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I am using Google Search Console's URL Inspection Tool but I am not exactly sure how it works.

I have submitted a sitemap to Google Search Console and the link shows up in google search but when I use the link on the URL Inspection, it says the 'URL is not on Google' even though it shows up on google search.

I was wondering why this is happening? Does the URL Inspection only work for pages that were crawled outside of submitted sitemap pages? Are sitemap pages excluded from the URL Inspection?

Stephen Ostermiller
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John Lee
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1 Answers1

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I think it’s an assumption to say that just because a page shows up in Google search that Google has actually indexed it. Especially if you’re just using a search like site:example.com. If key word searches return your page then it’s probably safe to assume it’s indexed. It’s also possible that Google makes several iterations indexing a page before Google says “done”.

Re submit URL, that is one way to tell Google manually about new content. But if you’re comparing Submit URL and a site search, I don’t think that’s a good match.

Lastly, you’ll find that GSC often finds pages without using your sitemap. Google is more likely to crawl your site via links in your pages than using your sitemap.

Trebor
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