How to Submit URL to Google Index with Google Search Console

Last Updated April 22, 2024

How to Submit URL to Google Index with Google Search Console

Having your website indexed by Google is essential for visibility and attracting organic traffic. One effective method to ensure your website’s presence on Google is by submitting a URL to the Google index using Google Search Console. In this post, we will guide you through the process step-by-step, ensuring that your website gets crawled and indexed efficiently.

Google Search Console is a powerful tool that enables website owners to monitor their site’s performance, identify issues, and interact with Google.

By submitting your URLs to the Google index, you can prompt Google’s bots to crawl and index your pages, making them visible in search results. This process is crucial for gaining visibility and driving organic traffic to your website.

Of course before getting started you’ll need to add your site to Google Search Console.

Submitting Individual URLs

To submit a specific URL for indexing, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Google Search Console: Visit the Google Search Console website and sign in with your Google account.

2. Select your website: If you have multiple websites added to your Search Console account, choose the one that you want to submit a URL for. This is done on the top left of the sidebar.

3. Enter the URL: Type or paste the URL you want to submit into the inspection bar and press Enter. This is located at the top of Google Search Console.

4. Inspect the URL: Google Search Console will now inspect the URL and provide you with information about its indexing status.

5. Request indexing: If the URL is not indexed, you’ll see a message indicating that it’s not currently in the Google index. To submit it for indexing, click on the “Request Indexing” button.

Request Indexing button in Google Search Console

Please note that Google has a quota for submitting individual URLs, and submitting the same URL multiple times won’t expedite the crawling process. Be patient and monitor the progress using either the Index Status report or the URL Inspection tool.

Submitting a Sitemap

If you have a large number of URLs to submit or want to ensure that Google discovers all the pages on your website efficiently, submitting a sitemap is recommended.

Here’s how you can do it:

Create a sitemap: Before submitting a sitemap, you need to create one. A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the URLs on your website. WordPress will do this automatically and can be found via the example.com/wp-sitemap.xml URL.
Verify your website: If you haven’t already done so, verify your website ownership in Google Search Console.
Access the Sitemaps report: In the left-hand sidebar of Google Search Console, click on “Sitemaps” under the “Index” section.
Add your sitemap: Click on the “Add/Test Sitemap” button and enter the URL of your sitemap.
Submit the sitemap: After adding your sitemap, click on the “Submit” button to inform Google about its existence.
Monitor sitemap indexing: Google Search Console will now process your sitemap and provide valuable information about the indexed URLs.

Submitting a sitemap is especially useful when you’ve just launched your website or made significant updates to its structure. Additionally, sitemaps can include metadata about alternate language versions, video, image, or news-specific pages, enhancing the overall indexing process.

Conclusion

Submitting a URL to the Google index with Google Search Console is a crucial step in ensuring your website’s visibility and organic traffic. By following the steps outlined in this post, you can proactively prompt Google to crawl and index your website’s pages. If you have a WordPress website there are plenty of other tips you can do to improve SEO in WordPress.

Remember to be patient during the indexing process and monitor your site’s progress using the available tools in Google Search Console.

How long does it take Google to index a URL after I click “Request Indexing” in Search Console?

Google can index a page in minutes, but it can also take days or longer. “Request Indexing” is a nudge to crawl your page, not a guarantee of instant ranking or even instant indexing.

The speed depends on your site’s trust, how often Google visits your site, and whether the page is easy to crawl. New sites and brand new pages usually take longer.

After you request indexing, check the URL Inspection tool again later. If it still is not indexed, focus on fixing crawl and quality issues instead of re-submitting the same URL over and over.

A good way to help Google discover pages faster is strong internal links from other pages on your site. If you want ideas, see these internal linking basics.

Why does Google Search Console say “URL is not on Google” and what should I check first?

It usually means Google has not indexed the page yet, or Google cannot index it because something is blocking it. Start by inspecting the URL in Search Console and read the reason shown in the report.

First, make sure the page is set to be indexed. A common problem is a noindex setting, which tells Google not to add the page to search results. Learn what that means in this Noindex tag guide.

Next, confirm the URL you submitted is the main version of the page you want indexed. If you have similar URLs or duplicates, Google may choose a different “canonical” page instead. This is where a canonical tag can matter.

Also check basics like whether the page loads for normal visitors, returns a 200 status code, and is not behind a login. If the page is thin or low value, Google may crawl it but still decide not to index it.

Should I submit individual URLs or submit a sitemap to Google?

Submit an individual URL when you need Google to re-crawl one page, like a new blog post or a page you just updated. Use the URL Inspection tool, then click “Request Indexing” when needed.

Submit a sitemap when you want Google to discover many pages in a clean, organized way. This is especially helpful for new sites, big sites, or when you publish content often.

If you are on WordPress, you likely already have a sitemap at example.com/wp-sitemap.xml. You can learn what a sitemap is and why it helps in this Sitemap basics guide.

Many site owners do both: keep a sitemap submitted all the time, and request indexing only for important pages that you want crawled sooner.

Can I request indexing for a lot of pages, and does requesting multiple times help?

Google Search Console has a limit for how many individual “Request Indexing” submissions you can do in a short time. If you hit the limit, you will need to wait before submitting more.

Requesting the same URL many times usually does not make Google index it faster. It can also waste your quota, which you might need for other important pages.

Instead, use a sitemap for scale and save URL requests for key pages. If a page is not indexing, look for the real reason, like noindex, crawl errors, duplicate content, or weak internal links.

A simple workflow is: publish the page, link to it from another relevant page, make sure it is in your sitemap, then request indexing once and wait.

How can RightBlogger help my posts get indexed and do better in Google after I submit them?

RightBlogger can help you improve the content and on-page SEO so Google is more likely to index it and rank it well. Indexing is easier when your page is clear, useful, and well optimized.

After you publish, run checks to spot SEO issues that can slow down results, like weak titles, missing keywords, or poor structure. The RightBlogger SEO Reports walkthrough shows how you can review and improve pages faster.

You can also refresh older content and tighten SEO without rewriting from scratch. This can help Google see updates and re-crawl important pages, especially if you also request indexing for that URL.

If you want to fine-tune your search snippet, improving your title and description can boost clicks once you are indexed. Here are guides on writing strong meta titles and meta descriptions.