Lesson 22
Indexing Basics: What Should and Shouldn’t Be Indexed
What you’ll learn
By the end of this lesson, you’ll understand:
What it means for a page to be indexed
Which pages should usually be indexed
Which pages are often better left out of search
What “indexing” actually means
When a page is indexed, it means:
- A search engine has discovered it
- It has been stored in the search engine’s database
- It’s eligible to appear in search results
If a page isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in search, even if it exists on your site.
Pages that should usually be indexed
In most cases, you want to index pages that:
- Provide value to visitors
- Answer a real question
- Represent your services, products, or expertise
- Are intended to be found via search
Examples include:
- Core service pages
- Educational articles
- Blog posts
- Key landing pages
If a page is meant to be discovered, indexing usually makes sense.
Pages that often shouldn’t be indexed
Some pages exist for usability, not search.
These are often better left out of the index:
- Thank-you pages
- Internal search results
- Login or account pages
- Duplicate or near-duplicate pages
- Filtered or parameter-based URLs
Indexing these pages can dilute focus and create clutter in search results.
Indexing is about intent, not volume
A common mistake is thinking:
“More indexed pages = better SEO”
In reality, it’s better to have:
- Fewer, clearer, higher-quality pages indexed
Search engines prefer sites where it’s obvious which pages matter.
A simple rule of thumb
Ask:
“Would I want someone to land on this page from Google?”
If the answer is no, the page probably doesn’t need to be indexed.