.
It can take a week or so for Google to start crawling and indexing a new page or site.
- Up to a few weeksGoogle crawls some or all of the remaining pages it knows about.
After a page URL is known, it can take some time (up to a few weeks) before Google crawls some or all of your site.
If a fix is needed, the clock starts again: Google says validating a fix in Search Console typically takes up to about two weeks. And indexed does not mean visible for every query; ranking is a separate step.
First-week checklist
Tick off what you have done. The list follows Google’s own documentation for new sites, in the order that saves the most time. Export it as Markdown for your notes or your team.
Decode your status
Pick the status that URL Inspection or the Page indexing report shows for your page. You get what it means and the next step. Search Console shows these labels in your interface language; the English wording is listed for reference.
What it means:
Next step:
All statuses at a glance
Fix it
- URL marked ‘noindex’
- Google found a noindex directive in a meta tag or an HTTP header and left the page out. If the page should be found, remove the noindex, test the live URL and request indexing. Often a leftover staging setting.
- URL blocked by robots.txt
- Your robots.txt does not allow Google to crawl the page. If the page should be found, remove the blocking rule. To keep a page out of Google, use noindex instead of robots.txt.
- Server error (5xx)
- Your server answered with a 5xx error, timed out or was busy when Google asked. Check hosting, firewall and bot protection; they sometimes block Googlebot. Then test the live URL.
- Redirect error
- The redirect is broken: a loop, a chain that is too long, a URL that is too long or an empty target. Redirect once, straight to the final URL, and test it again.
- Soft 404
- The page looks like a “not found” page to Google but returns status 200. Return a real 404 for missing pages. If the page does exist, give it real content.
- Blocked due to unauthorized request (401)
- The page asks for authorization (401). Googlebot does not log in. Remove the login requirement for pages that should be public.
- Blocked due to access forbidden (403)
- The server refused access (403). Googlebot never sends credentials, so this response is wrong for a public page. Allow access without login for public pages; check firewall and bot-protection rules.
Act now
- URL is unknown to Google
- Google has not seen this URL yet. On a new site this is the normal starting point. Run a live test in URL Inspection, fix anything it reports, then click “Request indexing”. Link the page from your homepage and list it in your sitemap.
Wait, then check
- Discovered - currently not indexed
- Google knows the URL but has not crawled it yet. According to Google, the crawl was typically rescheduled to avoid overloading the site. Give it time. Make sure the page is linked internally and your server answers fast and without errors.
- Crawled - currently not indexed
- Google crawled the page and decided not to index it for now. It may or may not be indexed later. No need to resubmit. Make the page clearly useful and distinct from your other pages, and link to it from relevant pages.
Check if intended
- Not found (404)
- The URL returns 404. That is fine for pages you removed on purpose. Fix it only if you link to the URL or list it in your sitemap. If the page moved, redirect it with a 301.
- Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user
- You declared this page as canonical, but Google picked another URL as the better canonical. Compare both URLs. If they are really different, make the content distinct; if they are duplicates, point all signals to one URL.
- Duplicate without user-selected canonical
- Google treats this page as a duplicate and chose another URL as canonical, because you declared none. Usually fine. If Google chose the wrong one, add a canonical link to the URL you prefer.
- Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt
- The page is indexed although robots.txt blocks crawling, for example because other pages link to it. To keep it out, unblock it in robots.txt and add noindex. To have it indexed properly, remove the block.
Nothing to do
- Alternate page with proper canonical tag
- This page correctly points to another canonical page, which is indexed. Nothing to do; this is working as intended.
- Page with redirect
- This URL redirects to another page. Only the target can be indexed. Nothing to do. Inspect the target URL if you want to know its status.
- Page is indexed
- The page is in Google’s index and can appear in results. Being indexed does not guarantee it shows up for a given search. Work on usefulness, titles and links. Watch impressions in the Performance report.
Statuses are taken from Google’s Page indexing report and URL Inspection documentation.
Check the page source
Many blockers sit in the HTML itself. Paste the page source (view-source in your browser) and, ideally, the page URL. The check runs in your browser and looks for noindex, canonical problems, refresh redirects, a missing title and almost empty pages.
What Google says
The statements that matter for a new site, word for word, with what they mean for you.
