If you’ve just launched a new website, one of the first things you should do is ensure it appears on Google Search. Without proper indexing, your site won’t show up in search results, meaning potential visitors won’t be able to find it.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to submit your website to Google, use Google Search Console, verify ownership, and improve your website indexing to increase website traffic. By following these SEO best practices, you’ll also improve your search engine submission and website visibility.
Why You Need to Submit Your Website to Google
Google is the most popular search engine, processing billions of searches daily. However, Google doesn’t automatically know that your website exists. While Google’s bots (crawlers) will eventually find and index your site, manually adding your website to Google speeds up the process and ensures your pages appear in search results sooner.
Submitting your site to Google has several benefits:
- Ensures your website gets indexed faster
- Helps Google understand your website’s structure
- Allows you to track performance using Google webmaster tools
- Increases your website visibility and SEO for new websites
- Helps drive organic traffic from search engines
Step 1: Create a Google Search Console Account
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool that allows you to monitor and optimize your site’s presence in Google Search. You’ll need to create an account and add your website before submitting it for indexing.
How to Set Up Google Search Console
- Go to Google Search Console
- Click Start Now and sign in with your Google account
- Choose your property type:
- Domain Property (Recommended): Covers all subdomains and HTTPS/HTTP versions of your website
- URL Prefix Property: Covers only a specific version of your site (e.g.,
https://www.yourwebsite.com)
- Click Continue and proceed to the verification step
Step 2: Verify Your Website in Google Search Console
Before Google can track your website’s performance, you need to verify ownership. There are multiple ways to do this:
1. DNS Verification (Recommended)
- Choose the Domain Property option
- Copy the TXT record provided by Google
- Go to your domain provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Bluehost) and add the TXT record to your DNS settings
- Save the changes and click Verify in GSC
2. HTML File Upload
- Download the HTML verification file from Google Search Console
- Upload it to your website’s root directory via FTP or your hosting file manager
- Click Verify
3. HTML Tag
- Copy the meta tag provided by Google
- Paste it inside the
<head>section of your website’s homepage - Click Verify
4. Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager
- If you have Google Analytics installed, you can use it for verification
- Follow the on-screen instructions in GSC to link your accounts
Once your website is verified, you can start submitting it for indexing.
Step 3: Submit Your Website to Google
1. Submit Your Sitemap
A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the pages on your site, helping Google understand your content structure.
How to Submit a Sitemap to Google:
- In Google Search Console, go to Sitemaps (under the Indexing section)
- Enter your sitemap URL (e.g.,
https://yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml) - Click Submit
- Check for errors to ensure your sitemap is correctly formatted
If you don’t have a sitemap, you can generate one using SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math.
2. Use the URL Inspection Tool
If you’ve recently added new content and want Google to index it quickly, use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console.
Steps:
- Open Google Search Console
- Enter the URL of the page you want indexed
- Click Request Indexing
- Wait for Google to crawl and index the page
Step 4: Improve Your Website’s Indexing and Visibility
Even after submitting your site, it’s crucial to optimize your content to ensure Google ranks it well. Here are some essential steps:
1. Ensure Your Website Is Crawlable
- Check your
robots.txtfile to ensure Google bots aren’t blocked - Avoid using
noindextags on important pages
2. Improve Page Speed and Mobile Friendliness
Google favors fast, mobile-friendly websites. To improve performance:
- Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check your website
- Optimize images using TinyPNG or Smush
- Enable caching and use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
3. Use Internal and External Links
Linking relevant pages within your site improves navigation and SEO. Additionally, earning backlinks from other reputable websites boosts credibility.
4. Regularly Update Your Content
Fresh content signals Google that your site is active. Publish blog posts, update old pages, and maintain a content strategy.
5. Fix Broken Links and Errors
Use Google Search Console to check for errors and broken links that may affect your ranking.
Step 5: Monitor Your Website’s Performance
After submitting your site to Google, use Google webmaster tools to track performance and make necessary improvements.
Key Metrics to Monitor:
- Index Coverage Report: Shows which pages Google has indexed
- Performance Report: Displays clicks, impressions, and ranking positions
- Mobile Usability: Identifies mobile-friendliness issues
- Core Web Vitals: Measures page loading speed and user experience
Final Thoughts
Adding your website to Google is just the first step in increasing website traffic and improving your SEO for new websites. To summarize: ✅ Set up Google Search Console and verify ownership ✅ Submit your sitemap for indexing ✅ Use the URL Inspection Tool for new pages ✅ Improve website visibility with mobile optimization and quality content ✅ Monitor performance with Google webmaster tools
By following these steps, your website will not only be indexed by Google but also optimized for higher rankings. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or need further help! 🚀
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