To make sure Google crawls and indexes your website, you can
follow these simple steps. These steps will help Google find
your website’s pages and show them in search results:
1. Submit a Sitemap to Google Search Console
- What’s a Sitemap?: A sitemap is a list of all the
important pages on your website. It helps Google find your
pages more easily. - How to Submit: Sign up for Google Search Console and
submit your sitemap (usually atyourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml
). - Why It Helps: Submitting a sitemap directly tells Google
which pages are available to be crawled and indexed.
2. Use the URL Inspection Tool
- How It Works: In Google Search Console, you can submit
specific pages for Google to crawl by using the URL
Inspection tool. Type in the page’s URL and click “Request
Indexing.” - When to Use It: Use this when you add new pages or
update existing ones and want Google to notice them faster.
3. Make Sure Google Can Crawl Your Site
- Check Robots.txt: This file tells Google which parts of
your site it can or can’t crawl. Make sure important pages
aren’t blocked in therobots.txt
file. - Meta Tags: Make sure your pages don’t have a
noindex
tag, which tells Google not to index them.
4. Create Quality Content
- Why It Matters: Google likes websites with helpful,
high-quality content. Regularly update your site with useful
information like blog posts or articles. - Keywords: Use relevant keywords in your content so
Google knows what your pages are about.
5. Improve Your Website’s Speed
- Why Speed Matters: Google prefers fast websites. If your
site loads quickly, Google will crawl it more easily. - Mobile-Friendly: Make sure your website works well on
mobile devices. Google uses mobile-first indexing, which
means it checks how your site works on phones.
6. Build Internal Links
- Why It Helps: Internal links are links between your
website’s pages. These links help Google discover and crawl
more of your site. - Clear Structure: Make sure your site’s structure is
simple and organized so Google can easily navigate through
it.
7. Get Backlinks from Other Sites
- What are Backlinks?: Backlinks are links from other
websites to your website. They help Google see your site as
valuable. - How to Get Them: Write great content that others want to
share, guest post on blogs, or build partnerships with other
websites.
8. Update Old Content
- Why This Helps: Updating older content shows Google that
your site is active. Google will crawl and re-index updated
pages. - Stay Relevant: Make sure your content is up-to-date and
useful for your visitors.
9. Use HTTPS
- Why It Matters: Google prefers secure websites that use
HTTPS. If your website is still using HTTP, switch to HTTPS
by getting an SSL certificate.
10. Use Google’s Fetch Tool
- How It Works: In Google Search Console, the URL
Inspection tool lets you check how Google views your page.
You can also request re-indexing if you’ve made changes.
11. Avoid Duplicate Content
- Why It’s Important: If you have the same content on
multiple pages, Google may not index them all. Make sure
every page has unique content, or use a canonical tag to
show Google the main page to index.
12. Share on Social Media
- Why It Helps: Sharing your new content on social media
can help Google find your site faster, especially if people
engage with it.
13. Check Your Crawl and Index Reports
- Crawl Stats: In Google Search Console, check your “Crawl
Stats” and “Coverage” reports. These show how often Google
crawls your site and if there are any problems. - Fix Errors: If you see errors like “Crawled – Not
Indexed,” fix them so Google can index your site properly.
By following these steps, you’ll improve the chances of Google
crawling and indexing your website, helping more people find
your site in search results.