Google announced that it is looking into concerns of content indexing delays in a post about an indexing problem with Google Search. Google stated that they are "working on identifying the root cause" of the problem, which is "affecting a small number of sites."
what Google composed. Google announced on its blog that it is looking into allegations of a limited number of sites experiencing delayed indexing in Google Search. Our goal is to locate the underlying reason. Within 12 hours, there will be another update.
These responses were also posted by Google on X:
Began early this morning. Reports of these indexing problems began to arrive on Thursday, December 21 about 1:30 am ET. It was something I first mentioned on my X handle, a few hours before Google verified the problem. As you can see, some of the complaints started as early as 1:30 am ET and are still coming in as I write this article.
somebody is affected. Although it is not entirely accurate, the first assumption was that only sites in India and particular regions were affected. Some others believed it had to do with websites that publish both standard HTML pages and an alternative AMP solution.
Large magazines like the Washington Post, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and others do not appear to be affected.
It is only "affecting a small number of sites," according to Google. When Google determines the "root cause" of the problem, it will keep us informed. However, I don't think Google will disclose which websites were affected and which weren't.
Now what? If you are affected, your only option at this time is to wait it out. Google is looking into the problem on their end, and they should have a solution soon. Although Google stated that it will offer an update in the next 12 hours, perhaps one will arrive sooner.
Why it matters to us. This could be the cause if you're seeing problems with your content's indexation and therefore low traffic coming from Google Search. Once again, as of this morning, this particular issue is new. If you've experienced problems with indexing and ranking within the last few days or months, it's probably more related to a change in Google's search algorithm, which makes the search engine believe your website isn't worth indexing and ranking right now.
Set to 5:30 p.m. ET. Around 5:30 p.m. ET, Google published an update stating that the issue has been resolved. Google stated, "We located and resolved the indexing problem. Sites may continue to see minor indexing delays until the impacted URLs are being reprocessed. There won't be any more releases.
