Pages and indexability evidence
A page observation describes a URL Flowpane obtained during a scan or crawl. A sitemap is the publisher's declared URL inventory; a crawl is the set of pages reachable and obtained within that run's limits. Neither is automatically a complete account of the Site or a search engine's index.
Read the evidence together
| Evidence | What it can tell you | What it cannot establish alone |
|---|---|---|
| Sitemap entry | The publisher listed a URL | The URL is reachable, canonical or indexed |
| HTTP response | The response received at observation time | Continuous availability to all visitors |
| Redirect | The requested URL led elsewhere | The destination belongs in a sitemap |
| Canonical declaration | The preferred URL declared by the obtained page | A search engine accepted that preference |
| Meta robots or effective directives | The indexing/following policy visible in the available evidence | Every crawler's interpretation or actual index state |
| Internal links | Links found in the observed pages | Every link on the website |
Inspect the requested URL and declared canonical separately. If /old-page redirects to /current-page, consider the final public URL and intended ownership before editing either sitemap entry. A sitemap entry and a noindex directive can express conflicting intent; decide which policy is correct rather than automatically removing the restriction.
Robots and partial observations
robots.txt can restrict crawling. That can prevent page content and its canonical or meta-robots evidence from being obtained. A blocked page is not proof of noindex. JavaScript-dependent links, authentication, missing links, depth limits and execution limits can all affect what is observed.
Not observed means absent from the available evidence set. Before calling a URL deleted or orphaned, confirm that the run completed and review the crawl limits. Compare equivalent scopes and observation times. Flowpane does not guarantee indexing or exhaustive coverage.
From evidence to an action
Use sitemap comparison to identify candidates for review, then test the individual URL and confirm its intended public policy with the Site's maintainer. Use the sitemap editor to prepare declared inventory changes. Saving or excluding a sitemap entry does not delete a page, redirect it or make it private.
For supported connected Sites, a separate Managed changes action can change an offered page directive. Connection alone does not authorise that change, and this is separate from editing page content or third-party sitemap output.