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Home » What is Google Indexing, Why is it Important & How Does it Work?

What is Google Indexing, Why is it Important & How Does it Work?

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We all know that Google is the biggest search engine out there, and the top results get more than 67% of all the clicks.

But what is Google indexing, and how does it actually work?

If you’re a blogger or content creator and have been slaving away at the keyboard for weeks without anything to show for it, then you might have an indexing issue.

Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Google indexing, why it’s important, and how to get your pages indexed once and for all.

What is Google Index?

In simple terms, Google indexing is the process of adding web pages to the Google search engine. Google looks through its index with an advanced algorithm to find the best and most relevant answers to a question or search.

The process is nothing short of genius, as it can sense what you really want from a single word, instantaneously!

And this is why SEO in content is so important.

Think of it like a huge catalog in the Google library: the more pages from your site that are indexed by Google, the greater your chances are of appearing in search results.

Why is Indexing Important?

Why is Indexing Important?

If you are wondering what is Google indexing going to do for your site, the answer is pretty simple.

Let’s say you want people to be able to find your content. That means you need to make sure that it’s being indexed by Google, and there is no way around it as it directly impacts your ability to generate traffic.

There have been horror stories of websites blogging for months on end without ever appearing in search results. And a big part of the reason is that their pages were never indexed in the first place!

Imagine discovering this after months of toiling away and not understanding why you’re not getting any traffic. It would be a nightmare.

To avoid this fate, make sure that you’re taking steps to get your pages indexed.

Now that we understood what is Google indexing, let’s see how it works:

How Does Google Indexing Work?

Google uses what are called “spiders” or “bots” to crawl the internet and find new pages to add to its index.

These little spiders visit websites and follow links from one page to the next, much like any person would when browsing the web.

As they do this, they take note of any new pages that they find and add them to Google’s index for discoverability.

How to Get Your Pages Indexed Fast

How to Get Your Pages Indexed Fast

Looking to see if your new content has been indexed by Google? Or maybe you want to keep an eye on your indexed pages for any changes?

If you’re having trouble getting your pages indexed on Google, first you’ll need to identify which ones are not. Enter IndexCheckr – it can help you solve a whole range of problems with indexing pages.

Just enter the URL of the page you want to check, and the tool will check your site for indexed pages and return a status report on all URLs.

With IndexCheckr, you can easily monitor your indexed pages to make sure they haven’t been deindexed for any reason.

You can also check to see if your backlinks are indexed, so you can improve your website’s backlink structure.

And there’s no need to worry about subscription fees; just buy credits as you need them.

Simple Steps to Get Your Content Ranking on Google

We’ve covered the basics on what is Google index and its importance, but if you’re like most people, you want your content to rank on Google.

Who doesn’t?

After all, ranking on the first page of search results can bring a steady stream of targeted traffic to your business, and should be part of any content marketing strategy.

Google uses a complex algorithm to determine which pages to index and where to rank them in search results.

The good news is that there are a number of simple steps you can take to help improve your chances of ranking well in search results.

1. Get Your Pages Indexed!

IndexCheckr - Get Your Pages Indexed

I know we’re starting to sound like a broken record, but you need to make sure that your website is accessible and crawlable by search engine bots.

You can do this by checking your site’s robots.txt file and ensuring that there are no disallow directives blocking access to your content or by using a tool like a no index checker.

2. Submit Your Sitemap to GSC

What is Indexing & SItemap Submission Connection

Use sitemaps to help Google find and index your content. A sitemap is an XML file that contains a list of all the pages on your website. If you have a WordPress website and simply install a free plugin like Yoast SEO, then you should already have this XML file.

Simply submit your sitemap to GSC (Google Search Console) so that the search engine knows where to find all of your content in a structured way.

3. Write Quality Content

Before you go on saying “What is Google indexing doing with content quality” you need to understand the relevance.

Even though we can safely state that this should be a no-brainer, it’s still worth repeating: Google wants to deliver high-quality content to its users.

That means that if you want your content to rank well, it needs to be well-written, informative, and answer the search intent (the user finds what they were looking for). There even exist AI tools that can assist you in creating content at a faster pace as well!

4. Use Relevant SEO Keywords

Relevant SEO Keywords for Indexing Purposes

One of the most important things you can do to improve your chances of ranking well is to use relevant keywords throughout your content as well as ensure that your website is free from technical SEO issues.

When users search for a particular term or phrase, Google looks through all of the content on the web to find the pages that are most relevant to what they’re looking for.

If you want users and Google to find your content, it needs to include the keywords that people are actually searching for.

But beware: stuffing your content with too many keywords and you’re likely to receive penalization for keyword stuffing, which can result in Google removing your content from search results pages instead, so don’t spam!

Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page. In essence, they’re votes from other websites saying that your site is worth checking out. The more backlinks you have, the better.

But it’s not just the quantity of backlinks that are important; it’s also the quality.

Google looks at a number of factors to determine the quality of a backlink, including things like the PageRank of the linking site and the relevance of the link to the content on your site.

So, when you’re working on getting backlinks, it’s not just a numbers game. You also need to make sure you’re getting high-quality links from websites that are relevant to your niche.

6. Website Structure and Navigation

A well-organized website with a clear navigation structure makes it easier for Google bots to crawl and index your content. Ensure that your website has a logical hierarchy with internal links connecting relevant pages.

7. Use of Headers and Subheaders

Using headers (H1, H2, H3) and subheaders throughout your content can help Google bots better understand the structure and topic of your content. It can also make it more accessible for users, improving the overall user experience.

8. Optimize Your Meta Tags

Meta tags provide information about your content to search engines. Make sure to optimize your title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags with relevant keywords to make it easier for Google to understand and index your content.

9. Optimize Your Images

Images play a significant role in your content’s overall quality and engagement. Make sure to compress your images, use descriptive file names and alt text, and choose the right format (JPEG, PNG, or GIF) to enhance your content’s visibility and indexing speed.

10. Mobile-Friendliness

With Google’s mobile-first indexing, it’s essential to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices. A responsive design that adapts to various screen sizes will improve user experience and make it easier for Google to index your content.

11. Regularly Update Your Content

Frequently updating your content signals to Google that your website is active and provides fresh, relevant information. Regularly updating and adding new content can help improve indexing speed and overall visibility in search results.

12. Improve Your Website’s Loading Speed

A slow-loading website can negatively impact user experience and lead to lower rankings in search results. Optimize your website’s loading speed by minimizing HTTP requests, enabling browser caching, and reducing file sizes.

13. Monitor and Fix Crawl Errors

Google Search Console allows you to monitor your website’s crawl errors and address any issues that may be hindering Google from indexing your content. Regularly check for crawl errors and fix them to ensure smooth indexing.

14. Create and Share High-Quality Content

Google’s primary goal is to provide the best and most relevant content to its users. Create high-quality, engaging content that answers users’ queries and provides valuable information. Share your content across social media and other platforms to increase visibility and improve indexing speed.

High-quality backlinks from authoritative websites signal to Google that your content is valuable and worth indexing. Focus on acquiring backlinks from reputable sources within your niche through guest posting, outreach, and other link-building strategies.

Wrap Up

Now that we find out what is Google indexing, we can safely state that it is essential if you want people to be able to find your content in search results. By making sure your website is easy to find and easy to crawl, and by using sitemaps and high-quality content, you can help Google index your pages correctly.


Author Chris Starkhagen

Chris is a synthesizer and an engineer who combines content marketing with tech expertise. He writes carefully and curates the best tools and assets for new technical trends, content creation, and marketing.