Indexing.
Indexing is the process by which search engines like Google add web pages to their index. Only indexed pages can appear in search results. Without indexing, a page is invisible to Google.
Indexing — Explained in Detail
Indexing (also: Indexation) is the process by which the Googlebot (Google's web crawler) visits a web page, analyzes its content, and adds it to the Google Index — a massive database of all known web pages. Only pages that are in the index can appear in search results. The process involves three steps: Crawling (discovering the URL), Rendering (loading and executing JavaScript), and Indexing (adding to the index).
Common indexing problems with Swiss SME websites: robots.txt accidentally blocks important pages, noindex tags on pages that should rank, canonical tags pointing to wrong URLs, duplicate content (e.g., www vs. non-www), JavaScript rendering issues (Google can't read SPA content), and 'Discovered — currently not indexed' (Google knows the page but doesn't index it because the quality appears too low).
To optimize indexing: Submit an XML sitemap in Google Search Console, use internal linking consistently, ensure all important pages are reachable from the homepage within a maximum of 3 clicks, and regularly check the indexing status in Search Console. For new pages, you can use the URL Inspection tool and manually request indexing.
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Technical SEOFrequently Asked Questions About Indexing
This varies greatly: New pages on an established website are often indexed within hours to a few days. Pages on a new domain can take 1–4 weeks. Through Google Search Console, you can manually request indexing — this speeds up the process. An XML sitemap and strong internal linking also help.
Common causes: 1) The page has a noindex tag. 2) The robots.txt blocks the Googlebot. 3) The page is too new and hasn't been crawled yet. 4) Google considers the content too thin or too low quality. 5) Canonical tag points to another URL. 6) The page has no internal links. Check the status in Google Search Console under 'URL Inspection'.
Crawling is the discovery and visiting of a URL by the Googlebot. Indexing is the addition to the Google Index after analyzing the content. Not every crawled page is indexed — Google decides based on quality, relevance, and technical signals whether a page is added to the index. 'Discovered — currently not indexed' means: Google knows the URL but has not indexed it.
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