Google does not index any URLs from the site.

Hi. Four years ago, I started a project but put it on hold. Last year, I didn't renew the domain and someone else snapped it up (or so I believe—I'm not 100% sure); I’ve since re-registered it and added it to Google Search Console. The original backlinks I built are still there—meaning there are no new backlinks, nor any spam issues. I rebuilt the entire platform, including the landing page, blog, and tools.

It’s been two weeks since I registered the site in GSC, yet only the homepage has been indexed—which is the only page that remained indexed throughout. Interestingly, the icon that appears in the URL bar when I search `site:mywebsite.com` is an old one (an important detail).

I built a SaaS website featuring pages for features, functionalities, and tools, plus a blog with about five optimized articles. I generated the sitemap and `robots.txt` file, and everything looks correct.
However, any URL I submit to GSC returns the error: "The page is not indexed: Google does not recognize the URL." Even the sitemap I submitted returns the message: "No reference sitemap was detected." It’s as if Google refuses to even crawl the sitemap or the URLs.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

- Increasing the sitemap priority and resubmitting it
- Testing the `robots.txt` file (everything checks out)
- Manually requesting indexing via GSC
- Submitting requests via the Google Indexing API (all return a success status)
- Creating backlinks on other high-quality sites (the content on those sites gets indexed, but Google still won't index mine)
- Checking for—and finding no—warnings or manual actions

In my 10 years of doing SEO, I’ve never encountered this before; even low-quality sites usually get indexed by Google, unlike this high-quality site I’ve built. I’d like to know if anyone else is in this situation, has any advice, or knows if this might be related to recent Google algorithm updates. I initially thought it was a Cloudflare block, but upon analysis, nothing seems to be wrong. In fact, using the "Test the published URL" option in GSC—if there were a DNS or Cloudflare error, it would show an error, right? Instead, it says "The page is indexable."

Are you generating your content with AI? Only the homepage getting indexed looks like a Google filter. Switch the site to the www version; and improve the content + theme!

seocutr said:

Are you generating your content with AI? Only the homepage getting indexed looks like a Google filter. Switch the site to the www version; and improve the content + theme!

Click to expand...

I use AI, but I rewrite and improve the content. The issue is that the site—specifically pages like /prices and /features—isn't getting indexed. From what I gather, Google detects when a domain expires and is re-registered, and it takes at least 30 days for crawling to resume; everything I submit goes into a non-priority queue.

Give me 3 urls from dm

Had a similar issue.GSC showed "The page is not indexed: Google does not recognize the URL."

Running "Test Live URL" confirmed it was indexable.

Despite submitting the URLs through GSC and the GSC API, Google still refused to index them, and the status didn't update to "Discovered - currently not indexed".

I ended up solving it by using a paid indexing service, but it's confusing.

Is the domain you are working on an expired domain

FabioSelau said:

I use AI, but I rewrite and improve the content. The issue is that the site—specifically pages like /prices and /features—isn't getting indexed. From what I gather, Google detects when a domain expires and is re-registered, and it takes at least 30 days for crawling to resume; everything I submit goes into a non-priority queue.

Click to expand...

AI content is not the issue, I have sites whose contents were created/generated with AI and they were indexed even faster. What I would recommend is keep adding more content, it'll surely get indexed. You could submit the posts manually and get Google to fetch the individual pages. This works sometimes as it forces Google's bot to grow through the pages.

moonshine7000 said:

Is the domain you are working on an expired domain

Click to expand...

Yes, but I was the original owner. It expired and I didn't renew it—since it was an inactive project, I didn't want to pay the GoDaddy fee. I let it go back on the market and then picked it up again. After that, I rebuilt everything, from the platform to the site itself.

HenryObi said:

AI content is not the issue, I have sites whose contents were created/generated with AI and they were indexed even faster. What I would recommend is keep adding more content, it'll surely get indexed. You could submit the posts manually and get Google to fetch the individual pages. This works sometimes as it forces Google's bot to grow through the pages.