Quotes are in the original English, as published on October 1, 2026.
| Statement | Official wording | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Start of indexing | It can take a week or so for Google to start crawling and indexing a new page or site. | Plan with about a week before a new site shows up broadly. |
| Crawl time | Crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. | Days are normal, weeks are possible. |
| Single URL request | Indexing typically takes a few days. | A requested URL is usually handled within days. |
| Rest of the site | After a page URL is known, it can take some time (up to a few weeks) before Google crawls some or all of your site. | Deeper pages may take up to a few weeks. |
| First step for a new site | For a new website, the best first step is to request indexing of your homepage, which should start Google crawling your website. | Request the homepage; good links do the rest. |
| Fix validation | Validation typically takes up to about two weeks, but in some cases can take much longer, so please be patient. | After a fix, allow about two weeks for confirmation. |
| Requests are no guarantee | Requesting a crawl does not guarantee that inclusion in search results will happen instantly or even at all. | A request speeds up discovery, not the decision. |
| Repeat requests | requesting a recrawl multiple times for the same URL won't get it crawled any faster. | Clicking “Request indexing” again does not help. |
| Sitemaps are hints | submitting a sitemap is merely a hint: it doesn't guarantee that Google will download the sitemap or use the sitemap for crawling URLs on the site. | A sitemap helps discovery; it does not force crawling. |
| No paid crawling | Google doesn't accept payment to crawl a site more frequently, or rank it higher. | Anyone selling faster Google indexing is selling something Google does not offer. |
| No guarantee at all | Google doesn't guarantee that it will crawl, index, or serve your page, even if your page follows the Google Search Essentials. | Even a perfect setup only makes a page eligible. |
| Small sites | If your site has fewer than 500 pages, you probably don't need to use this report. | Under 500 pages, site: searches and URL Inspection are often enough. |
| robots.txt vs. noindex | Don't use robots.txt as a mechanism to prevent indexing; use the noindex tag or login requirements for that. | robots.txt controls crawling, noindex controls indexing. |
| Indexing API | The Indexing API can only be used to crawl pages with either JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject. | Not for normal product or blog pages. |
| Crawl budget | If your site doesn't have a large number of pages that change rapidly, or if your pages seem to be crawled the same day that they are published, you don't need to read this guide. | Not a topic for a new site with a few hundred pages. |
What does not speed it up
Advice you will find everywhere, checked against Google’s documentation.
| Advice | What Google says | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Pay a service for faster indexing | Google does not accept payment to crawl a site more often. | Spend the money on content and on real listings that link to you. |
| Click “Request indexing” every day | Repeating the request does not get the URL crawled any faster, and there is a daily quota. | Request once, then wait a few days. |
| Use the Indexing API for all pages | Only for pages with JobPosting or BroadcastEvent in a VideoObject. | Submit a sitemap; request single URLs in Search Console. |
| Hide pages with robots.txt | robots.txt is not a way to keep pages out of the index. | Use noindex or a login. |
| Optimize your crawl budget | Relevant for very large or fast-changing sites only. | Keep the sitemap current and read the Page indexing report. |
| IndexNow gets you into Google | IndexNow is for participating engines such as Bing; Google is not one of them. | Use IndexNow for Bing and others, sitemaps and links for Google. |
How we set up this site
We follow the same checklist on launchrepo.dev. This is the setup as it is built today, counted from this site’s own route list:
- 2,184 indexable URLs in 12 languages, split across 6 XML sitemaps under one sitemap index.
- Every page names itself as canonical and links its language versions with hreflang.
- robots.txt allows crawling except for /api/ and points to the sitemap index.
- Pages that should stay out of Google, such as the access page, are crawlable and carry noindex instead of a robots.txt block.
- After a release we announce changed URLs through IndexNow for the participating engines; for Google we rely on the sitemap and internal links.
We do not publish an indexing timeline for this site: we have no Search Console data we can show you, and we will not estimate one. When we have real numbers, they will appear here with a date.
Once your site is indexed, links from other sites help Google discover your pages and help people find your product.
Sources
Every page was read on October 1, 2026. The date column shows the page’s own last update where it shows one.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take Google to index a new website?
- Usually days, sometimes a few weeks. Google says it can take a week or so to start crawling and indexing a new site, and that crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. There is no guaranteed time.
- How do I get my new website on Google?
- Verify the site in Search Console, submit an XML sitemap, request indexing of your homepage in URL Inspection and make sure every important page is linked from the homepage. Then give Google a few days.
- Why is my website not showing on Google?
- Either it is not indexed yet, a setting blocks it (noindex, robots.txt, login, server errors), or it is indexed but does not rank for the words you searched. URL Inspection tells you which of the three it is.
- Does submitting a sitemap guarantee indexing?
- No. Google calls a sitemap a hint: it helps Google find your URLs, but crawling and indexing remain Google’s decision.
- What does “Crawled - currently not indexed” mean?
- Google fetched the page but decided not to add it for now. You do not need to resubmit it. Make the page clearly useful and distinct, link to it internally and check again later.
- Can I check indexing without Search Console?
- Partly. Search site:yourdomain.com or the exact page URL on Google to see whether pages are indexed. For the reasons behind a missing page you need URL Inspection in Search Console, which is free.