Platforms · OWNER’S GUIDE
Google Search and Gemini need different discovery checks
Check Google Search, its generative features and Gemini separately. A website can work in one experience without proving its status in another. Keep the evidence attached to the product and setting it actually describes.
Start with Search access and indexing
Google’s minimum technical conditions include an accessible page, a successful HTTP response and indexable content; meeting them does not guarantee indexing. Google: Search technical requirements.
- Choose a real customer destination, such as your main service page.
- Confirm it loads publicly over HTTPS and shows the important text without signing in.
- Check its canonical address, internal links, indexing directives and sitemap entry.
- Use the verified Search Console property to inspect the URL and its indexing evidence. Save the result and date.
A browser fetch is useful access evidence. It is not a substitute for the indexed-page result in Search Console. Likewise, a search for your brand is a narrow observation, not a measure of all relevant customer searches.
Check the generative-search setting
Search Console has a Search generative AI control under Settings. Record its effective value and any parent-property inheritance. This is distinct from ordinary Search inclusion. Google: Search generative AI control. Supporting links also require indexing and snippet eligibility; page-level preview restrictions matter. Google: AI features and your website.
| Question | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|
| Can the page be read? | URL, response, visible text and any access problem. |
| Is Google indexing it? | URL Inspection result for the correct property. |
| Can it participate in generative search? | Indexing and snippet eligibility, plus the effective Search generative AI setting and inheritance. |
| Did a customer encounter it? | Relevant report or dated product observation, with its limits. |
Make a separate Gemini observation
Google-Extended governs specified model-training and Gemini grounding uses, while Google Search inclusion uses other controls. Review the owner’s preference before changing it. Google: Common crawler controls.
Test a genuine buying question in Gemini, record the displayed mode, locale, date and cited URLs, then verify the business facts against your site. Repeat later because one response is variable. Do not label a developer API result as a consumer Gemini result.
Our recommended sequence is simple: repair the source page, verify Search settings with the owner, then observe the experiences customers actually use. Keep local Business Profile and merchant tools in their own eligibility track. This prevents a green website check from being sold as complete Google coverage.
Sources and review
Primary references checked November 11, 2026. Platform rules can change; check the linked instructions before acting.
- Google: Search technical requirements
- Google: Search generative AI control
- Google: Common crawler controls
- Google: AI features and your website
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