Apply for Google Indexing to Be Found Faster

1. What is Google indexing?
2. How long does it take for Google to index a page?
3. How can I check if my own website is indexed by Google?
4. Check indexing via the Google search
5. What reasons can there be if a page is not indexed on Google?
6. How can the Google crawler be requested and Google indexing requested?
7. Request URL indexing in the Google Search Console
8. Submit sitemap in Google Search Console
9. Is it useful to have an existing page re-crawled if it has been changed?
10. Conclusion on applying for Google indexing

If new or changed contents do not rank on Google, this is not always (only) due to the content of the page. In some cases, the URL has not been indexed by Google at all.

With the help of the Google Search Console, you can easily request indexing of content. After all, only the URLs that have actually been included in the index can rank.

In this article, you will learn about Google indexing, how long it takes, and when you should request indexing from Google.

No worries: Of course, we have brought along a suitable guide for you! With it, you can either re-index a single page or re-index an entire website.

What is Google indexing?

During the indexing process, search engines like Google include websites in their directory. Only what is listed in this directory is shown to users in the Google search. Normally, new content is automatically indexed. However, there may be exceptions where indexing fails.

Then it is important to search for the causes and request manual crawling from Google. But the manual indexing request also has another advantage: It can greatly accelerate the indexing of new content and thus update the Google search results in a timely manner.

How long does it take for Google to index a page?

How long does it take for Google to index? This is a question many webmasters ask. As with so many SEO topics, the answer is: It depends.

The Google indexing duration can vary. Sometimes it is a matter of a few days - but it can also turn into weeks. By manually applying in the Google Search Console, you can trigger the Google crawl and thus speed up Google indexing. This makes it one of many free and easy SEO measures, which you can implement immediately.

But here too, patience is required: When you request the Search Console indexing, you only alert Google to the fact that there are new or changed contents on your URL. However, the Google bot may still take some time for the process.

If you want to know if your website or a specific URL has already been indexed, you can easily check this.

How can I check if my own website is indexed by Google?

There are several ways to determine if a website has already been indexed. The easiest way is through Google search or the Google Search Console.

The two options listed here are just examples of how you can test whether your website has been indexed. You can also use various SEO tools for this. A popular tool for this task is the Screaming Frog SEO Spider.

Check indexing via the Google search

If you want to check the indexing of your website via Google search, then enter the query "site:" followed by your domain in the search bar, e.g. "site:domain.de". You will then get an overview of all URLs of the website, which are indexed on Google:

If you only want to search for a specific URL, then enter the corresponding URL behind "site:", e.g. "site:https://domain.de/blog/article/". If the article has already been indexed, the corresponding result will be displayed:

It might also be the case that this particular article has not been indexed yet. In this case you will receive this message:

Check indexing via the Google Search Console

Even more precise is the URL check via the Google Search Console. If you have not used this before, we will tell you how to set up the Google Search Console. Once you have done this, click on "Coverage" under the "Index" menu item on the left:

In the overview that then appears, select the "Excluded" box:

This will show - sorted by reasons - all URLs that are excluded from indexing.

What reasons can there be if a page is not indexed on Google?

There can be several reasons why a page has not been indexed. Sometimes the Google bot just needs a little more time until it has recognized the new content and indexed it. But sometimes there are other reasons behind it.

What's important is that not every reason must result in a measure. In many cases, Google correctly recognized that a page should not be indexed. This is the case, for example, with canonical tags.

Other possible reasons for missing indexing are:

• Status codes: The URL is returning a 404 status code, for example.
• robots.txt: The content is blocked by robots.txt.
• noindex: A noindex instruction prevents the URL from being indexed.
• Content: It could be that the content of a URL does not meet the necessary quality.

Hint: Not all contents need to be indexed by Google. Certain tag or category pages are not very relevant for ranking. You can safely ignore them and do not need to request indexing for each of these URLs. The important contents for you are mainly those that help you achieve your SEO goals.

When resolving indexing problems, you should first check the technical aspects. If everything is OK on this page, then look at the content again: Does it offer added value to users? What could be improved?

A complete overview of possible problems and measures for missing indexing can be found in the Index Coverage Report of the Search Console Help.

How can the Google crawler be requested and Google indexing requested?

If you have published new content (e.g. a blog article) for your website, you can have the page crawled again. This has the advantage that current contents are recognized more quickly. You are thus actively influencing Google crawling and indexing.

To request the crawler and request indexing, you basically have two options. On the one hand, you can have a single URL crawled. On the other hand, you can submit an entire sitemap. In the following, you will learn how these two methods work and how you can update your content in the Google index.

Request URL indexing in the Google Search Console

If you have found out that your URL has not yet been indexed, then you can request Google Search Console indexing. To do this, first open the Search Console and enter the respective URL in the search bar at the top:

The results page will then show you the current indexing status of the URL. It might be "Found - currently not indexed".

Hint: When you unfold the "Coverage" box, you will get a detailed report on the indexing status of the URL. You can see when the page was last crawled, among other things.

If the page has not yet been indexed, you can request the Google Search Console indexing via the top box:

After you have clicked on "Request indexing", you have to wait for a short moment. If you have successfully requested the Google crawling, this will be shown afterwards in the URL check:

That's it - that's how easy you can get a page indexed on Google! You can submit several URLs per day this way. However, you cannot use it to crawl an entire website again.

If you want to submit many URLs to Google and initiate comprehensive Google indexing, you should better submit an updated sitemap. The reason for this is that there is a daily limit for submitting individual URLs, which you cannot exceed. In addition, it is less effort to submit a sitemap than to request each URL individually.

Submit sitemap in Google Search Console

If you do not want to submit just one URL, but several URLs for indexing, you should use a sitemap if necessary. Because when requesting individual URLs there is a daily limit - with a sitemap you can evade this limit.

Firstly, you need to create a sitemap, if you have not done so yet. Mark the updated pages in your sitemap with the <lastmod> note. This way Google knows which contents have been added or revised.

You have adjusted your sitemap and marked all updated contents accordingly? Then you can switch to the Google Search Console. There, in the left-hand menu bar, select "Sitemaps" under the "Index" section:

With the input field you can submit your sitemap to Google:

Keep in mind that the indexing of a sitemap can also take some time. Google also does not guarantee that your new or updated content will actually be included in the index. You are just pointing out to Google that something has changed on your website.

Is it useful to have an existing page re-crawled if it has been changed?

If you have altered an already existing and indexed URL again, you can also submit it for re-indexing. Because you can also influence how long it takes Google to index.

But this does not mean that you should request indexing for a URL multiple times. This does not speed up the process, as also pointed out by the Google Search Console:

So have a little patience. If you want to check if the URL has already been indexed, you can check the current status in the URL check of the Google Search Console at any time.

Conclusion on applying for Google indexing

A request for indexing in the Google Search Console is a great way to make Google aware of your new or changed contents. You can request the crawler and slightly speed up the indexing process. However, you should be aware that indexing can still take some time.

Would you like more tips on SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? At OMR Reviews you will find reviews of numerous tools all about online marketing!

We wish you success in applying for indexing for your new content - and, of course, lots of good rankings.