Are you indexed by Google?
Being a member of the fastest growing internet online world of business, this question is on every newbie’s lips! It is all about determining your site rank. Or maybe a few questions, such as:
- am I indexed by Google?
- how do I get indexed by Google?
- what is the importance of being indexed by Google?
- what is the best way to get indexed by Google?
AND MUCH MORE!
The most important thing, in my opinion, is to follow the basic steps to ensure that your online presence is discovered by Google. I will talk about a few basics as well as a few useful tools to consider.
What is Indexing?
In as simple words as I can write – indexing is a basic list. With regard to the internet, it is when you ‘show up’ in this list available on the world wide web scene.
A simple example is when you create your website, start adding content, and then you decide to go see if you show up on Google’s list of web addresses once you input your website’s URL in the Google search engine.
As you can see, by using my URL in the Google Search Engine, there are 625 results and yes, you guessed it…I am smiling!
I have been indexed and on the first page of this search.
There are a few ways to ensure that Google knows that you exist. Keep reading.
1/ Create a sitemap
A sitemap is an XML document on your site’s server that simply creates a list of all the pages on your website. It informs search engines about the new pages and the frequency with which to check on your pages. If using WordPress, you can use Google XML Sitemaps plugin and your sitemap will be created automatically. You can also use the XML Sitemaps Generator.
2/Submit Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools
After creating your sitemap, you then need to submit it to Google Webmaster Tools. To do this, you need to create a free Google Account, then sign up for Webmaster Tools. If you already have a Google Account, then just sign in and get started. You will need to add your site address (URL) to Webmaster Tools and add the link of your sitemap to let Google know that you are ready for the search.
3/Install Google Analytics
This is a great thing to do. You will be able to track your progress on so many levels. It is a very useful tool to see who is checking out your website – demographics, sources, audience, etc. It also alerts Google to your existence.
4/Submit Website URL to Search Engines
There are other search engines apart from Google, though everyone is more familiar with Google. There is Bing, Yahoo! Search, Ask, AOL Search, and so forth to name a few. You may submit your URL to other search engines if you like. The choice is yours.
5/Create or Update Social Profiles
This one time where being a social butterfly is a plus! All you have to do is to create your social network profiles: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or YouTube, to name a few and then link them to your website.
6/Bookmark it
You can do this by using bookmarking sites like Delicious and StumbleUpon.
7/Creating External Content
The whole idea is to get your website ‘seen’. You can do this by doing guest blog posts, submitting articles to article directories, as well as doing press releases. And of course, be wary of suspicious sites offering this service.
The Importance Of Being Indexed
Here are a few reasons for being indexed:
- Google has recognized your website as being a source of information on a particular subject
- Once people start searching for information, your site starts showing up
- Your website is on its way to ‘having a presence’ on the world wide web
- You are writing great content and fulfilling a need
Being indexed is a wonderful thing – it also helps with your moral support and acts as a confidence booster – your hard work is paying off and it shows. One sure fire way to ensure this is by keep adding useful content to your website and doing updates regularly. Much success to you.
I hope you have found this article useful. Please let me know your feedback in the comment box.
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