How I Fixed "Discovered - currently not indexed" in Next.js (Sitemap Guide)

You built a blazing fast Next.js portfolio. You deployed it. But when you check Google Search Console, you see the dreaded status: "Discovered - currently not indexed". Why? And how did I fix it for my own site?

1. The Core Issue: Static Sitemaps vs Dynamic Content

Many Next.js developers (myself included) start with a manually created `sitemap.xml`. This works for small sites, but as you add blog posts, manually updating the XML file becomes a chore. If your sitemap `lastmod` date doesn't match the actual content update, Google might ignore it.

import { blogData } from '../assets/assets';

export default function sitemap() {
  const baseUrl = 'https://aditya-gupta.com.np';
  
  // Blog posts dynamic generation
  const blogPosts = blogData.map((blog) => ({
    url: `${baseUrl}/blogs/${blog.id}`,
    lastModified: new Date(blog.date),
    changeFrequency: 'weekly',
    priority: 0.7,
  }));

  return [
    {
      url: baseUrl,
      lastModified: new Date(),
      changeFrequency: 'yearly',
      priority: 1,
    },
    ...blogPosts,
  ];
}

2. Don't Forget robots.txt

Your robot needs a map. The `robots.txt` file tells search crawlers where to find your sitemap. Without it, they are wandering blind.

export default function robots() {
  return {
    rules: {
      userAgent: '*',
      allow: '/',
      disallow: '/private/',
    },
    sitemap: 'https://aditya-gupta.com.np/sitemap.xml',
  }
}

3. Optimize Your Metadata (The "Hidden" SEO)

Having a page isn't enough; it needs to look good when shared. I migrated from the old `Head` component to the new Metadata API in Next.js 14+.

Results

After deploying these changes, I resubmitted my sitemap to Google Search Console. Within 48 hours, my "Discovered - currently not indexed" pages were moved to "Indexed", and my organic impressions started to climb.