Why Submitting Your New URLs to Google is Crucial
After a website rebuild, one of the most important tasks is making sure Google knows about your new URLs. This step is crucial for ensuring that your site gets crawled and indexed properly by Google, allowing your pages to show up in search results. If you don’t submit your new URLs, you risk losing out on traffic, and potentially, your rankings in search results.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of submitting new URLs to Google after a rebuild and share tips on how to optimize the process to ensure your site gets crawled quickly and effectively.
Understanding URL Submission and Its Importance
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Before diving into the technical details, it’s important to understand why submitting your new URLs to Google is so important. Google uses crawlers (automated bots) to explore the web, and when a website is rebuilt, Google may not automatically pick up the new URLs or changes. That’s where URL submission comes into play – it helps you inform Google of your site’s new structure and content.
What Happens After a Website Rebuild?
When you rebuild a website, whether it’s a redesign, migration, or structure change, the URLs can change significantly. Google needs to be aware of these changes to ensure it continues to index the correct pages and reflect them in search results.
How Google Crawls Your Site
Google uses bots to crawl and index websites. These bots follow links and examine the content on each page, updating Google’s index accordingly. After a site rebuild, Google’s bots may struggle to find all your new URLs, which is why submitting them is crucial.
Steps to Submit Your New URLs to Google
Now that we know why submitting your URLs to Google is important, let’s dive into the actual steps to get your new URLs submitted after a site rebuild.
1. Use Google Search Console (GSC)
Google Search Console is one of the best tools for submitting your new URLs to Google. It helps you manage your site’s presence in Google Search and provides insights into the indexing process.
How to Verify Your Website in GSC
Before you can submit URLs to Google, you need to verify your website in Google Search Console. This process is easy and typically involves adding a meta tag to your site’s code or uploading an HTML file to your server.
Submitting URLs via GSC
Once your site is verified, you can use the URL Inspection tool in GSC to submit individual URLs. Just enter the URL in the tool, and click “Request Indexing.” Google will then crawl the page and add it to the index.
2. Sitemaps: A Powerful Tool for Google Submission
A sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website. Google uses sitemaps to understand the structure of your site and find new content faster.
Creating an XML Sitemap
You can create an XML sitemap using plugins like Yoast SEO (for WordPress) or online tools that automatically generate sitemaps. Ensure your sitemap includes all the new URLs, and make sure it’s up-to-date after the rebuild.
Submitting Your Sitemap to Google Search Console
After creating the sitemap, you can submit it through Google Search Console. Just navigate to the “Sitemaps” section, enter the URL of your sitemap, and click “Submit.” This will notify Google of your new content and URLs.
3. Leverage Fetch as Google
Google’s “Fetch as Google” feature (now part of the URL Inspection tool) allows you to submit a URL for crawling. This tool is especially helpful if you want Google to visit specific pages immediately after the rebuild.
How Fetch as Google Helps in URL Submission
Using “Fetch as Google” will prompt Google to visit the page and reindex it, helping it appear in search results faster. You can also submit a URL directly after it’s fetched.
Limitations of Fetch as Google
Keep in mind that the fetch tool has limits on how many URLs you can submit each day. It’s also designed to fetch only a few URLs at a time, so it’s not ideal for large sites with many pages.
4. Use Robots.txt for URL Access Control
Robots.txt is a file you can place in the root directory of your website to control how search engines crawl your site.
Why Robots.txt is Important
If you don’t want certain URLs to be crawled (for instance, staging URLs or pages under development), robots.txt helps prevent Google from indexing them.
How to Configure Robots.txt Correctly
Make sure your robots.txt file allows Googlebot to crawl all important pages. If you’ve made structural changes to your site, review your robots.txt file to ensure no essential pages are blocked.
Monitoring the Indexing Status of Your New URLs
Once you’ve submitted your URLs, it’s important to monitor their indexing status to ensure everything is going smoothly.
Using Google Search Console for Monitoring
You can track the status of your submitted URLs using Google Search Console. In the “Coverage” report, you can see which pages are indexed and which have encountered errors.
Checking for Crawl Errors
If your URLs aren’t getting indexed, you may need to check for crawl errors. Google Search Console provides insights into any issues with crawling, like server errors or pages that Googlebot couldn’t reach.
Understanding Indexing Reports in Google Search Console
Google’s “Index Coverage” report helps you understand how well Google has indexed your site and if there are any issues. Regularly checking this report will allow you to address any problems promptly.
Common Issues When Submitting New URLs
Here are some common issues that might arise when submitting new URLs after a site rebuild:
Pages Not Indexed
Sometimes Google may not index your pages, which can be caused by factors like crawl errors, low-quality content, or problems with your sitemap.
Slow Crawling and Indexing
It may take a few days or even weeks for Google to crawl and index all your new URLs. This can be influenced by the authority of your domain and how frequently Google crawls your site.
URL Errors or Broken Links
If your rebuild has caused broken links, Google may not be able to index your pages correctly. It’s essential to check for and fix any 404 errors or other issues with URLs.
Conclusion: Best Practices for Submitting URLs
To ensure Google indexes your new URLs effectively, follow the steps outlined above. Using Google Search Console, submitting sitemaps, leveraging Fetch as Google, and managing your robots.txt are all crucial for a smooth transition after a website rebuild. Don’t forget to monitor the indexing status and fix any issues promptly to keep your site visible in search results.
FAQs
- How long does it take for Google to index new URLs?
- It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks for Google to index your new URLs, depending on your site’s authority and the frequency of Googlebot crawls.
- Can I submit all URLs at once through a sitemap?
- Yes, submitting a sitemap is an efficient way to notify Google about all your URLs. However, Google will still crawl them at its own pace.
- What if my new URLs are not showing up in search results?
- Ensure you’ve submitted your sitemap, used Fetch as Google, and checked for crawl errors. If issues persist, your content may need more time or additional optimization.
- Do I need to update my robots.txt file after a rebuild?
- Yes, it’s important to review your robots.txt file after a rebuild to make sure Googlebot has access to all the pages you want to be indexed.
- Should I submit each URL individually to Google Search Console?
- While you can submit URLs individually using the URL Inspection tool, submitting a sitemap with all your new URLs is usually faster and more efficient.
