Indexation rate measures the percentage of submitted pages that get indexed. Low rates indicate quality, technical, or crawl budget issues. Improve through better content, technical fixes, and strategic internal linking.
Why an Indexation Rate Matters
The indexation rate is a critical metric because if your pages aren’t in the search engine’s index, they cannot receive any organic traffic. It’s the most basic measure of a site’s SEO health. A low indexation rate often points to significant technical problems that are fundamentally hurting your visibility. Common issues include a lack of a clear site architecture, an abundance of low-quality or duplicate content, or a problem with your robots.txt file that is blocking crawlers. Monitoring your indexation rate helps you quickly identify and fix these issues before they cause a major drop in rankings.
Across Different CMS Platforms
The way you monitor and improve your indexation rate is different depending on your CMS.
WordPress
WordPress users can track their indexation rate by using Google Search Console and submitting a sitemap. Plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math help you manage your robots.txt file and sitemap, ensuring that only the pages you want to be indexed are included.
Shopify
For Shopify, a common issue is the creation of duplicate URLs from product filters. This can hurt your indexation rate. Shopify allows you to edit your robots.txt file to prevent these pages from being indexed and also to use canonical tags to consolidate your link authority.
Wix
Wix has a more streamlined system, but it’s still important to ensure your site is connected to Google Search Console to monitor your indexation. The platform’s built-in SEO tools can help you manage your sitemap and index settings, making it easier to maintain a healthy indexation rate.
Webflow
Webflow gives you granular control over your site’s technical structure, which is a major advantage for managing your indexation rate. You can easily set individual pages to “noindex” and build a clean, logical site architecture that makes it easy for search engine crawlers to discover all your content.
Custom CMS
With a custom CMS, you have the most control and can build a system that is perfectly optimized for a high indexation rate. This includes developing a robust internal linking strategy, creating a clean URL structure, and implementing a dynamic sitemap that automatically updates when new pages are published.
Across Different Industries
The importance of a high indexation rate is universal, but its application can vary by industry.
E-commerce
For e-commerce sites, a high indexation rate is critical for products and categories. A low rate can mean your products are not showing up in search results, costing you sales. You must ensure all your key product pages are properly indexed.
Local Businesses
Local businesses need their core pages their homepage, services, and location pages to be indexed. A low indexation rate for these key pages can severely impact their ability to show up in local search results.
SaaS Companies
SaaS companies rely on a high indexation rate for their marketing and content pages. A low rate can mean your blog posts and landing pages are not being discovered by potential customers.
Blogs
For bloggers, a high indexation rate is a direct measure of your SEO success. A low rate could indicate problems with your site’s structure or content quality that are preventing your articles from being discovered.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
- Do submit a sitemap to Google Search Console. This is the easiest way to tell Google about all the pages you want it to index.
- Do use a clear internal linking structure. A good internal linking strategy helps search engine crawlers discover all your pages, which improves your indexation rate.
- Do use a noindex tag for low-quality pages. This keeps them out of the index and helps preserve your site’s overall quality signals.
Don’ts
- Don’t leave the “noindex” tag on a page you want to rank. This is a very common mistake that can completely prevent a page from appearing in search results.
- Don’t have a messy robots.txt file. A poorly written robots.txt can accidentally block your entire site.
- Don’t have too many redirect loops. This can confuse search crawlers and prevent them from reaching your target pages.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Failing to use a sitemap. This is a basic but critical step. Without a sitemap, it is much more difficult for search engines to discover all your pages.
- Ignoring your “Coverage” report in Google Search Console. This report is a goldmine of information. It will show you exactly which pages are indexed and which are not, and it will often provide a reason why.
- Having duplicate content. A high percentage of duplicate or thin content on your site can lead to a low indexation rate as search engines choose not to index what they see as redundant pages.
FAQs
How do I find my website’s indexation rate?
You can find your indexation rate in Google Search Console. In the “Coverage” report, you can see the number of valid pages that are indexed versus the total number of pages submitted in your sitemap.
What is a good indexation rate?
A good indexation rate is typically close to 100% of your valid, unique, and high-quality pages. It’s more about the percentage of your important pages that are indexed rather than a specific number.
What is the difference between crawling and indexing?
Crawling is when a search engine bot visits your page. Indexing is when the search engine decides to add that page to its library. A page can be crawled but not indexed.
How long does it take for a page to be indexed?
The time it takes to get a page indexed can vary from a few minutes to several weeks. It depends on your site’s authority and how often a search engine crawls it.
Can a low indexation rate harm my SEO?
Yes, a low indexation rate is a clear signal of underlying SEO problems. It can lead to a significant loss of organic traffic and may indicate a low-quality or poorly structured site to search engines.
