How To Improve Your Website’s Crawlablity and Indexability
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), you probably hear a lot about indexing your site or having robots “crawl” your site. These aren’t just buzzwords, but an actual process that Google and other search engines utilize to rank your website or list it on a search engine. In fact, they are a large component of having a good Technical SEO foundation.
Both fundamental aspects can make or break your website’s overall visibility. Thus, it is essential to address crawling and indexing in your website so that you are not only listed on search engines, but you can also understand how to increase your website rankings.
What Exactly Is Indexing and Crawlability?
Before we dive into specifically addressing indexing and crawling issues, here is what they both mean:
Crawlability
Crawlability is exactly what it sounds like – the ability of a search engine to crawl a website with its bots. Essentially, a search engine’s bots will navigate through each page of your website, provided they are appropriately linked. If your site has good navigation and a sound internal linking structure, your website is considered more crawlable.
Indexability
Indexability is how your content is stored and organized on the web after a search engine’s bots have finished crawling. In other words, this is how your website is shown on a search engine after a user types in a keyword.
A well-indexed site will not only be shown, but with proper indexing, your website may appear in SERP features, such as a Google snippet when users need at-a-glance information.
Conducting a Crawl Audit For Your Website
Once you understand what both terms mean, we recommend conducting a crawlability audit. You can use a tool like Screaming Frog, or one that is directly from a search engine, such as Google Search Console.
During the audit, you need to check for the following issues:
Broken Links: Find and fix any links that take you to pages that are not there.
Redirects: Verify that every redirect is configured properly and doesn't result in loops.
Status Codes: Search for and fix any server or 404 issues.
By taking care of these problems, you can make sure that search engine bots can freely explore your website.
However, these are not the only issues that affect your website’s crawlability and indexing. During your SEO audit, you must also consider the following:
Optimizing The Robots.TXT File
Search engine bots rely on your robots.txt file to tell them which pages to crawl. Thus, you must first, make sure no crucial pages are unintentionally blocked by your robots.txt file. We recommend that you review and update the file frequently to reflect modifications to your site's architecture.
You should also steer clear of typical blunders like unintentionally blocking entire directories. A properly configured robots.txt file aids in directing search engine bots to the most pertinent sections of your website.
Creating a Sitemap For Your Website
Think of a sitemap as the blueprint for your website. It shows a search engine the linking structure to your website and indicates what pages are present. There are plenty of sitemap generators on the website and will always end in .xml if it is directly for a search engine.
After creating a sitemap, you can submit the link directly to Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster Tools to index directly on those search engines. However, simply having it present can automatically get your website indexed.
Improving Site Structure and Navigation
To be both crawlable and indexable, your website should have a clear and distinct site structure and easy-to-understand navigation.
Here is what you should focus on when it comes to site structure:
Internal Linking: To facilitate bots' crawling of your website, use internal links to connect comparable material.
Breadcrumb Navigation: Use breadcrumb trails to illustrate the hierarchical relationship between pages in your navigation.
Accessible Pages: Make sure that from the homepage, all significant pages can be accessed with only a few clicks.
Remember, if it is easy for users to traverse the site then it will also be more convenient for search engines.
Ensure Mobile-Friendliness
Did you know that most users find a website by doing a web search on their phone? That means if your website is not mobile-friendly then is likely to be less crawlable and index-worthy.
That means you should test your mobile friendliness. Many search engines, including Google, have a mobile-friendly test. There are other drag-and-drop builders, such as Wix or Squarespace that also allow you to see a mobile view of your website.
Be sure to improve your mobile optimization by giving your website a responsive design, fast loading times, and a navigation-friendly mobile interface.
Improve Your Load Speed
It should go without saying, but if you improve your site’s load speed, you not only give your users a better experience, but your website is easier to crawl, ensuring better indexing.
Compressing your images, leveraging browser caching, and minimizing your JavaScript are all different ways you can enhance your speed.
Include Structured Data and Schema Markup
Search engines are given more insight into your content by structured data and schema markup. Here’s what that means and how to apply them:
Apply Structured Data: To draw attention to critical information like reviews, ratings, and event specifics, use schema markup.
Utilize Resources and Tools: To implement and test your markup, use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper.
Search engines can better comprehend and index your material with the use of structured data, which could increase your exposure to SERPs.
Spend Time Improving Your Technical SEO
Enhancing the crawlability and indexability of your website is essential to improving its visibility and search engine rankings. You can greatly improve your site's SEO performance by addressing the above.
If you need more personalized assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out for a consultation! We are always happy to help and offer technical SEO services or website audits.