What is Indexability?
L'indexabilité est la capacité d'une page Web à être indexée par les moteurs de recherche.
Indexing is the process of adding a webpage and its content to a database. Search engines frequently crawl webpages on the web. When they find a webpage interesting enough, they add it to their index. These webpages can then be displayed on search results pages.
How Indexability Affects SEO
The indexability of your content determines whether it can be displayed on search results pages. Indexable content can be displayed on search results pages, while unindexable content cannot be displayed.
The process of discovering a webpage and serving it on search results pages is a three-step process involving:
Crawling is the process of discovering content. If Google thinks it may be helpful to visitors, it proceeds to index it. Serving is the last stage of the process. It occurs when Google retrieves content from its index and displays it on search results pages.
Your page should be crawlable to be indexed. Otherwise, it cannot be indexed or displayed on search results pages.
Some bloggers may deliberately make their pages unindexable. This is common with pages the blogger does not want Google to display on its search results pages. However, indexability issues could occur when Google cannot index the content the blogger wants Google to index.
How to Improve Indexability
Indexability issues are typically indicators of technical SEO issues on your site. So, make sure that your technical SEO is top-notch. You should also follow the tips below to ensure your content remains indexable.
1 Use a Clear Site Structure
Your site should have a logical and easy-to-follow hierarchical structure. Use appropriate and clear categories, subcategories, and internal links to help search engines understand how your content is related. If possible, include breadcrumb navigation and an XML sitemap on your site.
2 Optimize Your URL Structure
Use a descriptive and easy-to-follow URL structure. For example, https://yourdomain.com/baking/baking-for-beginners. Where possible, you should avoid dynamic URLs et parameters.
3 Improve Your Page Load Speed
Large images can slow down your page. So, compress your images and implement caching and minification to reduce the size of your code and files. This will reduce your server load and improve your page speed.
4 Review Your robots.txt File
Ensure your robots.txt file does not contain rules that prevent Google from crawling your site and important pages. Similarly, modify the robots.txt file so that Google does not exhaust your crawl budget crawling non-essential pages.
5 Use Internal Links
Google uses internal links to find content on your site. They also help Google to understand the relationship between the different pages on your site. So, make sure every page on your site has internal links pointing to it. It is also recommended to use appropriate anchor text when linking to them.
6 Avoid Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can exhaust your crawl budget. They can also cause Google to display the wrong page on search results pages. So, use canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues, especially if you have similar pages or content variations. You may also use 301 redirects to redirect your non-canonical pages to the canonical URLs.
7 Use Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Google uses the Balisage Schema to understand your content better. They are also required for content you want Google to display as rich results. So, it is recommended that you include relevant schema in your content.
8 Fix Broken Links and 404 Errors
Broken links prevent Google from finding your pages. 404 introuvable errors prevent Google from finding and indexing your content. In the case of already indexed content, it could cause Google to deindex your content. So, fix the broken links and 404 errors on your site.