Ensuring that your URL is indexed by Google is a crucial step in making your content discoverable to users via search engines. An indexed URL means that Google has crawled your webpage and included it in its database. Here is a comprehensive guide to checking if your URL is indexed by Google and how to fix potential indexing issues.
Methods to Check if a URL Is Indexed
1. Using Google Search
Go to Google.com.
Type site:[your-url] into the search bar. For example: site:example.com/page-url.
If the URL appears in the results, it is indexed. If not, it isn’t indexed.
Additional search techniques you can use:
url: Operator: Use url:[exact-URL] to search for the specific URL directly. This operator can help confirm if the exact URL is indexed.
Direct URL Search: Paste the full URL directly into Google’s search bar. If the page is indexed, it should appear in the results. Otherwise, you may see a message like “Your search did not match any documents.”
2. Using Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google to monitor your site’s performance. Here’s how you can check:
Log in to your Google Search Console account.
Navigate to the “URL Inspection” tool in the left-hand menu.
Enter the URL you want to check.
Google will display the indexing status of the URL. If it’s not indexed, you can request indexing directly from this interface.
3. Using SEO Tools
Use linktrust.pro check indexation tool to mass check url indexation:
How to Troubleshoot Indexing Issues
If your URL is not indexed, consider the following steps:
1. Ensure the URL Is Crawlable
Check the robots.txt file to ensure it doesn’t block Googlebot from crawling your page.
Inspect your HTML to confirm there are no noindex meta tags.
2. Fix Technical Errors
Resolve 404 (Not Found) or 500 (Server Error) issues.
Ensure the URL is accessible without requiring login credentials.
3. Improve Content Quality
Ensure your content is unique, valuable, and adheres to Google’s quality guidelines.
Avoid thin or duplicate content that might deter Google from indexing your page.
4. Build Internal and External Links
Link to the page from other parts of your site.
Acquire backlinks from external websites to increase discoverability.
5. Submit the URL for Indexing
Use the “Request Indexing” option in Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool to prompt Google to crawl and index the page.