# Indexability

Indexability — whether a page is technically able to enter a search engine's index; the absence of all barriers.

**Indexability** refers to whether a web page is technically in a state that allows it to be included in a search engine’s index. For a page to be indexable, there must be no technical barriers preventing it.

Checks that affect indexability:

- Does the page return a 200 OK HTTP status code?
- Is robots.txt blocking the page?
- Does the meta robots tag contain `noindex`?
- Is the X-Robots-Tag HTTP header imposing a restriction?
- Does the canonical tag point to another URL?
- Is the page behind a password-protected area?
- Is JavaScript-rendered content visible to the bot?

Being indexable does not guarantee that a page _will be_ indexed. A page being technically free of obstacles is a prerequisite, but Google also considers signals such as quality, originality, and value when making the final indexing decision.

**Tip:** When investigating why a page is not indexed, first check its indexability. The “URL Inspection” tool in Search Console shows where a page gets stuck at each step of the indexing process.