Google Index explained: Essential tips for better visibility

Updated on: Oct 6th, 2024 10 min readWritten by: Approved by: bhagart singh

Last Updated on October 6, 2024 by Admin

In today’s context, having a website is not enough. To gain a presence on the web, you want your site to rank on the search engines, especially Google. However, how do you make sure that Google is aware of your website and can, therefore, index it? The answer is Google indexing.

If Google is indexing your site, it means that Google has included your site in its large list of sites. This is important because search engines can consider only indexed pages in the results list. Without indexing, your perfectly designed site can practically be unseen by any visitors you may have had the possibility of attracting.

Recent statistics highlight the importance of indexing:

  • According to various statistics, over 90% of online experiences start with a search engine.
  • Google performs more than 35 billion searches every single day
  • The first five organic results make up 67%. 60% of all clicks

These numbers alone explain why getting your site indexed is not just desirable but critical to your online presence. Here in this guide, we are going to guide you through the process of how Google can index your site in a seven-step process. Well then, let’s go deep and ensure that your site attracts the attention it needs!

What Is the Google Index?

One can also consider the Google index a humongous library where lots of books are stored. It is a very large library maintained by Google that stores details of all the web pages that Google has encountered. When you enter a search query, Google is not searching the internet live. It does not wait for that and scans through its index to find the best matches to the entered keywords.

Here’s how it works:

  • Google employs other programs known as “crawlers” or “spiders” to search for new and updated pages on the World Wide Web.
  • These crawlers scan the text and other media content, such as images and videos, on the respective web pages they discover.
  • The information is then stored/ indexed in Google index.
  • When you search for something, Google’s algorithms search this index to show you the best results.

The Google index is dynamic because it is always being updated. New areas are created, old ones are deleted, and outdated entries are edited as the web’s content changes. This dynamic nature makes it possible for Google to provide the latest, most relevant search results.
Website owners need to be on this index. If your site doesn’t have an index, people cannot find it even with impressive content. This is why knowing and focusing on the Google indexing factor is critical to any SEO strategy.

How Do You Check If Google Has Indexed Your Site?

It will be helpful for you to first look for your site before you begin the process of getting it indexed. Here are two simple methods:

  • Google Search: Type site:yourdomain.com into Google. This one will display all the pages that Google has crawled on your website. If you get no results, then your site is not even indexed.
  • Google Search Console: The URL Inspection tool allows you to view page status. Specify your page’s URL, and this service will inform you whether Google has indexed it.

How Do You Get Google to Index Your Site?

Having seen how you can check your indexing status, let us now look at how you can get Google to index your site. Here are five effective strategies:

  1. Request indexing for your homepage: In the first line, the requester utilizes one of the fastest working signals to get Google’s attention: asking to be indexed for the homepage. This method is more helpful when you have a new website or update your site’s main page with a lot of changes. To achieve this, one must sign into Google Search Console, a web service offered by Google for webmasters.
    • Go to Google Search Console and select your property.
    • Use the URL Inspection tool at the top of the page.
    • Enter your homepage URL and hit Enter.
    • If the URL isn’t indexed, you’ll see a “Request Indexing” button. Click it.

    This informs Google that your page is prepared for crawling and indexing. This is especially helpful when you have a new website or have recently significantly redesigned the home page.

  2. Create and submit a sitemap to Google: Sitemap is primarily a webmaster’s blueprint of the website layout for search engines. It is an XML file containing all the necessary information about the important pages of your site and their relations, and thus, helps Google understand how your site is constructed and where all the content is positioned. Submitting a sitemap is one of the effective ways to enhance the indexing of your site that you create.
    1. Create an XML sitemap. Many CMS platforms like WordPress do this automatically, or you can use online sitemap generators.
    2. In Google Search Console, go to “Sitemaps” under “Index” in the left sidebar.
    3. Enter your sitemap URL (usually yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml) and click “Submit.”

    Sitemaps do not automatically mean that the web pages will be indexed, but they do increase the probability of Google discovering and subsequently indexing all the essential web pages.

  3. Structure your site properly: Website structure greatly influences how Google crawls and indexes your website and its overall ease of use. Thus, it not only affects indexing but also positively influences users’ perceptions and can affect a site’s rating.
    1. Create a clear hierarchy with your main pages linked from the homepage.
    2. Use descriptive, keyword-rich URLs.
    3. Implement a logical internal linking structure.
    4. Ensure all important pages are reachable through links (avoid orphan pages).

