URL Inspection tool explained: report decoder
Search Console's URL Inspection answers one question per URL, but spreads the answer over a dozen fields. The decoder reads them together and puts the next step first.
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Key facts
- “URL is unknown to Google” means Google hasn't seen this URL before.
- When robots.txt blocks crawling, “Indexing allowed?” always shows “Yes”: Google can't see a noindex rule on a page it isn't allowed to fetch.
- A passing live test only confirms that Google-InspectionTool can reach the page. It doesn't check duplicate status, manual actions or removals.
- There is a daily limit on inspections for each property, and a separate daily limit for live tests.
Download the checklist: diagnosing indexing problems
Step by step: status in Search Console, page availability, robots.txt, noindex, canonical URL, redirects, sitemap and backlinks, with what to do in each case.
Download PDF PDF · 2 pagesHow to use it
- Open Search Console in English: add
?hl=ento the Search Console address. The decoder reads the English wording of the report. - Type the full URL into the inspection bar at the top of any Search Console screen and press Enter. The URL must belong to the property that is open.
- Expand the Page indexing section, select the text from the verdict to the end of the section and copy it.
- Paste it into the box and click Read pasted text. Check the fields and fix any that stayed empty.
- Click Decode to get what each value means and the next steps in order.
Where to get the data
The URL Inspection report
The main source. It works for any URL in a property you can open, whether the page is indexed, failed indexing or has never been seen by Google.
The Page indexing report
Click a reason in the “Why pages aren't indexed” table, then the inspect icon next to an example URL. It opens the same URL Inspection report.
The URL Inspection API
If you inspect URLs by script, paste the JSON response as it is. The decoder reads verdict, coverageState, robotsTxtState, indexingState, pageFetchState, crawledAs, the canonical fields, sitemap and referringUrls. JSON works whatever language your Search Console uses.
The four verdicts
URL is on Google: the URL has been indexed and can appear in Google Search results; appearing isn't guaranteed. URL is on Google, but has issues: the page is indexed, but some problems may keep it from showing with all its enhancements. URL is not on Google: the URL won't appear in results, and the Page indexing section says why. URL is an alternate version: an AMP page that is an alternate of a canonical page; usually nothing to do.
Fields that are easy to misread
An empty Referring page doesn't prove that nothing links to the URL; the tool may simply not have that data. Google-selected canonical can be a few hours behind Google's index. Crawled as names the crawler type of the last crawl, which is usually Googlebot smartphone.
Indexed result and live test
The report shows what Google stored at its last crawl. Test live URL fetches the page now, and its verdicts read “URL is available to Google” and similar. A live test doesn't check sitemaps or referring pages and doesn't detect duplicate or alternate status. To decode a live test, set the fields by hand.
Next step
Seeing the same verdict on many pages? You can check the index status of a whole URL list in SpeedyIndex instead of inspecting URLs one by one.
Questions and answers
Does the decoder connect to my Search Console?
No. It only reads the text or JSON you paste and runs in your browser.
Why should the report be copied in English?
The decoder recognises the English labels of the report. With Search Console in another language, set the fields by hand or paste the API JSON, which is the same in every language.
Which field should I fix first?
Work down the Crawl group: a robots.txt block or a failed page fetch stops everything after it, so canonical questions only matter once Google can fetch the page.
Does “URL is on Google” mean the page ranks?
No. Indexed means eligible to appear in results. Whether and where it appears depends on ranking.
Sources
- URL Inspection tool — Search Console Help: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289
- UrlInspectionResult — Search Console API: https://developers.google.com/webmaster-tools/v1/urlInspection.index/UrlInspectionResult