Google Search Console Changes “Submit To Index” To “Request Indexing”

Google has changed the Search Console feature from “submit to index” to “request indexing” within the Fetch as Google feature. This is actually a week or so old but more and more SEOs and webmasters are noticing it.

It is a subtle change but Google made the change to ensure webmasters know that if they use the feature, it might not lead to Google indexing or ranking the page. Submit to index means you will submit the page to Google’s index. Request indexing means it is only making such a request.

Here is a before screen shot:

Then when you click the “request indexing” button, Google added a “note” that reads “Note: The page will be considered for indexing only if it meets our quality guidelines and avoids the use of noindex directives.” The note was there before, but now Google made it stand out more.

Here is the before:

Here is the after: