Google Search Console: Page Indexing Issues and How to Solve Them

I've been struggling to use Google Search Console, particularly with indexing pages. It appears to be a widespread issue. Here's what you should know and how to check if it's a concern for you.

The problem at hand is that manual requests to index pages don't seem to be working. Many users, including myself, can't request Google to index our pages. That said, Search Engine Journal noted that not everyone is experiencing this problem.

According to John Mueller from Google, the likely reason for this is spammers misusing the tool. He explains, "People are spamming the Inspect URL/Submit to Indexing tool – normal indexing works fine." So, there's no need to worry too much, as the regular crawling and indexing processes are still functioning properly.

As for a solution, there isn't much we can do right now. The fact that regular indexing is working fine suggests that the issue might resolve itself in time. We'll have to be patient and wait for the system to fix the problem.

John Mueller, a Google Search representative, posted an update over the weekend:

On Friday afternoon, he wrote, "We’ve been looking more at this and the other similar reports in the forum, and I don’t have a conclusive answer. It doesn’t feel as definitive as it usually is with this error, sorry … I’ll update here once we know more."

On Sunday, he wrote, "People are spamming the Inspect URL / Submit to Indexing tool – normal indexing works fine." "I wouldn’t worry about it – normal crawling and indexing is generally fine," he added.

Why we care: You shouldn't be too concerned about this error. In fact, it's an opportunity to step away from the “request indexing” feature and focus on more important SEO tasks. These tasks can include creating new or improved content for your websites or client sites, enhancing the site’s user experience and features, and exploring new content ideas for the long term.

This "hostload exceeded" error is something Google will need to address, and there's nothing you can do to fix it on your end right now.