A few pages show up in Google Search Console but most say 'Not Indexed' — how can I force my site to be indexed?

Do this: check if 'Allow: /' is in robots.txt. Then delete the sitemap and create a new one (only include links to published pages). Resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console. This usually fixes the issue.

i had the same issue. looked at it backwards — maybe it's not about quality? delete pages under 100 words. and make sure the sitemap only has real pages exclude drafts if any.

Checklist: - robots.txt allow/disallow settings - Internal linking structure (are all pages accessible?) - Duplicate content check (search site:yoursite.com) - Do pages have at least 300 words? - Are there CSS errors in mobile view? - Are canonical tags correct?

So why did you specifically choose those pages? Are they all really necessary? Maybe Google prefers not to index pages it deems unnecessary for users? Did you check content quality word count, and relevance to search intent?

If Google's indexing is slow that's normal. But only 15 pages indexed in 6 months suggests a technical issue on the site. Did you check hosting speed? If page load time is over 3 seconds Google lowers indexing priority. Besides that, add internal links to every page (at least 2-3 internal links).

Looking at it as a process, the picture changes. Hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

It's rare to find an explanation this clear.

Thanks a lot, I'll try it today. The real issue isn't the number, but what it's based on.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

There's a trap here, let me mention it. If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

This approach has a cost, which isn't discussed. Ranking is the result, search intent is the input. Look at intent first.

Hope this helps.

I completely agree. If rankings stay the same but clicks drop, the issue isn't your page, but the search result appearance.

Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late. Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

I'll try it.

I didn't know that. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

Let me share what happened to me; it might be useful. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

Everyone rushing into google isn't indexing me gets stuck at the same point. Hope this helps.

The discussion got scattered, let me summarize. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You're right. The answer varies greatly by industry; there is no one-size-fits-all rule.

You're right, I've been down that road too. Trying to do this alone is the most expensive way.

I agree with this. Merge instead of deleting; deleted content doesn't come back.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.