A page’s ability to be indexed by search engines, influenced by technical factors like robots.txt, meta tags, and canonicalization.
Why Indexability Matters
Indexability is the first and most crucial step in the SEO process. If your page isn’t in Google’s index, it has zero chance of ranking for any query. Think of Google’s index as a giant digital library. Your website is a book, and indexability is the process of getting that book added to the library’s catalog. If your book is not in the catalog, nobody can find it on the shelves. Problems with indexability often stem from technical issues, and they are a top priority to fix because they represent a fundamental barrier to your visibility.
Across Different CMS Platforms
The principles of indexability are universal, but the tools and settings for managing it vary depending on your CMS.
WordPress
WordPress has a simple setting under “Reading” that allows you to discourage search engines from indexing your site. It is a common mistake for new users to leave this box checked. For more granular control, plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math allow you to set specific pages or posts to “noindex” with a simple toggle.
Shopify
Shopify typically handles indexability well for its core pages like products and collections. However, for a blog or other custom pages, it’s important to check your theme’s settings and ensure you aren’t accidentally blocking search engines. You can also edit the robots.txt file through the theme editor to manage indexability.
Wix
Wix has a built-in SEO panel that provides a clear toggle to allow or disallow search engine indexing. While it’s generally effective, it is a good practice to manually submit your sitemap to Google Search Console to ensure all your pages are being found and indexed correctly.
Webflow
Webflow provides excellent control over indexability through its CMS settings. You can easily set individual pages, folders, or collections to “noindex.” This control is particularly useful for managing duplicate content or for pages that you do not want to appear in search results, like “thank you” pages or landing pages.
Custom CMS
With a custom CMS, you have full control over the robots.txt file and meta tags. This allows you to build a robust indexability strategy from the ground up, specifying which parts of your site should be crawled and indexed. A clean architecture and proper canonical tags are key to success here.
Across Different Industries
The approach to managing indexability can be tailored to the specific needs of a business.
E-commerce
For e-commerce sites, you must ensure that all product and category pages are indexable. However, it is a common practice to “noindex” filter pages that create endless combinations of URLs, as this can lead to thin or duplicate content issues.
Local Businesses
Local businesses need their core pages, like their homepage, services, and contact pages, to be fully indexable. It’s also important to ensure their Google Business Profile is set up correctly to maximize local search visibility.
SaaS Companies
SaaS companies often have marketing pages that should be indexed and user-specific pages (e.g., a logged-in dashboard) that should be “noindex.” This prevents private, non-public pages from appearing in search results.
Blogs
For blogs, all content pages should be indexable to maximize visibility. The only exception would be a very thin or low-quality article that you might want to “noindex” to prevent it from harming the rest of your site’s SEO performance.
Do’s and Don’ts of Indexability
Do’s
- Do create a sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console. A sitemap is like a map of your website that helps search engines find all your important pages.
- Do use robots.txt to tell search engines which pages to avoid. This is useful for pages you do not want to be crawled, like private user data or admin panels.
- Do use a canonical tag for duplicate content. This tells search engines which version of a page is the preferred one to index.
Don’ts
- Don’t block pages with important content. A common mistake is using robots.txt to block pages that should be ranking.
- Don’t forget to check your WordPress “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” box. This one simple box can be the reason a site never ranks.
- Don’t use noindex and disallow on the same page. This can confuse search engine crawlers.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Accidentally blocking your site with a robots.txt file: A single misplaced slash in your robots.txt file can tell search engines to stay away from your entire site.
- Using noindex on pages you want to rank: This is a surprisingly common mistake. A page with a noindex tag will be removed from the search index.
- Having a broken canonical tag: A canonical tag that points to the wrong page can cause indexing issues and may lead to a page not ranking as it should.
FAQs
How can I check if my website is indexed by Google?
The best way to check is by using Google Search Console. You can also perform a site-specific search on Google by typing “site:yourdomain.com” to see which of your pages have been indexed.
Is a page’s crawlability the same as its indexability?
No, they are related but different. Crawlability is whether a search engine can access a page. Indexability is whether that page is then added to the search engine’s index. A page can be crawled but not indexed.
What is the difference between noindex and robots.txt?
Robots.txt tells a search engine not to crawl a page. Noindex allows a search engine to crawl the page but tells it not to index it, thus keeping it out of search results.
How does JavaScript affect indexability?
JavaScript can sometimes make it difficult for search engines to crawl and index your content. Search engines are much better at it now, but it’s still a best practice to ensure your site’s core content is rendered in the initial HTML for guaranteed indexability.
Can a low-quality page harm my overall site’s indexability?
Yes. Google’s “helpful content” and quality guidelines suggest that a site with a high number of thin, low-quality pages may have a harder time getting its high-quality pages indexed and ranked.
