Indexing

What is indexing?

Indexing is the process in which a search engine analyzes a page it has found and stores it in its index, the database that search results are drawn from. Only indexed pages can appear in search results. A page that has been crawled is not automatically indexed as well.

Why is indexing important?

• Required for visibility: a page that is not in the index cannot rank organically.
• Control over your site: you decide which pages should and should not appear in Google.
• Spotting problems: pages that are not indexed often point to technical or quality issues.

Examples of indexing

• A new blog post that shows up in Google within a few days.
• A page with a noindex tag that is deliberately kept out of the index.
• A page that Google has crawled but has not added to its index.

How do you get pages indexed?

Make sure the page is in the sitemap, is linked internally, is not set to noindex and has unique, useful content. Check its status with the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console and, for a new page, request indexing if needed (technical SEO).