Do you know that the first visitor to your newly built site isn’t a human being, or more specifically, your customers? Rather, it’s a bot. Experts and SEO enthusiasts know it by the name of a crawler or spider. In fact, it’s the first stage of the ranking process on a search engine like Google.
The crawler should successfully crawl a page on your site for Google to index it. So, it means only one thing that every site owner must know: Crawling and indexing go hand in hand. The good news is you can boost both these factors. It only requires a few logical steps, like increasing your site’s speed and building internal links.
This guide will discuss different ways to improve your site’s crawlability and indexability. Continue going down if you want to know more.
6 Ways to Improve Website Crawlability and Indexability
Have you ever wondered how Google ranks web pages on the SERP? It all starts with its search engine crawler or spider visiting a newly created page. Then comes the next stage called indexing. Fixing broken links and creating an XML sitemap helps improve these aspects. Similarly, you also need to build a well-organized site architecture for this purpose.
Given below are the top six ways that can help you improve website crawlability and indexability:
1. Improve Page Load Speed
This is the first aspect of your site that demands your attention for better crawlability. Make sure your pages upload in an optimal time if you want them to be crawled. Otherwise, it’ll negatively impact the two most important crawling factors: Crawl budget and crawl rate.
When this happens, Google will surely give a negative SEO score to your online storefront. To improve your page load speed, try to upgrade your web hosting plan and reduce your files’ size. You should also use compressed images and enable caching. If you’re still confused, seek help from an SEO expert. You can contact professionals Spiral Click for this purpose.
2. Focus on Internal Linking
When you link one page of your site to another, it’s called internal linking. It might seem like a simple job to you, but it has profound effects on the crawlability of your site. How? When you link to pages, it creates a pathway and guides crawlers through your digital storefront.
It’s, however, critical that you use a proper strategy while building internal links. Create a topic cluster. There should be a pillar page that serves as the central page to which cluster pages will be linked and vice versa. It’s also critical to remember that the pillar page should cover a main topic and must be comprehensive.
3. Fix Broken Links
Sometimes, on clicking a link, the user is met with a 404 error (Page not found). You must’ve experienced this scenario at least once. Why does this happen? This issue occurs because of a broken link, which has a negative impact on the crawlability of your website.
Address this problem if you’re aiming to improve crawlability and indexability. Keep checking or auditing your digital storefront for any broken links. If you find one, don’t worry. There are many ways to fix them. If the link is no longer useful, removing it is the best approach. However, you can also redirect or update it.
4. Build a Well-Organized Site Architecture
Here’s another thing that most new site owners remain unaware of. How web pages are arranged on your site also helps search engine spiders to crawl your online store. Implement the following best practices to ensure a well-organized site architecture:
- Incorporate logical navigation
- Your site’s structure must be flat
- Use a robust internal linking structure
- URL structures must be clear and consistent
- Impalement clear categories
With these guidelines, you can improve your site structure as well as its potential for crawlability and indexability.
5. Create an XML Sitemap
Site owners provide the search engine with a list of pages that they consider important for their site. It’s called an XML sitemap. This is one of the most crucial things that you should do for improved crawlability and indexability. These sitemaps have a significant say in guiding Google crawlers.
Keep in mind that when you efficiently generate XML sitemaps, spiders can discover new pages more quickly. Poor maps, on the contrary, have an opposite effect. If there are outdated or broken links in your XML sitemap, it can lead to negative outcomes. It’ll waste your crawl budget and reduce the indexability of essential pages.
6. Remove Duplicate Content
When the term “duplicate content” comes up, most people think of it as identical content. It also refers to content that is very similar. Here are many different ways in which duplicate content can negatively impact your crawlability and indexability:
- Reduced crawl budget
- Decreased crawling frequency
- Diluted link equity
- Confusion for the search engine
- Negative user experience
Addressing this condition is not a hard nut to crack, though. You should begin by identifying duplicate content on your site. Then use approaches like 301 redirects, canonical tags, and noindex tags to resolve this problem.
Want to Improve Your Site’s Crawlability and Indexability?
You can use several methods to help Google quickly crawl and index your site’s pages. From improving page load speed to building internal links, using a well-organized site structure, and creating an XML sitemap, there are many ways. Contact a credible SEO company like Spiral Click now if you want to improve your site’s crawlability and indexability.
