We make sure all our clients’ projects are ready to be indexed by major search engines. We prepare a sitemap which is readable by Google and other indexes. This map contains all pages that you want to be discoverable by the general public, and it can be set up in a few minutes.
How long does it take for my site to appear in search?
Search engines preriodically ‘crawl’ the internet for new or changed sitemaps. However, this process can take several weeks or even months, so there is no guarantee that your site will be completely indexed even after it has been up and running for a while. Additionally, If you create new content (for example, a blog post) it may take a while for this to be registered in the updated sitemap.
What happens if my site has not been indexed yet?
As the owner of a website you also play an important part in helping people discover your site. Your site may not be on Google yet, but as long as it is ‘live’, you can still share the web address, link to it from social media, link to it from your email signature block, or publish a QR code that links to your site. If you are unsure about how to ‘market’ your website, please ask us for help.
What happens when the indexing is complete?
You can watch the progress of your website with tools such as Google Search Console, which shows the statistics of your website’s indexed pages. Google Search Console also lists the precise search terms people have entered which have resulted in an ‘impression’ (appearance of one of your pages on Google) or ‘click’ (where the user has found your page on Google and clicked on the link to visit your website. Knowing how people have reached your site is a critical part of understanding your business or brand awareness.
What happens if there are pages I don’t want to be indexed?
It’s usual for indexing to be switched on late in the process or even after the launch of the website. Even then, you may wish to prevent certain pages from showing up in search. If your site has a login page or a locked content area that should only be accessible to some users, you may not want it to be publicly listed. In this case, we can ensure that search engines do not index those pages.
For any further questions, please contact us.