Let’s get this out of the way first: there is no time guarantee of when your new website is going to be added to the Google index. It could be immediate, but it could also take 9 months (worst case scenario, but you get the picture…)
Google says, “Crawling and indexing are processes which can take some time and which rely on many factors. In general, we cannot make predictions or guarantees about when or if your URLs will be crawled or indexed.”
Now that that’s out the way, for those who don’t know what indexing in SEO means: it’s a record that search engines keep of all your web pages.
The big hoo-ha about the Google index is that the sooner your new website is added to it, the faster and more traffic you’ll start getting.
So of course, everyone who starts a website, wants to be added to the Google index as fast as possible.
Google indexing factors
Backlinko reports that there are 200 factors which influence how long it takes to get added to Google index, and the gist of it is focused on these points:
- How popular the website is. In other words, how many links come to it.
- If the content is crawl-able. This refers to server response time and whether the content is SEO optimized or not.
- The website structure. In other words, how all your pages connect through links.
How search engines work
There are some common causes that delay Google indexing new websites; most of them are technical in nature. The best way to avoid issues is to make sure that your website has been designed to be SEO friendly.
Search engines use “spiders” to “crawl” the Internet, constantly searching for new and fresh content.
How search engine spiders work
Image Credit: MalaysiaSEOBlog
The spider starts it’s course on big important websites, and then follows all the links to other pages. It does this because big websites are more important to Google whose mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”.
Actually, Google only cares about you once others care about you.
Which is why many of the following tips are based on producing links to your website. Having said that, please don’t be tempted to fall for link schemes or any method where you need to pay for links to your website. That could land you in some serious poop.
There are best practices to get your website featured fast on the Google index. With that in mind, let’s dive into more details:
#1: Comment on other blogs
Such a simple method, but it works very well provided the website allows a link back to your website. All you need to do is find relevant, credible and popular blog posts and make a comment so that you can add your website link.
Method
- First, you need to find the right blog posts to comment on. This is important, because it tells Google that your website is associated with the one you’re commenting on. You don’t want your website to be associated with crap websites. You can simply do an Internet search that contains a keyword phrase that most represents your business, for instance, “cut grass with lawnmower” would be great if you sell lawnmowers. You’ll get search results with blog posts about cutting grass with lawnmowers, and it is those you want to comment on.
- To simplify your life, use a tool like Google Trends to daily deliver to your inbox, blog posts of relevance that you can comment on.
- Only offer comments that provide value. In other words, “Great post!” is not what you want to say. Why? Because if your comment adds value to the lives of other people, they may just click on your website link to find out more about you or what you do. This has got nothing to do with being indexed on Google faster, but while you’re commenting, you might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?
- Don’t make your complete link building strategy about commenting, as it can raise red flags with Google if you go mad with links in comments.
#2: Use Fetch as Google tool
Search Engine Watch says, “Submitting your link to the index using the Fetch as Google tool is like pressing a magic button. Google states that they will crawl the URL using this method usually within a day, however, I’ve seen web pages and blog posts show up in the SERPs in less than 5 minutes of using this tool.”
Fetch as Google is surprisingly an under-utilized tool by bloggers.
Method
- Go to Google Webmaster Tools.
- Select the domain name you want crawled.
- Expand the crawl menu.
- Click “Fetch as Google”.
- Enter the webpage or URL, and click “Fetch”.
- If the fetch status is successful, click “submit to index”.
#3: Add blog content
Websites who blog get about 55% more website traffic than those who don’t.
Photo from Hubspot.com
Granted, you won’t see immediate results when you first start blogging, but when you continually add new and original content to your site over a certain period of time (usually a few months), Google will take notice of you.
Don’t think that blogging only works for certain industries; you may need to find interesting angles to include blog content, but blogging is the best way to grow your traffic organically.
Method
- Put together a content strategy.
- Hire a writer that can produce value-add content and SEO optimize it.
- Publish posts regularly on your website. Try uploading posts twice a week for three months and see what happens.
- Check Google Analytics to see whether your method is working, but don’t get discouraged if nothing happens immediately. Blog results take time.
For a detailed guide, check out this content strategy plan by Moz.
#4: Build links from the outside in
Google finds content by crawling links from website pages to pages to pages.
How the Google index spider works
Image Credit: BullsEyenj
Google’s “spider”, starts from big websites that are an authority, and then crawls through every link on every page, travelling through billions of pages. The key here is to have a link to your website on one of these pages, so that when Google crawls, it will discover your website.
This is what makes guest posting a great option. But the trick with this method is that you only submit content to authority websites, so that your website is only associated with quality. It’s similar to the saying, “birds of the same feather flock together”. If a link to your website is on a poor quality website, Google will know. And Google does not like poor quality websites. Or their associations.
Method
- When writing for another website, do your homework to understand their target audience and their needs, otherwise your post may not be accepted.
- Write so that your guest posts adds value. Decide on the goal of your content in terms of what you want to convey, and make sure you get your point across, so that the reader benefits.
- Avoid stuffing keywords or links into the post.
- If you don’t want to go the guest post way, you can link to your website through other methods, like social media, Q & A forums and submitting press releases.
- Always remember not to make content about you, your goals, your desires, or that of your business. Content must always be about your target audience and their needs. If you follow this pattern, you’ll never have to worry about penalizations or harming your brand.
#5: Submit an XML sitemap
A sitemap is like a map to show search engines what’s on your website and how to find pages.
Visual representation of an XML sitemap
Image Credit: SuperWebTricks
Method
There are two easy ways to submit a sitemap of your website:
- Simply install an SEO plugin like Yoast if you’re with WordPress, or
- Enter your domain name at XML-Sitemaps to create a sitemap.
#6: Submit to directories
Once your website is ready for public consumption, so to speak, you can submit your website link to blog directories. Many of them are free, but for most you will need to pay.
Method
- Check out this list of directories from Wikipedia, and select the ones you wish to use.
Conclusion
If search engine optimization and Google indexing is not your core business, it could be easy to get suckered by “pro’s” who promise you the front page of Google search results, for a fee.
But don’t be tempted. There are spammy ways of attempting to get ranked faster, and there are natural, good ways.
Google knows the difference, trust me.
I’ll leave you with this: in May 2012, iAcquire found themselves de-indexed when they were caught up in a link buying scandal. Imagine that. You have a website, but it’s completely invisible to the world.
Don’t get yourself into a bad position: use the six methods I’ve provided instead, which are all legit, to get your website added to the Google index faster.