How to speed up Google indexing

The relentlessly helpful blog

20 June 2018

Speed up Google indexing

📚 This post is part of my business blogging guide.


Did you know that when you publish a blog post, it’s not immediately searchable on Google?

It can take several days or more for your pages to become findable on Google. Who wants to wait that long? Not me.

This post covers a method that could mean your content shows up in Google’s index within hours.

Introduction.

Although you can’t get your new content indexed in Google immediately, you can take action to speed things up. That means your stuff becomes findable faster.

My content usually appears in Google’s index within a few hours.

The method below is especially valuable for time-sensitive content. Get this sort of content indexed quickly and you have a good chance of gobbling up more than your fair share of web traffic.

While you’re waiting for the Google index to update, get busy with promoting the content on social media and to your mailing list. People won’t know your content is there unless you tell them.

Remember that speeding up indexing isn’t the same as improving your ranking. To do that you need to write good material that others are happy to share and link to.

If you’re struggling to create content for your business, hire a good content writer to help. (Hello )

Thanks to Stephen Duckworth for giving me the tip about using Google Search Console.

Google Search Console – get your content indexed in hours.

Google Search Console is a free online tool that lets website owners view info about their sites’ performance. There are also a couple of options for changing how things works, and one of those is the feature we’re looking at here.

Links shared via Google Search Console appear in Google search results in a few hours.

Here’s how to use the tool:

  1. In Google Search Console, click Use new Search Console.
New Google Search Console
Click Use new Search Console
  1. At the top of the page, enter the full URL of the link you wish to index.
Google Search Console search bar
Enter the full URL of the link you wish to index
  1. Click Request Indexing.
A page not in Google's index in the Google Search Console
Click Request Indexing

The page will be submitted for indexing, as shown below.

A page has been submitted for indexing in the Google Search Console
The page has been sent for indexing – check back in a few hours
  1. Wait for a few hours, then repeat steps 1 and 2 to confirm that the page has been indexed.

Google Search Console should display a confirmation message, as shown below.

A page after indexing in Google Search Console
A page after indexing in Google Search Console

Instead of checking the index status in Google Search Console, you can follow the method below to confirm that your page is indexed.

How to test whether your content has been indexed.

A few hours after using the above method, your page should appear in Google’s search index.

Test this by doing one of the following:

  • Search for the exact headline of the page.
  • (Preferred) Use the site: search filter to look for your domain and the file name of the page.
Use the site: filter to search Google for the content on your site
Use the site: filter to search Google for the content on your site

Here’s a short #LearnPlentyIn20 video that explains this point:

Pros and cons of the Google Search Console method.

  • The quickest way to get new content indexed.
  • Works well for re-indexing updated content.
  • Initial setup may be a pain.
  • Needs to be done separately to social scheduling.
  • Works only on sites you control.

I used the method on this post on the day of publication (20 June 2018). The content was indexed in under 3 hours.

Google index showing this post was indexed quickly
Proof: this post was indexed in less than 3 hours

Let’s wrap up.

Whenever you post articles, blogs or any other content on the web, don’t wait for Google to index it. Follow the method above and jump ahead of the queue.

While you’re waiting for your content to appear in Google’s index, don’t forget to promote via social media and your mailing list.

Remember: there’s no point creating content unless people see it. What are you waiting for?

Continue the business blogging guide

This post is part of my definitive business blogging guide.

Need business blogging help?

Hire me to coach you or write content for your business.

Get in touch

 

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John Espirian

I’m the relentlessly helpful®️ LinkedIn nerd and author of Content DNA

I teach business owners how to be noticed, remembered and preferred.

Espresso+ is a safe space to learn how to ethically promote your business online and get better results on LinkedIn.

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