Check whether a URL is indexed by Google — without consuming API quota.
Reachability is a prerequisite, not proof of indexing. Use these shortcuts to verify actual index status.
site:example.com
Google doesn't offer a public API for index status without OAuth. Tools that claim to “check Google index” either scrape SERPs (against Google's ToS and easily rate-limited) or use the Search Console API with authentication. For accurate, real-time data use GSC's URL Inspection tool.
Google Search Console doesn't expose index status for arbitrary URLs via a simple API call. The most reliable method is a site: operator query. This tool generates the right query and opens it in Google directly — the result comes from Google's index, not from a cached third-party database.
For definitive status
The site: operator is a quick sanity check. For a definitive answer on any individual page — especially pages you're troubleshooting — use GSC's URL Inspection tool. It's slower but authoritative.
A site: query returning zero results doesn't guarantee the page isn't indexed — Google limits the number of results it shows for any site: query, especially for large sites. Use it as a directional signal. If you're troubleshooting a specific page, URL Inspection is the right tool.
Yes, free and no signup. It builds the correct site: query and runs it against Google's live index.
Common causes are a noindex tag, a canonical pointing to another URL, a robots.txt block, or thin content. GSC URL Inspection shows the exact reason for a specific page.
New pages usually take 2 to 7 days, and longer on new or low-authority sites. Strong internal links to the page speed it up.
Related tools: canonical checker and robots.txt validator and generator. Background reading: check URL status codes in Google Sheets.