Page indexing is one of the key factors in the successful promotion of web resources in search engines. The more pages of a website are included in the indexes of Google, Yandex, and other search engines, the higher the likelihood of attracting organic traffic. However, not all pages are subject to indexing, and 100% indexing is not always the desired result. The question arises: What percentage of indexing is considered normal and what factors influence it?
What is page indexing?
Indexing is the process of adding website pages to the search engine database. When a search engine crawler visits a website, it analyzes the content of the pages, evaluates their quality, and decides whether to include them in the search index. If a page has not been indexed, it will not appear in the search results.
Why do you need indexing?
A high level of indexing means that most of the site’s content is searchable, which increases the chances of attracting users. However, indexing is not an end in itself. It is important that the index includes pages with valuable content that helps to promote the site.
What percentage of indexing is considered normal?
The optimal percentage of indexing depends on the type of site, its structure, and the quality of the content. Average indicators:
- Blog or content site – 80-100% (almost all pages are useful and should be indexed).
- Online store – 60-90% (product cards may be duplicated or have weak content, which reduces the percentage of indexing).
- Forum or portal with user-generated content – 50-80% (some pages may be irrelevant or technical).
- Websites with dynamic pages – 30-70% (often many pages of the same type are generated, which are not appropriate for indexing).
Full indexing coverage is not always desirable. For example, technical pages, duplicate content, and online store filters can cause ranking problems.
Factors that influence the percentage of indexing
- Content quality. Unique, useful content is indexed better.
- Technical optimization. The absence of duplicates, correct markup, robots.txt and sitemap.xml files help to control indexing.
- Internal links. Well-structured sites are indexed faster.
- Frequency of content updates. The more often a website is updated, the faster and more complete its pages are included in the index.
- Loading speed. Slow sites are indexed worse.
- Backend optimization. The site code, the use of AJAX, JavaScript can complicate the work of search robots.
Ways to increase the percentage of indexing
- Use the sitemap.xml file. It helps search engines to find new pages faster.
- Correcting robots.txt. Prohibits indexing of unwanted pages and prevents problems with duplicate content.
- Internal links. They improve content coherence and facilitate indexing.
- Regularly update the content of. Increases the frequency of visits to the site by search robots.
- Optimize the loading speed of. The faster pages open, the easier they are to index.
- Use Google Search Console. It allows you to request indexing of new or changed pages.
Alternative methods of promotion
If some pages are not included in the index, you can use other ways to attract traffic:
- Social networks. Distribution of content via Facebook, Twitter, Telegram.
- Contextual advertising. Google Ads and Yandex.Direct allow you to get visitors without indexing.
- Email marketing. Promotion of content through newsletters.
- Platforms for external placement. Using Medium, Yandex.Zen, LinkedIn for additional coverage.
The percentage of indexed pages is an important but not the only indicator of successful SEO. The optimal level depends on the structure of the site and the quality of its content. It is important to control the indexing process, eliminating duplicate and unnecessary pages, while working to improve the visibility of useful materials. Proper indexing management helps to effectively promote your website in search engines and attract more users.
