Do you want to know how to index a website on Google and get the most out of this strategy? Having a website well positioned in search results is the goal of any company that wants to be found online — and without the basic fundamentals of SEO, this goal is difficult to achieve.
Now, let’s get straight to the point: what is this indexing thing, anyway? Basically, the process by which the website and other search engines use to find, analyze and store information about web pages and, from there, display them in the results.
Basically, if your website is not properly indexed, it will not appear in searches, and all the effort invested in content creation and design will be wasted.
So, see why indexing is essential and how to ensure that your website is perfectly available to users.
Why is indexing a website on Google so important?
Indexing is the starting point for any SEO strategy! It is through indexing that Google and other search engines can understand the relevance of your website and display it to the right users.
And if you still don’t know why you should care about this, remember that more than 3.5 billion searches are carried out on Google every day. That’s more than enough reason to be well positioned if your potential client searches for something, don’t you agree?
Not to mention that correct indexing provides benefits such as:
- Increased online visibility, as only indexed pages can appear in search results;
- Improved organic traffic because the easier it is for Google to find your pages, the more likely you are to attract qualified visitors;
- Ranking optimization, as a well-indexed and structured website has a greater chance of reaching the top positions in the SERP.
On the other hand, if your website is not indexed, it will be invisible to search engines, regardless of the Inbound Marketing efforts you put in and the quality of your content.
How to index a website on Google?
Indexing is largely automatic, and Google uses its digital “detectives” (known as crawlers or spiders) to crawl and analyze pages. These robots visit websites, analyze the content, and check various factors to determine which ones should be indexed and displayed in search results.
In other words, the structure of the website — including sitemap, internal links, images, content and responsiveness — influences all of this tracking and indexing.
Therefore, you can (and should) take some measures to make the job easier for crawlers and increase the chances of your pages being indexed correctly — which is what we’ll see next.
7 essential practices to index your website on Google
Now that you’ve gone through all the theory, let’s understand how to index a website on Google in practice? So, check out the 7 practices to help the search engine index your website in the best possible way:
1. Submit the URL to Google
To ensure that your page is indexed, make your URL available to Google’s robots. This can be done by creating a sitemap or by inserting links to the new page in strategic places on your site, such as:
- Menus;
- Footers;
- Articles already indexed.
When a new page is linked to other existing pages, crawlers can find it during the crawling process. In addition, by including relevant links on external websites ( backlink strategy ), you make it easier for robots to access your URL and speed up the indexing process.
In other words: the approach does not require additional tools and takes advantage of the natural logic of crawlers: the more visible and well-connected your page is, the greater the chance of it being indexed quickly.
2. Create relevant content on a blog
Maintaining a blog with original, quality content that is optimized for SEO is one of the most powerful strategies for attracting the attention of Google crawlers.
This is because robots value websites that offer useful answers to users’ questions. To do this, publish good articles that address topics that are relevant to your target audience and use strategic keywords in a natural way.
Additionally, updated content helps to reinforce the website’s authority and makes it more attractive to search engines.
3. Create a sitemap
A sitemap acts as a guide for crawlers, as it helps them locate all the important pages on your website quickly.
This XML file lists relevant URLs and provides information such as the frequency of updates and the importance of each page.
You can create it manually, but most website platforms and CMS (like WordPress) allow you to generate a sitemap automatically through specific plugins or tools.
Once created, it can be made available at the root of the website to facilitate access by robots.
4. Use Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a tool for managing your website’s indexing. It allows you to monitor how Google crawls your pages and identify issues that may prevent indexing, such as 404 errors or blocks in your robots.txt file.
Additionally, you can check which keywords drive traffic to your site and track performance metrics like clicks and impressions.
Using this information, you can adjust your SEO strategy and improve your website’s visibility in search results.
5. Configure the robots.txt file
The robots.txt file is used to guide bots on which areas of your site they can crawl and index. For example, it can be configured to prevent pages with sensitive or duplicate information from being accessed.
However, a configuration error can block important pages and, consequently, harm indexing. To avoid problems, carefully review the rules defined in the file and test the settings using robots.txt analysis tools.
6. Install Google Analytics
While Google Analytics doesn’t directly interfere with indexing, it does help you monitor your website’s traffic and identify user behavior.
With this data, you can adjust your strategy to optimize the user experience and, consequently, improve your ranking.
7. Structure the website well and create internal links
A clear and organized website structure significantly improves the User Experience, but it also makes the job of crawlers easier. Structure your website into logical categories using simple menus and friendly URLs.
Take advantage and use internal links to connect related pages. This ensures that robots can easily navigate your content and also helps to highlight strategic pages!
Ultimately, it increases the likelihood of your pages being indexed and ranked in search results.
How to monitor indexing and troubleshoot common issues?
Once you’ve learned how to index a website on Google, it’s time to make sure your page continues to sail in calm waters in the vast digital ocean. And how do you do that? By monitoring the status of your website to prevent issues from arising and hindering its visibility.
And speaking of problems, check out how you can act preventively so that your pages don’t present unforeseen events that will compromise indexing.
Using Google Search Console for Monitoring
Google Search Console is also a tool that monitors the health of websites and ensures that all important pages are properly indexed.
With it, you can check which URLs are visible in search results, identify issues that hinder crawling, such as server failures or broken links, and receive alerts about critical issues, such as unindexed or duplicate pages.
In addition, the tool provides comprehensive reports on the website’s performance, even showing which search terms are bringing in visitors. It’s like an X-ray of your digital traffic!
Diagnosis and solutions for common indexing errors
Indexing issues are like potholes on a well-paved road: they can get in the way, but they can be fixed! Here are the most common ones and how to deal with them:
- 404 error: indicates that the page was not found. To fix this, review internal links and redirect outdated URLs to existing pages;
- Pages blocked by robots.txt: This occurs when the robots.txt file prevents bots from accessing certain pages. Make sure it is configured, which should free up access to strategic areas of the site;
- Too many redirects: Multiple redirects can confuse bots and impact indexing. Fix this by shortening redirect chains.
What to do when pages take a long time to be indexed?
If your pages are taking a while to appear in search results, you can speed up the process by:
- Create backlinks on other websites, directing them to yours. This helps crawlers find your pages;
- Update frequently, as this is a determining factor in generating indexing priority by Google robots;
- Review settings, such as the example above in the robots.txt file, or also in the “noindex” tag, among other elements.
Put your company at the top of the results!
Knowing how to get your website indexed on Google provides the foundation for any successful SEO strategy! By following these best practices, you’ll be well on your way to improving your website’s visibility and attracting more qualified visitors!
But remember: SEO is a journey, not a finish line. Sometimes, having a specialized partner makes all the difference. This is where Orgânica comes in!
We are a specialized Digital Marketing agency and, since 2007, we have transformed the visibility of national and international companies into real results, impacting sales and business profitability.
Want to make sure all your pages are correctly indexed? Take Enjoy Minder’s SEO Diagnosis and find out how to optimize your strategy to achieve better results on Google with us!
