subject: How to Get Google to Index Your Blog Fast [print this page] How to Get Google to Index Your Blog Fast
In short, you need to make your website easier for Google to indexand make sure that you're not doing something to inadvertently anger the search engine giant. But first, you need to know the basics of indexing.
How Indexing Works
When someone enters a search query into Google, they don't get "live" results. What they get instead is the latest information gathered by Google's search bots, which crawl the web and report back on (or "index") new content. Now, every website is not created equal; Google sets schedules to revisit websites, and those that are popular and that are updated frequently get revisited more often than those which are either unpopular, static, or both. If you're wondering how to make your own website take advantage of this information, then read on to find out.
How to Make a Website that Google Will Love
Update it frequently. The more often you update your blog, the more often Google will send its bots out to visit you. Obviously, there are other criteria that Google uses, but frequent and regular posting will endear you to Google.
Include unique content on each web page. A streamlined blog is easier for Google to index and crawl. If its bots run across duplicate content across pages, they get confused and don't know which web page to display. If you simply have to have duplicate content across two web pages, then tell Google which URL refers to the "real" one by using the rel=canonical element in your web page design.
Tell Google which pages it shouldn't bother indexing. I know, I know: you think all your pages should be indexed. But what about contact forms, login pages and shopping carts? Google's bot isn't going to use any of those features, and by asking it to check them out, you're wasting its time. The faster Googlebot is able to get through your website, the more likely it is to want to return quickly. So tell Google which pages to ignore by using your robots.txt file.
How to Make A Website That Google Hates
Ask Google to check out an infinite number of web pages. I know what you're thinking: who would do such a thing? Well, if you've ever seen a website that features a calendar that goes backwards or forwards into infinity, then you have your answer. Googlebot isn't particularly smart, and if you're hosting something like an infinite calendar, it will try to scout out each and every page before eventually giving up. If you don't want to change your content, then just add a nofollow attribute to your calendar links: your users will still be able to use your "infinite" feature, but Google won't waste its time.
House random, "hidden" pages that are chock full of random keywords. Some users new to search engine optimization may try to "game" Google by setting up such tricks on their personal webpages; all too often, the result is that they get on Google's Naughty list. Don't make that same mistake.
Link to web spammers. In general, you should be very careful about whom you link to, but specifically, don't link to content farms or spammerseven if those websites are more popular than your own and you think a reciprocal link will increase your page rank.
While navigating Google's complex algorithms can be complicated, these simple suggestions can make your own website into a fast-tracked Google star.
