The URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console shows how Google currently sees a specific page, whether it is indexed, and can test the live page. "Request indexing" asks Google to crawl a URL, but it does not guarantee that the page will be indexed, and the tool has daily limits.
What it tells you
For a URL in your property, the tool shows Google's indexed version:
- Overall status: "URL is on Google", "on Google, but has issues" or "not on Google". Being on Google means eligible to appear, not guaranteed to.
- Discovery: how Google found it, including referring sitemaps and pages.
- Last crawl time and whether it was crawled as desktop or mobile.
- Crawl and indexing settings: whether crawling is allowed by robots.txt, whether indexing is allowed (noindex), and the user-declared and Google-selected canonical.
- Enhancements: detected structured data and any errors or warnings.
- View crawled page: the HTML, HTTP headers and resources.
Test live URL
This fetches and renders the page in real time. It shows whether the URL is available to Google and gives a screenshot. It is useful for checking a fix. It does not confirm that the page will be indexed, and it does not check manual actions, sitemap membership, duplicate status or canonical selection.
Request indexing
After a quick check for immediate errors, Request indexing asks Google to crawl the page. Things to know:
- It is unavailable if the live test shows the page is not indexable.
- It does not guarantee inclusion, and indexing can take a day or longer.
- For many pages, Google recommends a sitemap with accurate
lastmoddates instead. - There is a daily limit per property, so save it for important pages.
When to use it
- After launching or updating an important page.
- When a page is not showing in search and you want to see why.
- To confirm a fix, such as removing noindex.
- To check how Google renders a page with scripts and styles.
Limits and gotchas
- The indexed result is not live and may be out of date, and the canonical may lag by a few hours.
- The page must belong to your property and be reachable without login.
- Redirects are followed silently.
- Not every rich result type is supported.
- For a definitive check, search for the URL on Google.
A sensible routine
Do not request indexing for every page. Keep a clean sitemap, link pages internally, and use URL Inspection for the pages that matter. If many pages are stuck, read about the Page Indexing report. New to this? Start with the Search Console setup guide.