Google Confirms Fix To Search Indexing Problem via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

A week after confirming an ongoing issue with Google Search indexing, the problem is resolved.

On February 1, Google acknowledged that its search engine was experiencing delays indexing “a small number of sites.” This admission came after numerous SEO professionals and web administrators complained overnight about having their latest content go unindexed.

On Monday, February 5, Google Analyst Gary Illyes provided an update, stating that “some things take a long time to get fixed properly.” Illyes confirmed the issue had been “mitigated,” meaning there was no longer an outward impact, but a proper fix was needed.

As of February 8 at 3:36 am PST, the Google Search Status Dashboard indicated the indexing issue had been fixed. Google states: “We fixed the issue with indexing. There will be no more updates.”

Screenshot from: https://status.search.google.com/, February 2024.

The indexing problems started around 3:30 pm PST on January 31. Since then, many website publishers, content creators, and news organizations have reported issues getting their newly published content indexed and surfaced in Google search results.

With this issue now resolved, publishers who experienced delays in getting content indexed and appearing in Google Search can rest assured the problem has been fixed.

Google hasn’t provided details on what caused the problem. The company said its engineering teams investigated the root cause in hopes of quickly resolving the issue, which they did a week later.

Featured Image: monte_a/Shutterstock

SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer at Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s degree in communications, ...

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