Page with redirect: what it means in Search Console

Google’s Page indexing report gives this definition: “This is a non-canonical URL that redirects to another page. As such, this URL will not be indexed. The target URL of the redirect might or might not be indexed, depending on what Google thinks about that target URL.” The address is a signpost, and Google indexes destinations, not signposts.

Most addresses with this status are doing their job.

• The http:// version of a page, forwarding to https://.
• The www version, forwarding to the address without it, or the reverse.
• An address without its final slash, forwarding to the one with it.
• An old address, forwarding to the page that replaced it.

None of these needs a fix. They are the redirects a well-kept site should have.

The status deserves a look in five cases.

• A page you want indexed is on the list. Something is forwarding it by mistake.
• The sitemap lists addresses that redirect. A sitemap should name final addresses only.
• Internal links point at old addresses, so every click and every crawl takes an extra step.
• The redirect goes through several hops, or loops back on itself.
• Many old pages forward to the home page, which Google may treat as pages that no longer exist.

Search Console’s URL Inspection tool shows what Google found at any address, including where it was sent. A browser’s address bar shows the same thing for a person: type the listed address and see where you land. If the destination is the right page, in one step, the redirect is sound.

Each problem has a direct fix.

1. Remove a redirect that should not exist, in the website platform’s redirect settings or in whatever added it.
2. Regenerate the sitemap so that it lists final addresses.
3. Update internal links to point straight at the final address.
4. Collapse chains: forward each old address to its final destination in one step.
5. Forward each retired page to its closest replacement, not to the home page.

Redirects matter most when a site is rebuilt, and redesigning a website without losing rankings covers that. The other statuses in the same report are explained in why your website is not showing up on Google.