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.

Watch "How to Submit a URL to Google using Search Console" on YouTube

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 request indexing?

Google can index a page in a few hours, a few days, or longer. Clicking “Request indexing” does not guarantee a fast result, but it does tell Google to recheck the page.

If the page is new, has few links, or your site is new, it can take more time. Google still decides when and how often it crawls your site.

To improve your chances, make sure the page is easy to crawl and has internal links from other pages on your site. If you publish often, a sitemap submission can also help Google discover new pages sooner.

Why does my URL show “Discovered, currently not indexed” or “Crawled, currently not indexed”?

This usually means Google found your page, but chose not to add it to search results yet. It can happen when the content is too thin, very similar to other pages, or the page does not seem important enough.

First, check the page quality and usefulness. Add clear headings, answer the search intent, and make sure the page has unique value.

Next, strengthen internal links to that page and submit your sitemap so Google can better understand your site structure. If you want a bigger-picture view of what to fix across your site, SEO Reports can help you spot pages that need improvements.

Should I submit individual URLs or submit a sitemap in Google Search Console?

Submit a sitemap for ongoing SEO, and use individual URL requests for important pages you want checked sooner. A sitemap helps Google find and organize all your key pages in one place.

If you just updated a page, fixed an error, or published a time-sensitive post, the URL Inspection tool is a good quick option. Just remember there is a daily quota, and repeating requests does not speed things up.

If you are unsure what a sitemap is or where to find it, WordPress often creates one automatically at /wp-sitemap.xml. You can also learn the basics in this XML sitemap guide.

What can stop Google from indexing my page even after I submit it?

A page can be blocked from indexing by settings like a noindex tag, a robots.txt rule, or other crawl issues. If Google cannot access the page, it cannot index it.

Start by checking if the page is set to “noindex” by your SEO plugin or site settings. You can also review whether robots.txt is blocking the page or a whole folder.

If you need a quick refresher, read these guides on robots.txt basics and noindex tag meaning. Fixing these issues often leads to indexing without doing anything else.

How can RightBlogger help me get pages indexed and rank faster?

RightBlogger helps you publish better content and keep it optimized, which increases the odds your pages get indexed and perform well. When your pages are clear, helpful, and well-structured, Google has an easier time understanding them.

You can create stronger posts faster with the RightBlogger AI Article Writer, then update titles and descriptions before publishing. Clean on-page SEO can help your snippet look better in search results.

After you publish, focus on internal links and content updates so Google sees your site as active and connected. Pair this with a sitemap submission in Search Console and you will have a solid indexing workflow.