    A good structure enables Google to understand the relevance of one page to another and its general importance.

  4. Build backlinks to your site: Links from other sites to yours – backlinks, as they are called, can make a massive difference to how your site is indexed and are an SEO staple. It is evident that when other reliable sites link to your content, it informs Google that your site is worthy of credibility. This can result in quicker crawling and indexing of your pages.
    1. Create high-quality, shareable content.
    2. Reach out to industry influencers and websites.
    3. Guest posts on relevant blogs.
    4. Participate in online communities and forums (without spamming).
  5. Use Instant Indexing: Many SEO tools have features that promise to offer ‘indexing in minutes.’ Such tools usually have APIs that alert search engines as soon as you publish new content or update the existing pages. Though they cannot promise indexation at first sight, they can make it considerably faster.

These tools primarily operate by either ‘telling’ the search engines or directly feeding in the new URLs through official application programming interfaces. This is something that some of the most used SEO plugins for WordPress have to offer. They can prove to be very useful for news sites or blogs that post content quite often and would like to get them indexed as soon as possible.

However, remember that these tools should be used only to provide more information. Do not submit pages for indexing if they are not ready and if they do not offer any value to users. Overusing these features may result in your submissions being completely ignored or even punished by the search engines.

Common Indexing Issues to Find and Fix

You may still face challenges even if you have gone through the process of getting indexed. Below are some of the problems that one is likely to encounter and the possible solutions:

  • Mistakes with Your Robots.txt File: The robots.txt file is a text file that gives directions to the crawler or spider of the search engine about which part of your website can be viewed. One mistake that can be made is blocking some or all of your pages or your whole site from being indexed. To rectify this, it is advisable to go through the robots.txt file for the site at yourdomain.com/robots.txt and ensure that it does not allow pages that need to be crawled. Use Google’s robots.txt testing tool to ensure that the file in question is working perfectly as a means of transferring the text. If you notice any mistake, make sure you correct it immediately to ensure correct crawling.
  • Accidental Use of Noindex Tags: A “noindex” tag instructs Google not to index a particular page of the site in its search engine index. Occasionally, they are included during development and then overlooked, or they are placed on essential pages by mistake. In response to this, one should navigate to Google Search Console and use the “Coverage” report to check for pages with noindex tags. Unindex these pages using the robots tags and then re-index these pages using the URL Inspection tool.
  • Improper Canonical Tags: Canonical tags inform Google which among the similar URLs is the ‘primary’ page when you have similar content in several locations. Negligence in any one of these areas can result in the wrong pages being indexed. Make sure all your canonical tags are directed to the correct URLs, and do not make all your pages point to your home page by mistake. Google Search Console has another tool called URL Inspection that can help determine how Google views your canonical tags.
  • Internal Link Problems: Problems with internal links are the main obstacles Google faces in identifying and indexing your content effectively. Make sure that all sections and, more importantly, all the important pages are accessible through either your main navigation bar or your sitemap. Internal links should have descriptive anchor text to give the reader more context. Periodically, visit your site and check for internal links that are no longer working and correct them in order to have a healthy internal linking structure.
  • 404 Errors: 404 errors are those pages that do not exist and cannot be indexed. What is more, in Google Search Console, focus on the “Coverage” section to identify 404 errors. When approaching each particular error, determine whether it is possible to keep the page as it is, redirect it to some other content, or exclude the internal links that lead to it.
  • Duplicate Content: Duplicate content is also bad for the site as it can mislead Google and cause indexing problems. To specify the preferred version of the duplicate page, it is recommended to use the tags of the canonical record. Where possible, deliver content that can be contained in one page to avoid congesting the web page with lots of information. Make sure that every page on your site offers different and fresh content to avoid issues related to duplicate content.
  • Poor Site Quality: Low site quality can lead to a situation in which Google decides not to index some of the pages. Concentrate on content development that is unique, relevant, and useful to the target audience. Enhance your site’s usability and speed because these two factors are part of its quality. Develop the site’s credibility by getting proper quality backlinks and positive social signals that will enhance the chances of your pages getting indexed and ranked.

Conclusion

Your website needs to be indexed by Google if you wish to make your site easily discoverable and generate traffic. You can use the steps mentioned above to increase your chances of getting an index and consequently being featured in the search engine results. For further information and help with enhancing your website, contact AlgoSaga for SEO service. It is possible to avoid common pitfalls of SEO and reach your objectives in digital marketing with the help of an expert.