Using the Coverage Report to Get Your Pages Indexed by Google
Unless Google indexes your site, no one will ever find your amazing content through organic traffic and traditional online search queries. These methods are responsible for one-third to two-thirds of all site traffic. In comparison, social media only brings about five percent of all site traffic.
Google and other search engines don’t automatically index. How do you remedy this? The digital marketing pros from Saba SEO, a top-tier San Diego SEO agency, offer the following tips to get Google to index your site with the coverage report.
Test Your Site
First, if your site is less than 500 pages, you need to test it. Create a search with site:yourdomain.com. For example, if your site is calories.com, you would input site:calories.com. This tells you what Google knows about your site. You can even be more specific and include keywords, such as candy (in our example, you’d enter site:calories.com/candy).
Use Google Search Console
Sign up for the free Google Search Console. This tool will help you determine which pages are indexed and which ones need to be fixed.
Obtain a Coverage Report
Use the Google Search Console to obtain a coverage report. Go to the Index section on the right-hand side of the page, then click on “coverage.” If you’re new to coverage reports, the site will advise you that it’s processing data and will need a day to process.
Note What’s Excluded
The report will detail what’s included and what’s excluded. “Included” means your SEO strategy is working. What’s excluded is your list of what needs to be fixed.
Start out with easy fixes, such as:
- Orphaned pages – There are no internal links to these pages. Include internal links.
- Low-quality pages – Pages that are thin in content and information need to be deleted or beefed up. Aim for 1,000 words for each page, and include unique keywords and plenty of internal links.
- Remove crawl blocks – Google cannot index a page if there’s a crawl block. Just type in yourdomain.com/robots.txt and remove.
If you need help getting your site indexed by Google, turn to Saba SEO. As one of the leading providers of SEO in San Diego, we have been in the industry for almost fifteen years. Our services include website development, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and online reputation management. To make the most of your online presence and Google’s free tools, call us at 858-277-1717.