A shopper searching Google for “linen duvet cover” could land on a product page in your store, ready to buy. Before that can happen, Google needs to find the page and add it to its index.
Even if your homepage is indexed, missing product pages can cost you traffic from shoppers searching for specific items. Those shoppers may find a competitor’s product page before they ever learn your store sells what they need.
This guide covers how Google indexing works, how to submit your pages, and how to check whether Google has indexed them.
What is Google indexing?
Google indexing is the search engine’s process of analyzing web page content and storing information about it in Google’s index, the database it uses to retrieve search results.
Googlebot, Google’s automated site crawler, visits pages it discovers through links and sitemaps.
Google then examines the content to understand its subject, identify duplicate versions, and decide whether to add it to the index. When someone searches, Google looks through that index for relevant pages.
Some pages Google crawls stay out of or are dropped from the index, including:
- Pages marked noindex. This instruction tells Google to exclude a page from search results.
- Duplicate pages. Multiple URLs may display the same content, such as a collection sorted in different orders. Google can select one representative version, called the canonical URL, to index.
- Missing pages. A deleted product page that returns a 404 “not found” response is excluded from indexing. If it was previously indexed it may be removed.
- Low-quality pages. Google may skip pages whose content it considers insufficiently useful.
What are the benefits of Google indexing your website?
Indexing gives Google access to the pages shoppers could discover through organic search. A product page can reach someone searching for a specific item, while a buying guide can attract someone researching their options. These search results can bring prospective customers directly to the products and information they need.
An indexed page can still be absent from results for a particular search. Google’s ranking systems select and order pages based on their relevance, content quality, and usability, along with context such as the searcher’s location and settings.
How to get your website indexed by Google
Help Google find your store’s pages by submitting individual URLs or a sitemap. Follow these steps.
1. Request indexing
Google Search Console is a free tool for monitoring your site’s search performance and identifying crawling and indexing problems.
Indexing requests are optional and can apply to individual URLs. Google also discovers pages automatically through links and sitemaps.
To verify ownership of your Shopify store using an HTML tag:
- Turn off your store’s private mode so Google can access it.
- Sign in to Search Console and select Add property > URL prefix. Enter your store’s primary address, including https://, and click Continue.
- Choose HTML tag and copy the entire meta tag.
- In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store. Open your current theme’s actions menu and select Edit code.
- Open Layout > theme.liquid. Paste the tag directly below the opening <head> tag and click Save.
- Return to Search Console and click Verify. Keep the tag in place after verification.
Alternatively, verify a domain property by adding Google’s supplied TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings. Access Shopify-managed domains through Settings > Domains. Return to Search Console to complete verification.
Once verified, paste the full URL of a page into Search Console’s inspection bar. Open the results and select Request indexing. Google may still leave a requested page unindexed, and repeated requests for the same URL won’t speed up the process.
2. Create a sitemap and submit it to Google
An XML sitemap lists URLs you want search engines to discover and can provide details such as when pages were updated. Google chooses which listed URLs to crawl and index, so some may stay unprocessed.
Shopify automatically generates and updates your sitemap as you add products, collections, images, and content. Find it at your primary domain followed by /sitemap.xml.
To submit a sitemap to Google:
- Select your verified property in Search Console.
- Open Indexing > Sitemaps.
- Under Add a new sitemap, enter sitemap.xml after the prefilled domain.
- Click Submit.
Keep private mode off so Google can access your sitemap for SEO and store pages.
3. Confirm indexing
Crawling can take a few days to a few weeks. Check an individual page using Search Console’s URL Inspection tool:
- Enter the page’s full URL in the inspection bar.
- Read the status. “URL is on Google” means the page is indexed.
- If it’s not indexed, expand Page indexing to investigate the reason.
- After fixing an issue, select Test live URL to check the current page, and request indexing if appropriate. The live test checks whether Google can access and potentially index the page.
A Google search for site:yourdomain.com offers a quick spot check, but it may omit indexed pages. Use URL Inspection to confirm the status of a specific URL.
What to do when your website does not get indexed
Open the Page indexing report in Google Search Console for a site-wide view of URLs Google knows about. Under Why pages aren’t indexed, select a reason to see affected URLs.
Some exclusions are expected:
- Duplicate URLs. Shopify sets canonical URLs to identify the preferred version of each page. Use URL Inspection to check that Google selected the intended version and that it’s indexed.
