Statuses attach to URLs, not to requests
This is the thing to internalise before anything else. A copyright-removal request is a submission that names one or more URLs. Google evaluates the URLs, and records an outcome against each one individually. So a single request against your domain can simultaneously contain URLs that were delisted, URLs Google declined to act on, and URLs it had never indexed in the first place.
"Twelve requests name my domain" therefore tells you almost nothing on its own. The number that matters is how many URLs carry a removal status, and which URLs those are.
The statuses, one by one
These are the labels the checker shows against each request, using the same colours you see in your results.
removed
The URL was delisted from Google Search.
The page itself is untouched and still live at its address — Google has stopped returning it in results. This is the only status that has actually cost you anything, and the only one worth reacting to immediately.
no action
Google reviewed the URL and did not delist it.
Someone filed against this URL and Google declined. Reasons vary: the request lacked evidence, the claim was not made out, or the submission was incomplete. A domain whose history is mostly "no action" is being filed against without much success.
not in index
The URL was not in Google's index, so there was nothing to remove.
Common with bulk automated filings, which generate URL lists from pattern matching and sweep in addresses that were never indexed — or never existed. It says more about the sender's process than about your site.
pending
Still under review at the time the record was published.
A snapshot, not a verdict. Re-check later rather than treating it as either outcome. Long-standing pending entries usually just mean the record has not been refreshed.
duplicate
The URL was already covered by an earlier submission.
Frequently a sign of repeat filing by the same sender, sometimes because their tooling re-submits the same list. Worth noting as a pattern; not separately damaging.
Reading a domain's history properly
Work down in this order. It takes a couple of minutes and stops you acting on the wrong number:
- Count removals, not requests. How many URLs actually carry removed? That is your real exposure.
- Look at which URLs. Three delisted tag pages and three delisted revenue pages are not the same event.
- Check the ratio. A high proportion of no action and not in index suggests indiscriminate bulk filing rather than a targeted, well-evidenced claim.
- Look at who filed. One sender repeatedly, or many unrelated senders, are different problems. Who the two named parties are.
- Look at the timeline. Activity clustered in one week reads differently from a steady trickle over three years.
If URLs on your domain show as removed
Get the specifics before doing anything else: the exact URLs, the reporting organisation, the copyright owner, and the date. Signed in, all four appear against each request, along with any available link to the underlying notice on Lumen.
Then work out whether the delisting is worth contesting at all. A removed URL you had already retired costs you nothing. A removed URL that was your best-converting page is a different conversation, and one worth taking advice on before you respond — a counter-notice carries real consequences.
Check the statuses on your domain
FAQs
What does “no action taken” mean on a copyright removal request?
Google reviewed that URL and chose not to delist it. It is the outcome recorded when a request is not acted on — because the claim was not made out, evidence was missing, or the submission was incomplete. The URL stays in Search.
Does “removed” mean my page was deleted?
No. Removal here means delisted from Google Search. The page is still live at its own address and still reachable directly and through other search engines. What delisting does and does not do.
Why does one request show several different statuses?
Because the status is recorded against each URL, not against the request. A request naming twenty URLs can produce twenty different outcomes, and commonly does when the list was generated automatically.
What does “not in index” mean?
Google had not indexed that URL, so there was nothing to remove. It is very common in bulk automated filings, which build URL lists by pattern matching and include addresses that were never indexed or never existed.
Should I worry about a pending status?
Not on its own. Pending means the record showed the URL still under review when it was published. Re-check later rather than reading it as either a removal or a refusal.
Is a high request count bad?
Not necessarily, and it is the wrong number to react to. Count the URLs carrying a removal status instead. A domain with many requests and almost no removals is being filed against unsuccessfully.
Keep reading
How to run a DMCA check on any domain
Run a free DMCA check on any domain. See how many Google copyright-removal requests name it, who filed them, and which URLs were listed.
Who actually filed the request?
Google's removal records name two separate parties: the reporting organisation that submitted the request and the copyright owner it acted for. Which is which, why it matters, and who you contact to fix a mistake.
Google copyright removal, explained
How Google copyright removal works end to end: who files requests, what Google does with them, what gets published in the Transparency Report, and how to check whether your domain appears.
DMCA removal from Google Search
How URLs get delisted from Google Search after a copyright complaint, what removal does and does not do, how to request one, and how to tell whether your own pages were affected.