How to Fix 'Crawled — Currently Not Indexed' for PrestaShop Pages

Understanding the 'Crawled — Currently Not Indexed' Status

When you open Google Search Console and see pages marked as "Crawled — currently not indexed", it means Google's crawler (Googlebot) visited those pages, downloaded their content, evaluated them — and then decided not to add them to the search index. This is not a technical error. It is a quality or relevance judgment by Google's algorithms.

This status is different from "Discovered — currently not indexed" (where Google knows the URL exists but has not even crawled it yet) and from "Excluded by noindex tag" (where you explicitly told Google not to index it). With "Crawled — currently not indexed," Google actively looked at your page and made a conscious decision to skip it.

For PrestaShop store owners, this is particularly concerning because affected pages may include product pages, category pages, or CMS content pages that you specifically want ranking in search results. Let us walk through a systematic approach to diagnosing and fixing this issue.

Why Google Chooses Not to Index Pages

Google has limited index capacity and prioritizes pages it considers most valuable to searchers. Several factors can trigger this status on PrestaShop stores -

Thin or Duplicate Content

This is the number one cause for PrestaShop stores. Product pages with only a manufacturer's description (copied from the supplier or used on dozens of other stores), short two-sentence descriptions, or pages with mostly technical specifications and no narrative content are prime candidates for being crawled but not indexed. Google sees the same content on multiple sites and chooses the most authoritative version to index.

Poor Internal Linking

Pages that are buried deep in your site structure and receive few or no internal links send a signal to Google that they are not important. If a product page is only reachable through four clicks from the homepage, or only appears in search results or filtered navigation, Google may treat it as low-priority.

Crawl Budget Waste on Low-Value URLs

If Google is spending most of its crawl budget on filter combinations, search result pages, and session-parameter URLs, it may not have enough "crawl attention" left for your important content. When it does finally crawl those important pages, the overall site quality signal may be diluted.

Out-of-Stock Products

Google specifically deprioritizes product pages where the product is unavailable for extended periods. If your PrestaShop store has many out-of-stock items with no indication of when they will return, Google may crawl them but decide not to waste index space on unavailable products.

Slow Page Load Times

Pages that are slow to render or require excessive resources can be deprioritized. If Googlebot times out or experiences delays when fetching your pages, it may choose not to index them even after a successful crawl.

Missing or Broken Structured Data

While structured data is not a ranking factor by itself, errors in your Product schema, BreadcrumbList schema, or other structured data can create ambiguity about what the page is about, which may contribute to non-indexation.

Step 1 - Audit Which Pages Are Affected

Before fixing anything, you need to understand the scope and pattern of the problem.

1. Open Google Search Console and go to Pages (formerly Index Coverage)
2. Click on "Not indexed" tab and find "Crawled — currently not indexed"
3. Export the full list of affected URLs
4. Categorize them - are they product pages, category pages, CMS pages, or something else?

Look for patterns. If all affected pages are products in a specific category, the problem may be category-specific. If they are all older products, it may be a freshness issue. If they share characteristics like short descriptions, that points to thin content.

Step 2 - Fix Content Quality Issues

This is the most impactful fix and should be your primary focus.

Enhance Product Descriptions

Every product page that you want indexed needs unique, substantial content. Here is what "substantial" means in practice -

• Minimum 300 words of unique descriptive text (not copied from manufacturer)
• Address user intent - what problem does this product solve? Who is it for?
• Include usage information - installation instructions, care tips, compatibility notes
• Add original media - unique product photos, size comparison images, video demonstrations

In PrestaShop, edit your products through Catalog > Products and focus on the Description tab. The short description appears in category listings while the long description appears on the product page itself. Both matter for indexation.

Improve Category Page Content

Many PrestaShop stores have category pages with nothing but a product grid. Add substantial category descriptions that help users understand the product range -

<!-- Example category description structure -->
<div class="category-description">
  <h2>Walk-In Shower Drains for Modern Bathrooms</h2>
  <p>Our collection of linear shower drains combines 
  modern design with superior drainage performance...</p>
  
  <h3>Choosing the Right Drain Length</h3>
  <p>The drain length should match your shower width...
  Available in 600mm, 800mm, 1000mm, and 1200mm sizes.</p>
  
  <h3>Material and Finish Options</h3>
  <p>All drains are manufactured from grade 304 
  stainless steel for corrosion resistance...</p>
</div>

Handle Duplicate Content Across Products

If you sell multiple variants of similar products (same product in different sizes, colors, or configurations), each page needs differentiating content. Do not simply copy the same description and change the size number. Add variant-specific details -

• Specific use cases for each variant
• Installation differences between variants
• Customer reviews specific to that variant
• Unique images showing the variant in context

Step 3 - Strengthen Internal Linking

Internal links are one of the strongest signals you can send to Google about which pages matter.

Cross-Link Related Products

In PrestaShop, go to each product and add related products through the Catalog > Products > [Product] > Options section. Related products create valuable internal links between product pages.

