Are useful pages marked to stay out of search?
It checks noindex directives while excluding several intentional and sitemap-only cases.
What Check Engine measures
Successful pages with a noindex directive enter the initial set. A root homepage marked noindex is critical, with separate wording when the starting host moved elsewhere. Utility URLs and tag or author archives are excluded from the ordinary blocked-page count. Pages found only in the sitemap without observed links are also separated. Remaining blocked pages are high severity above a 0.2 share of successful pages and medium otherwise. For example, a blocked-page share of exactly 0.2 stays within the medium group after the exclusions.
The check reads meta and HTTP-header directives, homepage status, sitemap entries, redirects and observed links. A utility page can be deliberately excluded from search. Confirm the page's purpose before removing a directive.
How to read the result
The report separates an accidental exclusion of important content from pages commonly kept out of search. A successful HTTP response alone does not cancel a noindex directive, and a noindex flag alone does not establish that you intended the page to rank.
Why it matters
The directive expresses an indexing choice. Reviewing the page's purpose before removing it avoids exposing a confirmation, account or search-results page merely because it appeared in a crawl.
How to fix it
Confirm which affected pages should be public search entries. Remove unintended noindex directives from those pages in both HTML and response headers. Keep deliberate exclusions and remove inappropriate sitemap entries. Check the root homepage separately, then request the page again to confirm the served directive changed.
Site search and cart pages that ended up in Google
What we found in field audits
Problems in Crawlability & indexing were found on 12 of the 14 sites we audited. These are area totals. Read the field-audit method.
Method note
backend/seo_engine/checks/indexability.py, noindex_pages, revision 0bb8e8d3.
Common questions
Is a noindex directive on the root homepage serious?
Yes. Homepage noindex is critical. The explanation accounts for an audited host that moved elsewhere.
Are utility pages included in the ordinary blocked-page share?
No. The count excludes tag or author archives along with utility URLs. Sitemap-only discoveries are separated too.
When does noindex coverage move from medium to high severity?
High severity applies when blocked pages exceed a 0.2 share after exclusions. The denominator is successful pages.