Click to expand...

The problem is that the crawl never happens. It goes into a non-priority queue. Even the indexed homepage still shows the icon from the previous site, meaning it hasn't updated...

Ambiguiltor said:

Had a similar issue.GSC showed "The page is not indexed: Google does not recognize the URL."

Running "Test Live URL" confirmed it was indexable.

Despite submitting the URLs through GSC and the GSC API, Google still refused to index them, and the status didn't update to "Discovered - currently not indexed".

I ended up solving it by using a paid indexing service, but it's confusing.

Click to expand...

And what about the rest—did you index it, or just the part you paid to have indexed?

I didn't want to try to force anything, so I wouldn't end up hurting my situation further.

Two week is too early for Google to reindex all your urls, it takes months since it has been dropped then bought, then dropped again and then bought.

If you are in desperate need to get the url indexed, you can try using the Rankmath Google indexing api plugin for WordPress. It works but not recommended

replyr said:

Two week is too early for Google to reindex all your urls, it takes months since it has been dropped then bought, then dropped again and then bought.

If you are in desperate need to get the url indexed, you can try using the Rankmath Google indexing api plugin for WordPress. It works but not recommended

Click to expand...

Does it not use the standard Google Indexing API, or does it use it as if it were a paid indexing service? Because if it's the standard GSC API (https://developers.google.com/search/apis/indexing-api/v3/quickstart), I already requested access to test it three days ago.

FabioSelau said:

Does it not use the standard Google Indexing API, or does it use it as if it were a paid indexing service? Because if it's the standard GSC API (https://developers.google.com/search/apis/indexing-api/v3/quickstart), I already requested access to test it three days ago.

Click to expand...

Yes. It is the Google indexing API but it is not available in GSC. It is available through Google Cloud Indexing API.

If I'm right I think you sent an indexing request through the Google Search Console right? That thing doesn't use the indexing api from Google cloud.

FabioSelau said:

And what about the rest—did you index it, or just the part you paid to have indexed?

Click to expand...

Those few pages I ran through the service got indexed.

But I agree relying on third-party indexing services can be risky, since we don't know their method or the long-term consequence.

If GSC says the pages are indexable, then I'd stop focusing on technical issues for a moment. I've seen cases where everything was technically correct, but Google still delayed indexing because the domain had little trust or wasn't seeing enough value in crawling the new pages.

One thing I'd check is whether Google is actually fetching the latest version of the site. The old favicon showing up in site: results suggests Google may still be relying on older cached information. I'd also verify the HTTP status codes, canonical tags.

As you say your homepage is already indexed so I don't think google is completely ignoring your site. I suggest to wait at that time and keep checking GSC because sometimes it takes time for google to pick the rest of the pages.

If GSC says the pages are indexable, it usually means the issue isn't robots.txt or Cloudflare. Two weeks is still fairly early, especially for a domain that was dropped and re-registered. I'd double-check that the sitemap is accessible, make sure your internal linking is solid, and inspect the server logs to confirm Googlebot is actually crawling the pages.

I've seen sites take several weeks before indexing starts again, particularly after a domain has expired. If everything is technically correct, it may just need more crawl signals and a bit more time.

It sounds more like a crawling or canonicalization issue than an indexing penalty. Since GSC says the pages are indexable, I'd verify that Google is actually discovering them.... check internal links, canonical tags, HTTP status codes, and whether the sitemap is accessible to Google.
Also, if the domain changed hands, Google's historical signals may need time to refresh. I'd give it another few weeks while monitoring crawl stats and server logs. If Google starts crawling but still doesn't index, then it's worth investigating content quality or duplicate content signals.

Wait longer verify crawl accessbility, sitemap and internal linking before worrying.

If the pages are marked as indexable, i'd check server logs to confirm googlebot is actually crawling them, not just relying on GSC statas.