There are several ways in which a link can be sent to Google for indexing, the easiest being creating a sitemap and uploading it to Google Search Console.
In this article we talk about sitemaps and how you can request or rush a link to be indexed.
In addition to the method mentioned above, a second direct way to influence the indexing of a link is to submit an index/reindex request in Google Search Console.
In addition to these two direct methods, a third, indirect method should be mentioned: attracting backlinks.
All the methods mentioned above support the SEO campaign through a fast indexing of the pages and speed up the feedback that SEO specialists receive from Google. Thus, it does not take weeks or even months for a page to be indexed. Moreover, it is possible to see in a relatively short time the initial position assigned to the page. This is useful in creating an SEO strategy aimed at attracting organic traffic.
Sitemap
The Sitemap is the map of the entire website and helps search engines to navigate more easily through all the pages of a website, without depending on internal links and backlinks.
As you can see from the image below, all you have to do is copy the URL of this sitemap and submit it to Google in Search Console.
After confirming this sitemap, the site will be visited shortly by Google bots that will check the pages and decide if they deserve to be ranked or not.
Indexing request
If you publish a news article or make changes to a page (content or meta descriptions) and you need Google to visit just that page faster, there is the option to make an indexing request.
This request is also done in Google Search Console, where you copy the URL you want indexed into the Inspect URL section and click the REQUEST INDEXING button, as explained in the image below.
After pressing the REQUEST INDEXING button, the page will be quickly scanned by a tool and put on hold to reconsider its indexing status and position in the search results.
At the end of the scan, you will see the message: URL was added to a priority crawl queue. Submitting a page multiple times will not change its queue position or priority. This means that no matter how many times you submit the page for re-indexing, the order in which pages are checked by Google does not change. This is important to mention because there are times when, even with this indexing method, it takes several days before Google visits a URL and it appears in the search results with the corresponding changes.
Indexing request
Links from other sites, especially authoritative sites, are a good way to force a page to be indexed faster, and to increase its authority and position in search results.
When a Google crawler lands on a site that links to your site, that crawler will follow the link and land on your site. It will therefore speed up the process of crawling, indexing and ranking the page.
These are the three most commonly used methods to quickly index a new page or changes made to a page, and if you need help with SEO optimization of your site, we are at your disposal. Request a custom quote here!
