How to Fix “New Reason Preventing Your Pages from Being Indexed” in Google Search Console

Seeing a new reason preventing your pages from being indexed in Google Search Console means Google has flagged a specific issue that is stopping one or more of your pages from appearing in search results. These notifications require investigation because unindexed pages receive no organic traffic regardless of their content quality.

The three most common causes of this notification are 404 Not Found errors, page redirect issues, and video indexing failures. This guide covers how to identify each cause in Google Search Console and the exact steps to fix them.

Understanding “Not Found (404)” Errors

A 404 Not Found error means Google tried to crawl a page on your site and the server returned a 404 HTTP response code, indicating the page does not exist. Google will not index a page that returns a 404 response because there is no content to index

When a 404 error occurs, Google cannot index your page because it returns a 404 HTTP status code with no content. This means the server couldn’t find the requested page and returned a 404 error. Let us briefly review the 404 errors in the blog post.

What Does a 404 Error Mean?

A 404 error occurs when a web crawler requests a page that has been deleted, moved, or had its URL changed without a redirect. The server cannot locate the URL and returns a 404 HTTP response code, giving Google nothing to index.

In most cases, 404 errors do not directly harm search performance. However, a high volume of unaddressed errors wastes crawl budget, causes link equity loss on pages with significant internal links, and signals poor site maintenance to Google.

How Does It Affect Your Video’s Visibility?

Video content in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is growing in importance, and indexing is vital for video visibility. Issues such as ‘Video Not Found on Host Service’ can directly affect video visibility. It can also lead to user errors when a video is deleted or marked private.

Duplication of video indexation can result in losing control over which page Google ranks for a relevant query. Following Google’s advice, such as adjusting a video’s position on the page or its size, can likely increase site traffic by improving video visibility.

Leveraging structured data for videos helps prioritize key moments in content, enhancing visibility of search features.

How do you identify 404 issues in Google Search Console?

Now that you understand why your pages are not indexed and the role of 404 errors, you must know how to identify these issues in GSC. Let’s hope you can easily point out these issues in your GSC:

• Firstly, if you have received any mail from Google about pages not being indexed with a 404 error reason, you can simply click the link there, and it will take you directly to your Google Search Console account. You will get a list of 404 errors, and you can simply review the provided links.

• If not, you can also go directly to your Google search console> pages> not-indexed> not found(404), and you will see a list of 404 URLs

• Click on the URLs and inspect to see the source from which the link is getting crawled. You can inspect the links individually to get more details.

• Export the complete list by clicking on the “export button” in the top right corner and download the list in CSV format or an Excel sheet.

• Now, you can easily review the URLs, inspect them, and see which need to be fixed/ redirected to be indexed by Google.

How do you fix the “Not Found 404” errors in GSC?

Fixing 404 errors requires determining whether each URL should be restored, redirected, or left as a genuine 404. Work through the exported list from Google Search Console systematically rather than addressing errors at random, as not every 404 requires action.

Inspect and analyze the URLs

• Start with analyzing the list you exported previously from the Google search console and understand the reason behind the 404 error. If your site is large and has many pages, you can also use an SEO crawler tool like Screaming Frog to get all the details quickly.

• Next, ensure that your GSC XML site does not include any 404 error page. It should only include pages with a 200 status code. However, if you find these pages are 404, it may mean a submitted page has been removed, the sitemap needs to be updated, or the pages contain errors. Thus, always ensure that you update your XML sitemaps if anything changes on the site, especially the URL structure.

At this stage, if you think the 404 pages are insignificant, should not exist, and will not affect your website significantly, you can leave the issues as they are. If you still need to, you can continue with the next steps.

Set up 301 redirects

You should consider redirecting your 404 error pages if you have moved your content to another symbolic page. You can also redirect it to another related page on your website. You want your users to be led to a more useful page.

Once you have properly redirected these pages, Google will most certainly recrawl the pages, and the Not Found 404 pages will be displayed as “Page with redirect” in GSC.

Only redirect to contextually related pages. Redirecting to unrelated pages creates soft 404 errors in GSC, which are harder to diagnose and fix than the original 404 errors

Inspect internal and external links in the 404 page

If you think a page on your website is useless and it’s okay to return a 404 error, check all the internal and external links on the page. Even if the page is not important, it is crucial to monitor the links it has, and it should not have extensive internal and external links.

In this case, you can replace the internal links with links to the related pages and return a 200 status code.

