How Do I Check Whether Google Indexed a Page?

The best place I use to check a specific page is Google Search Console. A site: search on Google can also be a quick check, but I don’t rely on it as the final answer.

In Google Search Console I open the URL Inspection tool, paste in the exact page address, hit enter, and look at the indexing status.

I’ll be able to tell if a page is indexed. If not, I’ll need to investigate.

That’s considerably more useful than repeatedly Googling my page and wondering whether Google has developed a personal grudge against me.

What Do I Do If Google Didn’t Index The Page?

I start with whatever Google Search Console is telling me.

If there’s a technical problem, I fix it. If the page is too similar to another page, I figure out how to make it different and more useful. If the content is weak, I improve it with information that’s actually useful to potential customers.

I also check that relevant pages on the website link to it.

Once I’ve made the necessary improvements, I can use Google Search Console to request indexing.That doesn’t guarantee Google will index it, but at least I’ve given the page another shot.

Then comes the difficult part.

Waiting.

Problem #1:

The Page May Not Be Useful Enough

If a page contains little more than generic information already found on plenty of other websites, improving it may give Google more reason to index it.  Otherwise you’ve just made Google yawn. 

If I’m writing about one of my services, I want to include something I’ve learned from actually doing the work.

For example with my window cleaning business I run into hard water stains. I know how to safely remove hard water stains. I have written about this on my window cleaning website. 

Before publishing, I ask myself a simple question: Would this actually help a potential customer?

If my answer is “not really,” I probably have more work to do.

Problem #2: Some Pages Are Too Similar or Don’t Offer Enough Value

I try not to duplicate or near-duplicate content on my five websites. I’d rather have fewer useful pages than a pile of weak pages that don’t give visitors much reason to read them or call me.

For example, suppose I have five different service areas. If I create five pages and the only thing I change is the city name, those pages aren’t offering much that’s different.

If I create location pages, I want each one to contain information that’s actually specific to that city or area. The same goes for service pages. I don’t want five pages saying basically the same thing.

If I find a weak or a similar page, I see whether I can improve it, combine it with another page, or give it a clearer purpose.

Creating more pages simply because I want more pages indexed isn’t much of a strategy. More isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s just more.

Problem #3: Make Sure the Page Isn’t Sitting By Itself

One of the ways Google finds pages is through internal links.

Even if Google has already found the page, I still don’t want it sitting by itself with no internal links pointing to it. I link to new pages from other relevant pages on my website. That helps visitors find page.

I add internal links from relevant pages on all 5 of my sites so Google and visitors can find them. My sitemaps can also help Google discover pages.

You can see a few of the links I’ve created at the bottom of this page.

Problem #4: I Look To See If The Page Has a Technical Problem That Can Be Fixed

Sometimes the content isn’t the problem at all. It can be issues with the actual webpage.

I use Screaming Frog to check for technical problems that might prevent Google from accessing or indexing a webpage. Sometimes a simple website setting can accidentally tell Google to ignore a page.

I also make sure the page loads properly and isn’t producing errors.

Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool can help identify these problems.

Before I rewrite a page, I check the technical stuff. Sometimes the problem is much simpler than rewriting the article.

An Indexed Page Is the Starting Line

I don’t just want Google to visit and index my webpage.

The real goal is for potential customers searching for my type of service to find it and think, “This is exactly what I was looking for.”

After all, an indexed page doesn’t pay the bills. Customers do.

So I’ll give Google a page worth indexing and potential customers a page worth reading.

Is Google hurting your website sales?