Many people confused these two things.
Just because a page is indexed, doesn’t mean it is going to rank.
You just need to understand the difference between indexing and ranking,
What Indexing Actually Means
Indexing is basic awareness.
When Google indexes a page, it’s saying:
“I know this page exists, and I’ve stored it in my database.”
Indexed does not mean:
- Google likes it
- Google trusts it
- Google will show it to anyone
- Google thinks it’s good
It just means your page is now eligible to appear somewhere in search results.
What Ranking Actually Means
Ranking is preference.
When your page ranks, Google is now saying:
“Out of all the indexed pages for this query, this one deserves visibility.”
Ranking is competitive.
It depends on:
- how well your content matches search intent
- site trust
- external signals
Ranking answers one question:
“Why should this page show before the others?”
Why New Sites Get Indexed But Don’t Rank
This is where most beginners panic.
Google indexes new content fairly easily now, but ranking it? That’s a different story.
When a site is new, Google has no reason to trust it.
So the posts:
- appear on page 8, 12, or 20
- show up for ultra-long-tail queries
- rank briefly, then drop
Google doesn’t “reward” new sites.
If it was that easy, everyone would be ranking.
Indexing Problems vs Ranking Problems
Here’s how to tell the difference:
If your post is NOT indexed:
- It won’t show up at all (even on page 50)
- Google Search Console shows “Discovered – currently not indexed” or “Crawled – currently not indexed”
That’s a technical or quality/trust signal issue.
If your post IS indexed but not ranking well:
- It appears very deep in search results
- It ranks for weird, unrelated queries
- It moves up and down
That’s a content, intent, or authority issue.
Two totally different fixes.
What I Do If a Post Isn’t Indexed
You need to focus on discovery and clarity:
- add internal links
- make sure the content is complete
- improve structure
- request indexing once
- remove thin or duplicate pages
Indexing problems are usually just site hygiene problems.
What I Do If a Post Is Indexed but Not Ranking
This is where real SEO work happens.
Ask yourself:
- Does this match search intent exactly?
- Is it better than what’s currently ranking?
- Is the topic too competitive for my site authority?
- Does this need supporting content?
Most ranking issues are solved by:
- narrowing the keyword
- improving depth
- updating the post
- building topical relevance around it
A lot of the time, the actual real problem was competition.
Targeting keywords you have no business targeting yet.
New sites need to shift towards:
- low-competition queries
- long-tail keywords
- problem-based searches
- ultra-specific topics
If Google hasn’t indexed your post, you don’t exist.
If Google has indexed it but buried it, you’re just not the best answer yet.
And that’s okay.
Indexing is a signal that you’re allowed to compete.
Ranking is proof that you deserve attention.