For external links pointing to a 404 page, contact the site that linked to it and request a link update. If that is not possible, set up a 301 redirect from the 404 URL to the most relevant live page.

Use Google Search Console Tools

You can also use GSC tools to fix the 404 errors displayed on your GSC account.

• Submit the new URLs to the search console as you update, redirect, or change URLs. This helps Google index the pages quickly.

• If you have updated new content on the old URL redirect, you must request that Google recrawl and index the updated pages.

• Once the 404 issues are fixed, you can mark them as resolved in GSC and notify Google of the resolution.

• When you have redirected a 404 URL, you can block the page in GSC to prevent it from being crawled further.

How to Fix a Page With Redirect Issues in Google Search Console?

A page with a redirect appears in Google Search Console when a URL in your sitemap, or one linked from another page, redirects to a different URL. Google follows the redirect and indexes the destination URL rather than the original, so the original page will not appear in search results.

Is “Redirect” bad news?

Getting a “Page with redirect”: A page with a redirect status is not always a problem. It could also mean that your site has several pages that are of no use, and that other pages are better suited to display that content to users. For example, moving URLs from unsecured HTTP to HTTPS redirects pages and users to a more useful page version.

When you redirect duplicate content to the canonical version, Google can crawl and index these pages.

Reasons Redirects Causes Indexing Issues In GSC

While a page with redirects can be a great way to optimize duplicate content on your site, it can also cause problems, indeed, if not appropriately addressed.

Two types of redirects can be the reason your pages are not indexed on Google.

First, the redirects were created by mistake, and you have not addressed them. Second, any temporary redirects you made that were mistakenly treated as permanent have been received by the Google bot.

• 301 redirects indicate that the page has no further purpose and should not be indexed. Instead, you want the users and the Google bot to crawl to the final page and index it.

• 302 redirects are temporary, created when a quick fix is applied to the site. The page is still important to you, and you need it to be indexed.

These temporary redirects can be seen as permanent redirects by Google and dropped during indexing. So, you need to pay attention to the temporary redirects and get Google’s focus back on the original page as soon as possible.

How To Fix a Page With a Redirect?

Pages flagged as redirects in Google Search Console are not indexed because Googlebot follows the redirect to the destination URL rather than indexing the original. Identify whether each redirect is intentional, misconfigured, or pointing to the wrong destination before making changes.

• Go to Google Search Console, open Indexing, then Pages, and select Page with Redirect.

• Export the list and identify which redirects are intentional and which are errors.

• Confirm intentional redirects point to the correct destination URL, returning a 200 status code.

• Remove unintentional redirects and restore the original URL where the page should be indexed.

• Replace 302 temporary redirects with 301 permanent redirects where the change is permanent.

• Request reindexing for corrected URLs using the URL Inspection tool.

How to Fix New Video Indexing Issues in Google Search Console?

Google indexes only one video per page. If your page contains multiple videos, only the most prominent one is eligible. Additional videos are ignored regardless of quality or placement.

Metadata inconsistencies also cause failures. When Google combines metadata from multiple URLs pointing to the same video, it cannot determine which version to index. These failures appear in Search Console as “Video not processed” or “Video not found on host service.”

How Does It Affect Your Video Visibility?

Unindexed videos do not appear in Google Search, Google Discover, or video search features. No indexing means no organic traffic, regardless of content quality.

Duplicate video indexation causes Google to decide which page ranks for a relevant query, removing that control from you. Structured data helps Google identify key moments and improves eligibility for rich results in SERPs.

Identifying the Issue on Your Website

Start with the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console. Run a live test on the page to see how Google renders it and whether the video is detected.

Videos placed outside the initial viewport, sized too small, or not treated as the page’s main content are frequently excluded from the Video Indexing report entirely.

How to Fix the New Video Indexing Problem?

Fixing video indexing issues requires addressing three areas: metadata accuracy, video accessibility, and overall user experience. Each one directly affects whether Google can detect, process, and index your video content.

Optimizing Video Metadata

Accurate and consistent metadata is the foundation of successful video indexing.

• Unique URL and Thumbnail: Every video needs its own unique URL and thumbnail. Duplicate or shared thumbnails confuse Google’s indexing process.

• Consistent Metadata: Maintain consistency across schema.org markup, HTML tags, sitemaps, and mRSS files. Inconsistencies across these sources cause indexing failures.

• Aligned Thumbnails: Thumbnails must match the video title, description, and content to provide Google and users with a clear, cohesive signal.

