Why Are My Blog Pages Not Getting Indexed by Google?

Marketing & Content Hub Blog, Website & Page Publishing
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I’m working on a Minecraft-related website where I publish guides, version information, gameplay tips, and other useful content for Minecraft players. Recently, I noticed that some of my newer blog pages are not appearing in Google search as quickly as expected.

I have already checked the sitemap and made sure the important pages are included. I have also reviewed the canonical URLs and noticed that sometimes Google takes time to recognize the latest version of a page after I update the content or change the URL slug.

For example, if I update an older Minecraft article with new information about a Minecraft version, should I keep the same URL and update the existing content, or is it better to create a new page for the new version?

I’m also wondering whether caching can affect how quickly Google sees these changes. The pages are accessible normally when I open them in a browser, but indexing seems to take longer than expected.

Has anyone here worked with a Minecraft blog or another content website and experienced something similar? What steps helped you get updated pages indexed correctly?

I’d especially appreciate advice about canonical URLs, sitemap updates, internal linking, and whether changing an existing Minecraft article’s slug can cause indexing delays.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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Hi @zaviyar and welcome to the HubSpot Community!

So that we can help you as best as we can, can you please confirm if your website is hosted on HubSpot?

Also, are you already using the HubSpot AEO tool?

I’d love to hear from our Top Experts: Hi @danmoyle, @TomM2 and @Josh do you have suggestions to help @zaviyar, please?

Thanks so much and have a lovely day!
Bérangère

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Hello @zaviyar, indexing is not instant, it might take from a few hours to a few weeks. So if you just published an article, it’s normal that it doesn’t appear in any search engine yet. Give it time :slight_smile:

I recommend you using Google Search Console, if will show you if there are any errors that prevent your pages from being indexed and will help you identify which pages are being indexed and which ones not.

Regarding updating an older article with new information, it depends on what you want to add. This is a content decision, but in my opinion, if it’s just an update about a specific topic you already covered, it’s better to update the article rather than writing a new one. Just make sure the updated date is visible in your article so crawlers know it has been updated.

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Welcome to the Community @zaviyar! Wishing you all the luck on your Minecraft efforts. I know it’s a great community! So here’s my advice for you:

Start with search intent, not the calendar. If the page answers a question that doesn’t change over time, keep the URL and just update the content. If it’s a snapshot of “the current state of X,” treat it as evergreen too. Update the title, the intro, the screenshots, the date, whatever needs refreshing. Only spin up a brand new URL when the new content covers a genuinely distinct topic that deserves its own page and doesn’t cannibalize the old one.

A sitemap tells Google a URL exists. It doesn’t get you indexed. For that, use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console, not a site: search. It’ll tell you if the page is indexed, blocked, seen as a duplicate, or just not picked yet.

If you do change a slug, treat it like a migration:

  • Put a permanent 301 from the old URL to the new one.
  • Update every internal link, nav item, and sitemap entry so they point straight to the new URL. Don’t leave them pointing at the old one and relying on the redirect to catch it.
  • Pull the old URL from the sitemap once the redirect’s live.
  • Make sure the new page has a self-referencing canonical.
  • Inspect both URLs in Search Console. The old one should show as redirected. The new one should be eligible to index.
  • Request indexing on the new URL once you’ve confirmed the live test renders correctly.

Slug changes almost always cause a short dip while Google recrawls, processes the redirect, and moves the signals over. That’s normal. Don’t change a slug just to shoehorn in a keyword unless there’s a real reason for it.

On caching: it only matters if Googlebot’s seeing something different than what your visitors see. A normal CDN cache isn’t going to block indexing by itself. What breaks things is a CDN serving stale HTML after a publish, an old canonical tag getting cached, a redirect that’s misconfigured or looping, or a security layer throwing a 403 or a challenge at Googlebot specifically. The URL Inspection tool’s live test is the fastest way to check. If it shows the correct page, caching isn’t your problem and it’s more likely Google just hasn’t reprocessed the URL yet.

If you’re seeing “Crawled, currently not indexed” in the Page Indexing report, the fetch is working fine. The real question is whether the page is different enough and useful enough compared to similar pages you’ve already got live. If it says “Discovered, currently not indexed,” that’s usually an internal linking or crawl budget issue, so shore up your links, keep the sitemap clean, and make sure your server’s responding reliably.

Bottom line: give Google one clear answer for which URL is the “real” one. One canonical, one sitemap entry, consistent internal links, and content that earns its spot. That’s what gets pages indexed and keeps them there.

Also, +1 for the advice from @albertsg on Google Search Console. That will be a big help as well.

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Is this a new website or blog? Have you created this content with the use of AI or other automation? Is this content unique compared to other Minecraft content on other websites?