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IndexPedia
FAQ

Questions about Google, AI search and IndexPedia

Straight answers about indexing, AI assistants, crawlers, IndexNow, fixes and your account. 36 questions, grouped by topic.

Google indexing

Why is Google not indexing my pages?

The most common reasons are that the pages look thin or too similar to other pages on your site, that Google has found more addresses than it wants to crawl, or that the pages are blocked, redirected or marked noindex. Google decides page by page, and it does not index everything it finds.

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What does "Crawled - currently not indexed" mean?

It means Google visited and read the page, then chose not to add it to its index. This usually happens when Google sees little unique value in the page, for example when most of it is template text or it repeats other pages.

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What does "Discovered - currently not indexed" mean?

It means Google knows the address exists but has not crawled it yet. On larger sites this often happens when there are many low-value addresses competing for Google's attention, so the important pages wait in line.

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Can IndexPedia force Google to index my pages?

No tool can, and claims that say otherwise are not true. What IndexPedia does is show why Google skips pages and what to change so Google sees them as worth indexing.

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Should every page on my site be indexed?

No. Pages such as search results, filters, login screens and thin tag pages are often better left out. A smaller set of strong pages usually performs better than a large set of weak ones.

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How long does it take Google to index a new page?

Anywhere from a few hours to several weeks. Google crawls popular, frequently updated sites more often, and it may wait longer on pages that look similar to others. A clean sitemap, internal links to the new page and unique content all help Google find it and decide to keep it.

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AI search and AI assistants

What is the AI Visibility Check?

It is a free test that shows whether AI assistants recommend your business when customers ask for what you offer. IndexPedia asks the questions a customer would ask, live and with web search, and reads every answer. You see whether you were named, in what position, which competitors were named instead, and which websites the answers relied on.

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Why does AI recommend my competitors instead of me?

AI assistants build answers from what they can find and trust online: business websites, listing sites, review sites and local directories. Competitors that are named usually have clear, consistent facts across those sources. The check shows which sources were used, so you can see where you are missing.

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How can I get AI to recommend my business?

No one can guarantee it, but the steps that help are well known. Get listed, with the same name, address, hours and services, on the sources the check shows. Make sure your own website states clearly what you do and where. Then give AI one clear, structured page about your business, which is what the AI Profile does.

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What is the difference between OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User and GPTBot?

OAI-SearchBot crawls pages so they can appear in ChatGPT search results. ChatGPT-User visits a page when a ChatGPT user asks about it directly. GPTBot collects content that may be used to train OpenAI's models. Blocking GPTBot does not remove you from ChatGPT search; blocking OAI-SearchBot does.

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Should I block AI crawlers?

That is your decision, and AI Reach helps you make it on purpose. Blocking search crawlers keeps your pages out of AI answers, which usually costs you visibility. Blocking training crawlers only affects model training. Many sites allow search crawlers and block training crawlers.

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Does Google-Extended affect my Google rankings?

No. Google-Extended is a robots.txt token that controls whether Google may use your content for Gemini model training. It does not change how Googlebot crawls your site or how you rank in Google Search.

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What is the difference between SEO and AI visibility?

SEO is about appearing in a list of search results. AI visibility is about being named in the answer an AI assistant writes. They overlap, because AI assistants read the web through crawlers and search indexes, but an AI answer has no page two: a business is either named or not. IndexPedia covers both.

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IndexNow and Bing

What is IndexNow?

IndexNow is an open protocol that lets a website notify search engines the moment a page is added, updated or deleted. One notification is shared with all participating search engines, including Microsoft Bing, Yandex, Seznam.cz and Naver. Without it, search engines find changes only on their next crawl.

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Does Google use IndexNow?

No. Google does not take part in IndexNow. For Google, IndexPedia relies on your sitemap and, if you connect it, Search Console data to show which pages are indexed and why others are not.

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Does submitting a page guarantee it will be indexed?

No. IndexNow makes sure search engines know about the page quickly. They still visit it and decide whether to index it based on its quality, the same as any other page.

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Why does IndexNow matter for AI search?

Microsoft Copilot answers with Bing's index, and ChatGPT search uses Bing among its sources. When your new pages reach Bing quickly, they can reach those AI answers sooner.

