Exasperated is an excellent word for how I felt when I first learned about using Google Search Console to index my, at the time, nine-month-old travel blog. Why?
When I logged onto Google Search Console for the first time, I discovered Google had not indexed half of my blog articles. In search engine terms, it meant these articles did not exist. And that people searching for the topics I wrote about—using the most powerful search engine—would never be directed to my site.
This same experience applies to many of my fellow travel bloggers, including several who have been publishing for years. They log onto Google Search Console for the first time to learn Google does not recognize half of their posts.
So, to help, I created this quick how-to article explaining why and how to index websites and new and updated content. The goal? To help all bloggers rank faster and attract more organic traffic, ideally giving all of our articles the boosts they need to reach a wider audience.
What is indexing? And why is it important?
According to Google, “A page is indexed by Google if it has been visited by the Google crawler (“Googlebot”), analyzed for content and meaning, and stored in the Google index.”
When your page or post is not indexed, it has not been added to search engine databases. Which means it has not been made available for search queries. If your articles are not indexed, they will not appear on the search engine results page (SERP), and your target audience will not be able to find them.
So, by indexing your new and updated articles promptly, you increase the chances that users will discover your pages. Doing this will improve your blog visibility and drive organic traffic to it.
Who should index my site?
Several search engines exist to help people find what they are looking for on the internet. However, Google dominates the search market, capturing nearly 92% of all searches. Bing comes in at a distant second, covering 3% of all searches. See market share rankings for the top six search engines here.
Given the above, if you request only Google and Bing to index your site and your new and updated content, you will cover at least 95% of all worldwide searches. And this is what I do. However, if you prefer getting closer to 100%, see a list of the top six search engines below.
Top 6 worldwide search engines.
1. Google
2. Bing
3. Yandex
4. Yahoo
5. Baidu
6. DuckDuckGo
How to request Google Search Console to index a page or post.
If you want to expedite the indexing of a new page or post, use Google Search Console. This free tool allows website owners to monitor and optimize their site presence in Google search results.
To ensure Google is indexing your website, follow these four steps below.
- Go to your Google Search Console homepage. Or go to the Google Search Console welcome page to verify and claim your URL (your website address). See the screenshot below.
Doesn’t Google automatically index sites? Yes and no. Learn more here.
- Once your ownership of the URL is verified, continue to your URL main insight page.
- Before you request for Google to index your URL, you must inspect the URL first. You can do this from two places on your main Google Search Console insight page. I show where to find them below.
- Once you inspect a URL, Google will indicate whether this page is recognized. If the URL is not on Google, click Request Indexing. I show an example below. Google will then prioritize the crawling and indexing of that specific URL.
How to request Bing to index a page or post.
To get Bing to index your site or pages, follow these three steps.
- Go to Bing Webmaster Tools and create an account. Since you likely already set up your blog on Google Search Console (or Google Analytics), you can log into the Bing Webmaster dashboard from your linked Google account.
- Once you set up your account and get your site recognized, click on URL Inspection. Submit a URL to see if it is on BING. If not, click the Request indexing button.
- Alternatively, you can go straight to URL Submission and click the Submit URLs button in the upper right corner. You can submit up to 100 URLs in one day.
Doesn’t Google (or Bing) automatically index sites?
Sometimes, yes. For large publishers such as news and media sites or user-generated content sites (think New York Times or Reddit), Google or the other search engines will crawl pages regularly, capturing new content and updates.
However, for smaller sites that publish infrequently, perhaps a few times a month at different times during the day, Google and other search engines will not index—or crawl—these regularly.
For this category of website, which many travel blogs like mine fall into, you are better off forcing or requesting an index of new or updated content.
An alternative to indexing your site manually.
If you want to automate things on your WordPress or Cloudflare blog so you do not have to manually index new or updated blog pages, install a plug-in on your site to do it for you.
Consider adding a plug-in like Index Now by Microsoft Bing, which “enables automated submission of URLs from sites to multiple search engines without the need to register and verify your site with them.”
As I am already plug-in heavy on my WordPress site, I chose not to install Index Now, so I cannot vouch for its effectiveness. However, something to consider before installing it—its reviews show a mixed bag in terms of user experience.
How long do you have to wait to see results after indexing?
SEO experts claim it takes 30 to 60 days for Google to rank your new pages in their search results. However, after submitting a page for indexing, I have seen organic search traffic trickle in as soon as three weeks—especially when the page starts ranking for low-competition keywords.