Add Contextual Links in CMS Content

If you have a blog or CMS pages, link to specific products and categories from within the content. This is far more valuable than sidebar or footer links -

<!-- In a CMS page about bathroom design -->
<p>For walk-in showers, a 
<a href="/linear-drain-category">linear shower drain</a> 
provides better water flow than traditional point drains. 
Our most popular option, the 
<a href="/product-page">800mm stainless steel linear drain</a>, 
fits most standard shower configurations.</p>

Improve Breadcrumb Navigation

Ensure your PrestaShop theme generates proper breadcrumb markup. Breadcrumbs create a clear linking hierarchy that helps Google understand your site structure. Check that breadcrumbs include schema.org BreadcrumbList markup.

Create a Custom HTML Sitemap Page

In addition to your XML sitemap, create a CMS page that acts as an HTML sitemap. Link to all your important categories and top products. This gives both users and crawlers a roadmap of your site. Link to this page from your footer.

Step 4 - Technical Fixes Specific to PrestaShop

Check Canonical Tags

Incorrect canonical tags are a common issue in PrestaShop. If a product page has a canonical tag pointing to a different URL, Google will treat the page as a duplicate and may not index it. Check your page source -

<!-- Look for this in the <head> section -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://yourstore.com/product-name.html" />

The canonical URL should match the actual page URL. Common PrestaShop issues include -

• HTTP vs HTTPS mismatches in canonical tags
• Canonical tags including query parameters
• Multiple canonical tags on the same page (caused by modules)
• Canonical tags pointing to non-existent pages

Check this in your theme's head.tpl file or through the URL Inspection tool in Search Console.

Verify Server Response Codes

Use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to check what Googlebot actually sees when it visits your page. Look for -

• Redirect chains (multiple redirects before reaching the final page)
• Soft 404s (pages that return a 200 status but display "no products found" content)
• Mixed content warnings (HTTP resources on HTTPS pages)

Improve Page Speed

Check your Core Web Vitals in Search Console. For PrestaShop, common speed issues include -

• Unoptimized images - Enable WebP conversion and lazy loading
• Too many modules - Each module adds CSS and JS files; disable unused ones
• No caching - Enable Smarty cache and consider a caching module or CDN
• Database queries - Monitor slow queries that increase server response time

Fix Structured Data Errors

Use Google's Rich Results Test tool to check your product pages. PrestaShop should output Product schema with at minimum -

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Product Name",
  "description": "Product description",
  "image": "https://yourstore.com/img/product.jpg",
  "sku": "PROD-001",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "49.99",
    "priceCurrency": "EUR",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"
  }
}

Step 5 - Handle Out-of-Stock Products Properly

PrestaShop stores often have products that go in and out of stock. Here is how to handle them to avoid indexation issues -

• Temporarily out of stock - Keep the page active, show "out of stock" status, and update structured data to https://schema.org/OutOfStock. Add an "email when available" feature.
• Permanently discontinued - Set up a 301 redirect to the closest alternative product or the parent category. In PrestaShop, you can create redirects through the product settings or using an .htaccess rule.
• Seasonal products - Keep the page active year-round with updated content indicating when the product will return.

Never simply disable a product without handling its URL. A product that returns a 404 after being in the index will lose all accumulated SEO value.

Step 6 - Optimize Your XML Sitemap

Your XML sitemap signals to Google which pages you consider important. Optimize it by -

• Include only indexable pages - Remove any pages that have noindex tags or that you do not want indexed
• Set priority and frequency correctly - Product pages and categories should have higher priority than generic CMS pages
• Remove stale URLs - If products are discontinued and redirected, remove them from the sitemap
• Keep it under 50,000 URLs - Use a sitemap index file for larger stores

In PrestaShop, you can manage your sitemap through a dedicated module or by regenerating it from the SEO settings.

Step 7 - Request Re-Indexation

After making all your improvements, request re-indexation for the most important affected pages -

1. Go to Google Search Console > URL Inspection
2. Enter the URL of an affected page
3. Click "Request Indexing"

Note that Google limits the number of re-indexation requests you can submit per day. Focus on your highest-priority pages first. For bulk changes, updating your sitemap and waiting for Google to re-crawl is more effective.

Preventive Measures for PrestaShop Stores

Content Quality Checklist for New Products

Before publishing a new product, ensure it meets these minimum requirements -

• Unique product name (not just the manufacturer's SKU or generic name)
• At least 300 words of unique description
• 3 or more unique product images
• Complete product attributes (dimensions, weight, materials)
• Proper category assignment
• Completed meta title and meta description

Regular Content Audits

Schedule monthly checks of your Search Console coverage report. Track the number of pages in each status category and investigate any sudden increases in "Crawled — currently not indexed" pages. Investigate within the first week, as delays make it harder to correlate changes with indexation drops.

Monitor Crawl Stats

In Search Console, check Settings > Crawl stats to see how Google is crawling your site. Look for -

• Crawl rate - is it stable, increasing, or decreasing?
• Response time - are your pages loading quickly enough for Googlebot?
• Status codes - are there unexpected 404s, 301s, or 500s?

When Not to Worry

Not every page needs to be indexed. If the affected pages are -

• Legal pages (terms of service, privacy policy) — these are often low-priority for Google
• Pages with very similar content to other pages on your site
• Recently published pages (give them 2-4 weeks before investigating)
• Pages created for internal purposes rather than search traffic

Focus your efforts on pages that drive or should drive organic traffic. If a page is genuinely valuable to searchers and still not indexed after implementing the fixes above, consider consolidating thin pages into more comprehensive resources or creating fresh content that better addresses the search intent.