Before you start working on keywords: is there anything of yours in the index at all?
You check this by typing site:yourdomein.nl into Google. If your pages appear, they are indexed. If nothing appears or much less than you have, then there is a technical problem or Google considers your pages too thin: and there is no point in optimising for keywords.
STEP BY STEP
Check in this order
- Type site:yourdomain.nl in GoogleThis shows roughly what your site has in the index. It is not an exact number, but it is immediately clear whether it is zero, a handful or everything.
- Compare with your sitemapHow many pages would you expect? If it says half, then something structural is missing.
- Look in Search Console under indexingIt states per page why it has or has not been included. This is the only place with a real answer.
- Check for noindexA noindex statement keeps a page out of the index. This is often accidentally left behind after a test phase: check this first with a new site.
- Check robots.txtIf you see Disallow: / under User-agent: *, you are blocking everything. This too is usually a leftover test setting.
- See if your pages are linkedGoogle may never discover a page that is not linked to anywhere. Every page should be accessible from somewhere.
PITFALLS
Which means 'crawled, not indexed'
This message in Search Console is not a technical error but a substantive judgment: Google has seen the page and decided not to include it. Usually because it's too thin or too similar to something else.
This cannot be solved with a setting. The content of the page needs to be improved or merged with another one.
- Zero results — technical problem: noindex of robots.txt.
- Much less than expected — often thin or double pages.
- 'Crawled, not indexed' — a substantive judgment, not an error.
- New site — indexation can take several weeks.
- Orphan pages — without internal links a page will not be found.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
More about indexation
How long does indexing of a new site take?
Days to several weeks. Submitting a sitemap to Search Console speeds discovery. If it takes longer than a month, there is usually a blockage or the pages are too thin.
What if only half is indexed?
Check Search Console to see which category the excluded pages are in. With 'crawled, not indexed' the content is the cause; with 'blocked' it is technology.
Does manual indexing help requests?
For individual important pages it can help with the initial discovery. It's not a solution to structural problems, and submitting the same page repeatedly doesn't accomplish anything.
CONTINUE READING
Of course, continue reading about this subject.
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