For example, I published this article about inn-to-inn walking tours early in September, and by October, it was starting to get organic traffic. By December—it ranked in the top two search results, even above a Condé Nast article.
7 additional tips for higher blog ranking.
In addition to indexing, here are seven other quick-hit strategies you can implement to boost your blog rankings and increase traffic.
1. Internal linking.
2. Backlinks.
3. Social media.
5. Optimize the internal structure of your site.
6. Keep learning.
7. Other factors.
Internal linking.
By linking related articles within your blog, you create a network of interconnected content that search engines can discover and index more easily. Internal linking also helps users navigate your site, increasing engagement and reducing bounce* rates.
*A website bounce rate represents the portion of visitors who leave your site without taking at least one action, like clicking on a link to a related page.
Backlinks.
When other reputable websites link to your content, known as a backlink, it signals to search engines that your blog is trustworthy and authoritative. Building backlinks results in higher rankings, increased domain authority, and more organic traffic. To get backlinks, connect with complementary websites and offer to write guest posts or collaborate on content.
Social media promotion.
Sharing your blog articles on platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn can generate more visibility and attract a wider audience. Make it easy for readers to share your content with social share buttons at the top, bottom, and side of your articles. Social shares can amplify your reach and drive more traffic to your blog.
Valuable resources.
If you create valuable resources, such as infographics, guides, original surveys, or survey data compilations, you will increase the likelihood that others will want to link to them. For example, I link to stats covering search engine market share in the “Who Should Index My Site Section” in this article.
Many websites report these kinds of stats. The site I link to displays the data best, updates it regularly, and ranks high on the SERP (search engine results page), which is how I found them. The site provided a valuable resource and got a backlink from me and likely hundreds of more from others.
Optimize your website structure.
To help with site indexing and achieve top rankings, you will want to organize and structure your blog articles and website logically. To achieve this, set each webpage or blog post with clear categories, tags, and headers that target keywords. Additionally, create descriptive URLs for your articles that include relevant keywords. Doing these things will make it easier for search engine bots to crawl and understand the content on your site.
Keep learning.
My two preferred resources for growing my blogging skills include listening to The Blogging Millionaire podcast and reading email updates from Neil Patel.
Produced by Brandon Gaille, The Blogging Millionaire podcast—once you get past his heavy promotion for his RankIQ SEO tool—is an incredible resource. His episodes are short, typically running from 10 to 15 minutes, covering quick-hit topics. I recommend listening to a few years back. You will gain incredible knowledge ranging from the best font size to apply in blog posts to the ideal length for a blog post title.
Neil Patel is the founder and marketer behind several businesses, including Ubersuggest, the SEO and keyword search tool I use. He sends regular emails covering valuable site-related publishing and marketing tips and insights. Although he gears some of his content toward larger companies, I have learned much from his recommendations.
Special note: The above links are not affiliate links. Ubersuggest does not have an affiliate program. However, I wish they did! I recommend this tool, especially the lifetime deal, which costs under $300 for one website—A LOT. Compared to its competitors, the monthly cost of this deal, which shrinks with each passing month, cannot be beaten. Perfect for scrappy bloggers trying to keep spending down.
Other factors.
Other factors that will influence your ranking include the relevance and quality of your content, which keywords you are trying to rank for (high vs. low competition), your website’s domain authority score, and the user experience, including how long a user stays on your site and whether they visit more than one page.
By consistently implementing these strategies with indexing, you will boost your blog’s reach, increase traffic, and expand your audience.
Do you have thoughts, comments, or suggestions about this article’s content? Recommendations for other readers? As long as it is not a spammy comment—which I will remove—please share it in the comment section below. I love hearing from readers and will respond.
4 Responses
Bernard, you are welcome. Thank you for reading, glad to hear it helped.
The examples you provided really helped me grasp the concepts
of SEO better. Thanks for making it so accessible!
First of all, thank you for taking the time to respond. My #1 recommendation for novice blog writers is to learn about SEO and targeting keywords. Its great to write a blog, though you will want people to find it and read it. Learning about both of these will help. Also check out my “7 Additional Tips section” of this article. I share a few other things to focus on. Hope this helps and good luck!
Hmm it looks like your blog ate my first comment
(it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just
sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing.
Do you have any recommendations for novice blog writers?
I’d really appreciate it.