• One Video Per Page: Keep one video per page where possible. If needed, host it on a dedicated landing page with a unique descriptive title.

• Keyword-Rich File Names: Use descriptive keyword-relevant file names for video files to reinforce content relevance to search engines.

Improving Video Accessibility

Accessible videos are easier for both users and search engines to process.

• Cross-Device Testing: Review videos on different screen sizes to confirm proper display and playback across all devices.

• Mobile Compatibility: Ensure adaptive aspect ratio and browser support for mobile users.

• Supported Formats: Use MP4, WebM, or AVI formats to ensure Google can fetch and index video content without compatibility issues.

• Stable URLs: Keep video and thumbnail URLs consistent. Changing these URLs breaks Google’s indexing signals and requires reindexing.

• Video Transcripts: Include a full transcript on the page. Transcripts give search engines additional keywords to extract and significantly improve indexing potential.

• Accessible Player Controls: Implement video player controls that are accessible to users with disabilities, including keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility.

• Remove Flashing Content: Flashing or strobing content harms users with photosensitive epilepsy and should be removed or replaced.

Enhancing User Experience

User experience signals directly influence whether Google treats your video as the primary content of the page.

• Prominent Placement: Place the video above the fold within the main content area. Videos hidden below the fold or in small containers are frequently excluded from the Video Indexing report.

• Structured Data: Implement VideoObject schema markup to make your video eligible for rich results in Google Search and Google Discover, including key moments display.

• Accurate Thumbnails: Use thumbnails that genuinely represent the video content. Misleading thumbnails increase bounce rate and signal low quality to Google.

• Video Controls: Enable standard controls, including play, pause, volume, and replay. Locked or autoplay-only videos reduce engagement and accessibility.

• Text Alternatives: Provide text descriptions or captions for users who cannot play the video. This prevents drop-off and gives search engines additional content to index.

How to Use Google Search Console for Video Indexing?

Google Search Console’s Video Indexing Report tracks how many videos on your site are indexed, identifies pages where videos could not be indexed, and provides the specific reason for each failure. It is the most direct tool for monitoring and resolving video indexing issues without guessing.

Using the Video Indexing Report

Go to Enhancements, then Video in the Google Search Console left sidebar to open the Video Indexing Report. The report shows:

• How many indexed pages on your site contain videos

• Pages where videos are indexed or could not be indexed

• A trend graph showing changes over time

• Specific errors preventing videos from appearing in search results

Filter the report by sitemap to see indexed page URLs where Google detected a video. Use the Coverage report to identify pages with videos not indexed due to errors, and the Performance report to analyze search result performance of indexed videos.

If Google cannot determine the prominent video on a page, it is usually due to poor video placement, manipulation attempts, or recurring site design issues that affect video prominence.

Validating Fixed Issues

After fixing video indexing issues, open the URL Inspection tool and run a live test to confirm Google can detect and process the video. Submit a validation request directly from the Video Indexing Report to prompt Google to recrawl the affected URLs.

Google Search Console updates the validation status to show whether the issue is resolved, still present, or encountered an error during validation. Check the Video Indexing Report weekly after submitting fixes to confirm indexing has been restored.

How To Prevent 404 Errors in The Future?

In order to prevent the 404 issues from popping up in your mail or GSC again, try these fixes to avoid such issues in the future:

• Update Internal and External Links: Always improve your internal linking, audit them, and ensure these links point to working/active pages on the site.

• Update sitemaps: Your XML sitemap or any sub-sitemap must reflect the correct, up-to-date URL structure.

• Inspect and Clean Links: Regularly monitor all links on your site and clean or remove any invalid or broken links. Fix them in a timely manner.

• Monitor site changes: If there is a site migration or changes to URLs, ensure redirects are set up correctly and test them to confirm they work.

• Regularly check for 404 errors: You must conduct a monthly GSC check to identify any that may persist. This way, you can fix these errors promptly and ensure your pages are indexed by Google.

Conclusion: Fixing New Reason Preventing Your Pages from Being Indexed

Most new indexing issues in Google Search Console can be traced to three causes: 404 errors, faulty redirect chains, or video indexing failures. Each has a clear fix when you know where to look.

Address the issue, request reindexing through the URL Inspection tool, and monitor your Pages and Video Indexing reports weekly. A monthly GSC audit keeps indexing issues from compounding into larger ranking problems.

FAQs About Google Search Console Indexing Issues