Many site owners reporting alarming Google deindexing spike

It seems the uphill battle for publishers trying to make it on Google is getting harder than ever. After already struggling to stay alive following the HCU algorithm update in 2023, publishers are now waking out to yet another concern. In recent weeks, a growing number of website owners are noticing a sudden and significant drop in the number of pages indexed by Google. This alarming trend, which seems to have started around late May 2025, has left many wondering if there’s a larger issue at play or if it’s simply a glitch in the system. And let’s be honest, it would be a lot less stressful if it’s the latter.

That said, we at TechIssuesToday have experienced this firsthand. When we checked our stats, we noticed a sharp spike in deindexing around mid-May. The number of pages marked as “Crawled – currently not indexed” in Google Search Console (GSC) surged unexpectedly. This was particularly surprising because we hadn’t made any changes to the site that could explain this behavior. The screenshot below highlights this spike, showing a steady number of affected pages until mid-May, followed by a dramatic increase.

The graph above, from Google Search Console, tracks pages marked as “Crawled – currently not indexed” from March 8 to May 24, 2025. A significant spike begins around May 13, peaking on May 24, nearly doubling the number of affected pages compared to earlier months.

This graph from GSC highlights the issue clearly. From March through early May, the number of pages in the “Crawled – currently not indexed” category remained stable. However, starting around May 13, there was a noticeable upward trend, peaking on May 24.

This pattern aligns with reports from other site owners who have observed similar deindexing issues during the same period. Vijay Chauhan, an SEO expert, took to X to say:

Others have pegged the drop closer to May 27 or 28, but the pattern’s the same. Marie Haynes, another voice in the SEO world, posted:

There are already dozens if not hundreds of reports confirming the same on X. For example, check the comments under this post by Barry Schwartz. 

So what’s behind this? No one’s got a definitive answer yet, but there are some solid guesses floating around. One idea is that Google’s tweaking its algorithm again. Maybe they’re testing a new update to clean up the web, kicking out pages that don’t meet stricter standards. Another thought is that topical authority’s playing a bigger role now. If your pages aren’t tightly linked within your site or don’t scream expertise, they might be on the chopping block. Then there’s content quality. Google could be cracking down harder on thin or repetitive stuff that doesn’t help users much.

Technical glitches are on the table too. Some folks have noticed weirdness in Google Search Console, where pages show as not indexed even when they’re still popping up in searches. It’s confusing, and it’s making people question what’s really happening. Over on Reddit, one user said:

They’ve taken the value of your content and no longer need to deliver traffic to you, so they de-indexed it. Harsh, brutal, but this is reality.

That stings, but it’s a possibility we can’t ignore.

Google hasn’t said much officially. John Mueller from Google has weighed in, though. As highlighted by Barry Schwartz on Search Engine Roundtable, John told folks on Bluesky that he doesn’t see any technical problems on their end. According to him, shifts in what’s crawled and indexed happen all the time. It’s just business as usual. Still, that doesn’t ease the sting for site owners watching their traffic tank.

Apart from this, I haven’t been able to find any reasonable official explanation anywhere, including Google’s publisher help community. Reports on the forums are piling up, but answers from product experts out there are all the ones most of us are already aware about.

In her blog post, Marie Haynes noted that feed, paginated, or old blog pages in the “Crawled – currently not indexed” list are fine unless excessive. She notes an indexing glitch and warns SEO-driven pages may be at risk, hinting Google targets low-value content. However, unless there’s an official confirmation, all this is still speculation.

For now, it seems we will have to wait for an official statement or a quiet fix. If this is Google testing something, things could settle down soon. Keep an eye on your stats, keep your content solid, and stay in the loop for any word from Google. We’re all figuring this out together.