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What is an IndexNow key?

The key is a short text file placed at the root of your site. It proves to search engines that the notifications really come from the owner of the site. IndexPedia gives you the file and checks that it is in place.

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Crawlers and bots

Why can't I see AI crawlers in Google Analytics?

Analytics tools run in the visitor's browser and ignore bots on purpose. AI crawlers do not run that code, so they never appear. The IndexPedia snippet runs on your server, where every request is seen.

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How do you know a visit is from the real crawler?

Each visit is checked against the IP addresses published by the crawler's owner, such as OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, Bing and Apple. Visits that use a famous name but come from other addresses are marked as not verified.

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Why do bots pretend to be Googlebot or GPTBot?

Many sites let well-known crawlers through firewalls and rate limits. Scrapers copy their names to get the same treatment. The name in a request proves nothing; the address it comes from does.

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What should I do with a fake bot?

Block it by IP address in your firewall or hosting panel. Do not block by name, because that would also block the real crawler using the same name.

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Where do I find my access log?

In most hosting control panels, look for Logs, Raw Access or Access Logs. On your own server it is usually at /var/log/nginx/access.log or /var/log/apache2/access.log. Many hosts let you download the last few days as .gz files.

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What happens to my log file?

The file is read once to build your report and then deleted. Only the report is kept. If you choose to, anonymous totals, with no addresses, pages or site name, are added to the public AI Crawler Radar.

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Fixes

What is in the Fix Kit?

The Fix Kit contains the files and text your site needs, written from your own pages: a corrected robots.txt, an llms.txt guide for AI tools, schema markup for your homepage, shorter titles and new meta descriptions for pages that need them, and a clean list of sitemap URLs. Each item can be copied or downloaded.

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What is llms.txt?

llms.txt is a proposed standard: a plain text file at the root of your site that tells AI tools what your site is and links to its most useful pages, in a format language models read easily. It sits beside robots.txt and your sitemap; it does not replace them.

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Will the new robots.txt break anything?

The Fix Kit keeps the rules that protect private areas of your site and opens access for search and AI crawlers, then points to your sitemap. Read it before you replace your current file, especially if your site has areas that must stay private.

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What is Auto-fix?

Auto-fix applies approved SEO fixes to your live pages without you editing code: shorter titles, new meta descriptions and schema markup. You add one small snippet to your site once, approve the fixes you want in your dashboard, and they appear on your pages as they are served.

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Does Auto-fix change my files or database?

No. Your files and your database are not touched. The fix is applied to the page as it is sent to the visitor, and switching a fix off returns the original immediately.

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Which platforms does Auto-fix work on?

Every platform. One line, the IndexPedia tag, goes into your site header on Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Shopify, Webflow, Square Online or through Google Tag Manager, and WordPress has a one-click plugin. The Connect page shows the steps for your builder, with no code to write.

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Account, plans and safety

What does the free plan include?

The free plan includes one site with up to 1,000 pages, automatic weekly checks of 100 pages, IndexNow submissions, AI crawler and AI visitor tracking, and the Fix Kit. The free site scan, AI Visibility Check, Log Analyzer and Bot checker can be used without an account.

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What do Pro and Agency add?

Pro is $19 a month for up to 5 sites and 50,000 pages per site, with daily checks of 1,000 pages, Google Search Console data and Auto-fix. Agency is $49 a month for up to 25 sites and 250,000 pages per site, with daily checks of 5,000 pages.

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How do I upgrade or cancel?

Online payments are being finished. Until they are live, send a message from the contact page with your account email and the plan you want, and your account is moved the same day. You can cancel at any time and keep your history.

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What does "verified" mean for my site?

It means you uploaded your site's key file, which proves the site is yours. IndexNow requires the same file before it accepts your pages, so verifying covers both.

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Is IndexPedia safe for my server?

Yes. IndexPedia checks public pages one at a time with a pause between them and identifies itself as IndexPediaBot. It never logs in, submits forms or changes your site.

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Can IndexPedia guarantee rankings or AI recommendations?

No, and no honest service can. Search engines and AI assistants make their own decisions. IndexPedia shows what stands in the way, fixes what can be fixed, and measures whether things improve.

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Scan your site free

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