How to Index Your Webpage: Understanding Technical SEO Audits and Indexability

Learn how to index your webpage effectively through comprehensive technical SEO audits. This guide covers indexing, crawlability, and the importance of indexability for better search engine rankings.

How to Index Your Webpage: Understanding Technical SEO Audits and Indexability
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It's no surprise that an important part of SEO is making sure your website's pages are crawlable and indexable. 

Getting your webpage indexed by search engines like Google is crucial for visibility. Without being indexed, your site won't show up in search results, which means fewer visitors and less growth potential. But how do you ensure your webpage is indexed efficiently? This is where a solid understanding of Technical SEO audits and indexability comes into play.

This article will guide you through the process of indexing your webpage, conducting a Technical SEO audit, and improving the indexability of your site.

Page Indexing report - Search Console Help
See which pages Google can find and index on your site, and learn about any indexing problems encountered. Open Page Indexing report

What is Indexability?

Indexability is the extent to which search engines can access and include a webpage in their index. Each time a search engine sends out a “crawler” (also known as a spider or bot), it attempts to retrieve information from different websites. If a page is indexable, it means that it can be found and displayed in search engine results pages (SERPs). Factors that affect indexability include the website's structure, coding practices, and the way content is served to users.

What is Crawlability?

Crawlability is the capability of a search engine to read and retrieve content from a website's pages. It determines how effectively search engine bots can navigate a site, following links and accessing various types of content, including text, images, and multimedia.

The Relationship Between Crawlability and Indexability

Crawlability and indexability are interconnected. A page must first be crawlable before it can be indexed. If a search engine cannot crawl a page, it cannot add it to its index. However, a crawlable page is not guaranteed to be indexed. Various factors can prevent a crawled page from being indexed, such as incorrect meta tags or strict robots.txt rules.

To optimize your website for search engines, both crawlability and indexability must work harmoniously. A solid crawlability infrastructure allows search engines to access content, while effective indexability practices ensure that this content gets indexed.

The Importance of Indexing in SEO

Indexing is a crucial component of SEO. Without proper indexing, all your hard work in creating content, optimizing your site, and attracting traffic will be in vain. When you achieve proper indexing and ranking on search engines, you increase the chances of attracting more visitors, generating leads, and ultimately converting prospects into customers.

Furthermore, indexed pages improve your site's authority and relevance in your niche, helping you rank higher against competitors. Understanding the technicalities of indexing can not only save you time but also ensure that your content reaches its intended audience.

Ask Google to Recrawl Your Website | Google Search Central | Documentation | Google for Developers
If you’ve recently added or made changes to a page on your site, you can request that Google re-index it using any of the methods listed in this guide.