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Getting Your Site Into the Search Engines

Once you have created your home page and maybe a contact page it is time to get the site indexed by the search engines.

You should note that the site doesn't need to be finished, but it shouldn't contain any pages that are not complete. So no under construction pages.

The reason you want to get your site into the search engines as quickly as possible is that getting the site indexed takes time. This can range from weeks to months depending on your niche.

Google has been known to sandbox new sites (in certain niches) and only let them out after several months so the sooner you get into the sandbox the sooner you get out.

Anyway regardless of that it is best to get a site listed as soon as possible.

The recommended way of getting into the search engines is by getting a link from an existing site that the search engines have already indexed. The search engines will follow this link to your new site and index it.

If you already have a site that has been indexed then just add a link to that site.

 However most of you won't be in that position and so the best option is to use a directory as discussed previously.

 

How to Check if Your Site or Page Has Been Indexed

 The easiest way of checking to see if the search engines have found you site is to enter the following into the search box:

site:domainname

e.g. site:www.build-your-Website.co.uk

The general syntax is site: + Website name This will list all of the pages that the search engine knows about for that domain name.

 

 

check if site indexed

Here I’m asking Google to list all pages from my site.

 

How Well Are You Ranking

Being in the search engine index is the first stage.

 It is of no real use unless your page appears high in the search results ( on page 1 ideally). Once you are in the index you should start to show up for easy searches after 1-2 months.

 By easy I mean searches with little competition.

All you need to do to check is to do a search for your targeted keyword phrase and see if your site appears.

For more competitive searches you will need to wait 6 months to a year and you will need to take active measures to improve the site ranking.

Course Survey and Any Questions

Please help me improve the course and let me know how well I covered the material by completing the short course  survey. If you have any questions then use the ask the Webmaster form .

Resources:

 

Keywords and Keyword Research