Indexability QA Briefs

Indexability QA checklist

Check whether launch pages are search-ready before sitemap submission.

Use this checklist before asking why a new page is not indexed. It catches common robots, sitemap, noindex, canonical, and URL variant mistakes.

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pre-launch QA order 
1. URL returns 200
2. robots.txt allows path
3. page is self-canonical
4. no noindex tag
5. sitemap includes canonical URL

1. Confirm the intended URL list

  1. List every URL expected to be discoverable at launch.
  2. Normalize casing, trailing slashes, http/https, and www variants.
  3. Remove staging, preview, draft, and duplicate URLs from the launch list.

2. Check robots.txt before blaming indexing

  1. Confirm important launch paths do not match a `Disallow` rule.
  2. Include a `Sitemap` directive for the production sitemap.
  3. Avoid non-standard `Noindex` directives in robots.txt; use page-level meta robots when needed.

3. Match sitemap URLs to canonical URLs

  1. Every indexable launch URL should appear in the sitemap.
  2. Sitemap URLs should return 200 and be self-canonical.
  3. Do not include redirected, blocked, noindexed, or duplicate variants.

4. Inspect HTML head snippets

  1. Remove accidental `noindex`, `nofollow`, or `none` directives from production pages.
  2. Confirm each canonical tag points to the intended production URL.
  3. Check title and description presence for priority launch pages.

5. Create a fix handoff before submission

  1. Group issues by robots, sitemap, noindex, canonical, and URL variants.
  2. Fix blockers before submitting the sitemap.
  3. After launch, verify indexing in Search Console or equivalent tools when data becomes available.