- Intentionally blocked URLs. Leave deliberate exclusions in place for pages such as checkout and customer accounts. Focus your fixes on products, collections, and content you want shoppers to find.
Ensure you’ve enabled crawling
Your Shopify store must be public for Google to crawl its content. Turn off private mode before troubleshooting individual pages. Shopify’s default robots.txt allows crawling of public content while restricting cart, checkout, account, and certain duplicate content.
To investigate an unexpected block:
- Confirm the problem. Run URL Inspection’s live test and check Crawl allowed? for the affected page.
- Find the rule. Open https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Review Disallow rules in the applicable Googlebot or User-agent: * group. Disallowing broad paths such as /products/ can block important pages. Specific Allow rules can create exceptions.
- Edit the source. On Shopify, go to Online Store, open your published theme’s actions menu, and select Edit code. Create or edit a templates/robots.txt.liquid file, using Liquid to adjust problematic rules while retaining Shopify’s automatic defaults. On other platforms, use your CMS or web host’s file controls.
- Check the change. Save, reopen /robots.txt, and repeat the live test.
Follow Shopify’s robots.txt customization instructions or get help from a developer. A blocked URL can still be indexed if Google discovers it linked elsewhere because robots.txt only controls crawling.
Check for noindex tags
A noindex rule tells Google to exclude a page from its index. It can appear in a page’s HTML or an HTTP response header. To find and remove an unintended noindex rule:
- Identify the rule. In URL Inspection, check Indexing allowed? Look for noindex in a robots or googlebot meta tag, or in the X-Robots-Tag response header.
- Find its source. Review theme code, SEO app settings, CMS settings, or server configuration. On Shopify, also check search visibility settings, including a seo.hidden metafield set to 1 or an Unlisted product status.
- Remove unintended restrictions. Update the setting or code responsible, save, and run another live test. Google needs access to the page to detect the change.
Check for nofollow links
Google treats nofollow as a hint and may still crawl the linked page. For ordinary internal links to pages you want indexed:
- Right-click the link on your published site and select Inspect. Look for nofollow in the link’s rel attribute.
- Open the page editor, theme code, or app that generates the link. Remove nofollow, preserving any other attribute values.
- Save and inspect the published link again to confirm the change.
Check for orphan pages
Orphan pages have no links from other pages on your site. Google may discover them through a sitemap or external links. Internal links give Google additional routes to find them and help shoppers navigate to them.
On Shopify:
- Add important destinations to menus. Go to Content > Menus, choose a menu, and click Add menu item. Name the item, select its destination, click Add, then save.
- Link from relevant content. For example, link a bedding guide to the linen duvet covers it discusses. Use descriptive link text so readers know what they’ll find.
Confirm your site follows Google policies
Check your pages against Google’s technical requirements and spam policies:
- Access. Googlebot can reach the page and retrieve its content.
- Response. The page returns an HTTP 200 success status and displays the intended content.
- Content. Text uses a supported format, such as HTML.
- Spam. Follow best practices, such as eliminating keyword stuffing, text hidden to manipulate SEO rankings, and links created to manipulate search results.
Meeting these requirements makes a page eligible for indexing. Google still decides whether to include it in the index.
How to get website indexed by Google FAQ
Is Google indexing free?
Yes. Google charges nothing to crawl or index your pages. Google Search Console is also free and lets you submit sitemaps, request indexing for individual URLs, and investigate indexing problems.
What does it mean if a site is indexed by Google?
It means Google has stored information about one or more of your pages in its search database. Those pages can appear in search results. Google indexes individual URLs, so your homepage may be indexed while newly published products are still waiting.
How often does Google index my site?
Google has no fixed indexing schedule. It may revisit individual pages at different rates, based partly on how often their content changes. Use Search Console’s URL Inspection tool to check a page’s last crawl date and current indexing status.
Should you let search engines index your website?
Yes, if you want shoppers to find your store through organic search. Allow indexing of public product pages, collections, and useful articles. Choose which pages belong in search results, and protect private customer information with login requirements.
What if I don’t want a page to get indexed?
Add a noindex rule and allow Google to crawl the page so it can read that instruction. This can work for campaign landing pages with duplicate content intended only for ad visitors. To identify a preferred version of duplicate content for search, use a canonical tag.
How long does it take for Google to index my website after submission?
Indexing can take days or weeks, and some submitted pages stay unindexed. Google processes individual URLs on its own schedule. Track each page in the URL Inspection tool and investigate any reported problems. Repeated requests for the same URL don't change its crawling priority.
