In the realm of SEO, achieving visibility on search engines like Google and Bing is paramount. Without proper indexing, your content remains invisible, hindering your online presence. While many focus on improving rankings, overlooking the indexing process can be detrimental. Whether your content appears on traditional search engine results pages or newer AI-generated platforms, such as Discover or ChatGPT, indexing is the gateway to visibility, clicks, and influence.
Indexing challenges are prevalent, with a significant portion of valuable web pages failing to get indexed by major search engines. To address this issue and enhance your site’s visibility, implementing a strategic approach is essential. Here are nine steps to expedite the indexing process and amplify your online reach.
Step 1: Conduct a thorough content audit to identify indexing issues. Submit specific sitemaps for different content types and analyze exclusions to rectify underlying problems promptly.
Step 2: Accelerate article indexing by submitting a News sitemap to Google, designed to expedite the process for articles published within the last 48 hours.
Step 3: Improve product indexing on Google by leveraging Google Merchant Center feeds, ensuring your product catalog is up to date for enhanced visibility.
Step 4: Utilize RSS feeds to facilitate crawling of recently published content, enhancing the chances of swift indexing.
Step 5: Harness indexing APIs like IndexNow and Google Indexing API to expedite content discovery and indexing.
Step 6: Strengthen internal linking within your site to boost indexing signals, particularly for deep content pages, aiding in faster discovery and indexing.
Step 7: Block non-SEO relevant URLs from crawlers to prevent distractions, duplicate content issues, and ranking signal dilution.
Step 8: Prioritize crawling resources by utilizing 304 HTTP responses for unchanged content, allowing indexers to focus on new discoveries.
Step 9: For stubborn non-indexed URLs, manually request indexing in Google Search Console to prompt inclusion in search results.
By following these steps tailored to your content type, taking a proactive approach to indexing, and leveraging indexing best practices, you can unlock the full potential of your content and maximize visibility on Google and Bing. Remember, indexing is the gateway to online success, so ensure your valuable pages are not left in obscurity.