ConsoleBoard
Google Search Console

Index Coverage Checklist

Coverage report, excluded URLs, and indexation fixes.

SRConsoleBoard SEO Research📅 Published October 1, 2026⏱ 6 min read

The Search Console Coverage report shows what Google has indexed, what it has excluded, and why. This checklist covers how to audit index coverage and fix issues. See Google Search Console for Local SEO for the full reference.

Review the Coverage report

  • Check 'Indexed' count against expected page count
  • Review 'Excluded' URLs and confirm each is intentional
  • Investigate 'Error' and 'Valid with warning' URLs
  • Check for 'Discovered – currently not indexed' (crawl budget issues)
  • Check for 'Crawled – currently not indexed' (quality issues)

Fix common issues

  • 'Excluded by noindex tag' — confirm the noindex is intentional
  • 'Duplicate without canonical' — add a canonical to the preferred URL
  • 'Alternate page with proper canonical tag' — confirm the canonical is correct
  • 'Page with redirect' — update internal links to the destination
  • 'Not found (404)' — fix broken links or add a redirect

Validate fixes

  • Request indexing for fixed URLs via URL Inspection
  • Re-check the Coverage report after a few days
  • Confirm the sitemap only references canonical, indexable URLs

Primary sources