When you publish an article online, it’s crucial to ensure that it gets indexed by search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Indexing means that the search engine has added your article to its database, making it visible in search results when users look for relevant content. If your article isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in these search results, limiting its ability to attract organic traffic. So how can you check if an article is indexed or not? Let’s explore a few methods to confirm its status.
1. Using the “site:” Operator in Google
One of the simplest ways to check if an article is indexed is by using Google’s “site:” operator. This method lets you see whether a specific URL is stored in Google’s index:
- Open Google’s search engine.
- In the search bar, type site:yourwebsite.com/your-article-url and hit enter.
If the article is indexed, its URL will appear in the search results. If not, Google will return no results, indicating the article hasn’t been indexed.
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console (GSC) is a powerful tool to track your website’s performance and monitor indexing. To check if an article is indexed:
- Sign into your Google Search Console account.
- Use the “URL Inspection” tool, found on the left-hand menu.
- Paste the URL of your article into the search bar.
GSC will inform you whether the page is indexed. If not, it will provide the option to request indexing, which prompts Google to crawl and index the article.
3. Manual Search
Another basic approach is to copy a unique sentence from your article and paste it into Google, enclosed in quotation marks. This will force Google to search for that exact text. If the article is indexed, it should appear in the search results. If nothing appears, the article is likely not indexed.
What to Do if an Article is Not Indexed
If you find your article isn’t indexed, you can take several steps to encourage search engines to crawl and index your content:
- Request indexing via Google Search Console.
- Submit a sitemap to Google through GSC or Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Improve internal linking by linking to your article from other pages on your website.
- Ensure your website is optimized for fast loading and mobile compatibility, as slow or unresponsive websites may have trouble getting indexed.
Conclusion
Ensuring that your articles are indexed is essential for increasing visibility and attracting traffic. By using simple tools like Google’s “site:” operator, Google Search Console, or a manual search, you can easily check whether your content is indexed. If it’s not, taking immediate steps to fix the issue will help get your article into the search engine’s database and improve its chances of ranking well in search results.
