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Google index status

Once Search Console is connected, the SEO card of the Review Portal shows whether Google has indexed a published page or post, for example Google: Indexed (last crawled October 3, 2026) or Google: Not indexed: Discovered - currently not indexed. When Google has not indexed the page, the Request indexing on Google row of the Copy link or Share to menu is highlighted, because that is the next step.

SyteOps only ever reads from Search Console. It uses Google's URL Inspection, the same check as the inspection bar in Search Console, with read-only access. It never submits, removes or changes anything in Google, and it never uses Google's Indexing API.

Before you start​

  • A Google account that can use the Google Cloud console.
  • Owner access to the site's property in Google Search Console, so you can add a user.
  • We recommend one service account for all your sites, or one per client: a service account can be added to as many Search Console properties as you like, and removing it from one property leaves the others working.

One-time setup in Google​

1. Create a project and turn on the Search Console API​

In the Google Cloud console, create a project (or pick an existing one), open APIs & Services → Library, search for Google Search Console API and choose Enable.

2. Create a service account and a JSON key​

Open IAM & Admin → Service Accounts and choose Create service account. Give it a name and finish without granting it any project roles. Open the new account, go to Keys → Add key → Create new key, choose JSON, and download the file. Keep it somewhere safe.

If Google Cloud says that creating keys is disabled, your organization blocks service account keys with the iam.disableServiceAccountKeyCreation policy (Google turns it on for organizations created since 2024). An organization administrator can allow keys for this one project under IAM & Admin → Organization policies, or you can create the project under a Google account that is not part of the organization.

The file holds the account's email address (it looks like [email protected]), a private key, and some project details.

For each site​

3. Add the service account to the site's property​

In Search Console, open the site's property, then Settings → Users and permissions → Add user. Enter the service account's email address and choose Restricted (or Full, if checks say the account cannot see the property). SyteOps only uses the account to read Search Console, whichever you choose.

The property must be the one SyteOps checks: the Search Console property set under Request indexing in the Review Portal settings, or your site's domain property (sc-domain: followed by your domain) when that field is blank.

4. Paste the key into SyteOps​

Open Content Pipelines, then the Review Portal settings, and find Request indexing under Social sharing. Open the downloaded file in a text editor, copy everything in it, paste it into Index status and choose Save key.

SyteOps checks that it is a service account key and asks Google to accept it (a sign-in only, which uses none of your daily checks), then stores it encrypted on your site; it is never shown again. A key Google does not accept is not saved, and the message says why. The row then shows the service account's email address with a copy button, and the reminder to add it on the property. Save key and Remove key act at once; they do not wait for Save settings.

To stop showing the index status, choose Remove key. If the row says the stored key can no longer be read on this site (this can happen after the site is cloned or moved to a new server), choose Remove stored key and paste the key again.

In the Review Portal​

The status line appears in the SEO card for people who can publish the page, once it is published and public (not password protected, private or marked noindex). Other reviewers do not see it.

  • Google: not checked yet — nobody has checked this address yet. The portal checks it a moment after the page opens.
  • Google: Indexed — Google has indexed the page; the date it last crawled it follows when Google reports one.
  • Google: Not indexed: … — Google has not indexed the page, followed by Google's own reason, such as Discovered - currently not indexed or Crawled - currently not indexed. Use Request indexing on Google in the Copy link or Share to menu to ask Google to look at it.
  • Search Console isn't connected. — no key is saved yet. Only a SyteOps Admin, who can paste the key, sees this hint; other publishers see no line until Search Console is connected.

Check now asks Google again straight away, unless the page was checked in the last minute: then it shows that answer again. Otherwise a result is kept for a day when the page is indexed, and for an hour when it is not, and opening the portal after that checks again by itself. Changing the page's address counts as a new page.

If a check fails, the line keeps the last answer and Check now says why:

  • The connected service account cannot see this Search Console property. Add its address as a user on the property (step 3), and make sure the property in the settings is the right one.
  • The Search Console API is turned off in the service account's Google Cloud project. Turn on Google Search Console API in that project (step 1), then check again.
  • Google refused the check: this page is not part of the Search Console property in the settings. Make sure the Search Console property under Request indexing covers this site's address.
  • Google is limiting index checks right now. Wait a while and try again.
  • Daily check limit reached. Each site makes at most 300 checks a day. Google allows 2,000 a day for each property, but every tool that reads the same property through Google's API (an SEO or rank-tracking tool, for example) shares that allowance, so SyteOps keeps to a modest share. Checks you make by hand in the Search Console website don't count. The count starts again at midnight Pacific time. A developer can change the limit with a filter, up to Google's 2,000.
  • Google could not be reached. A temporary problem; try again in a minute.
  • Search Console is not connected, or Google no longer accepts its key. Paste the key again, or create a new key if the old one was deleted or disabled.

Backups and other sites​

The key is never included in a backup, a restore point or a settings export. After restoring or importing settings, paste the key again on each site.