Still not indexed after 2 weeks

Optimizing New Websites for Fast Indexing: A Case Study on RaceEventSearch.com

Launching a new website often presents the challenge of prompt and efficient indexing by search engines, which is crucial for gaining visibility and traffic. Recently, a website owner embarked on rebranding their race event search platform, aiming to establish a stronger online presence through a fresh domain and improved SEO practices. Despite diligent efforts, the site has yet to appear in Google’s or Bing’s search results after two weeks. This article explores the scenario, common pitfalls, and expert tips to expedite website indexing.

Background

The owner’s original site was hosted on an unrelated domain, and due to limited SEO experience, initial configurations were suboptimal, resulting in minimal search engine traction. To remedy this, they purchased a new domain, migrated the website content, and submitted sitemaps to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Despite these proactive steps, only a few manually requested pages are indexed, with the rest remaining unseen by search engines.

Challenges Encountered

1. Indexing Delays: Search engines can take time to discover and evaluate new websites, especially if the site has low authority or insufficient backlinks.
2. Site Visibility and Crawlability: Factors such as robot.txt files, meta tags, or server configurations might inadvertently block crawlers.
3. Sitemap Submission and Validation: Proper sitemap submission is crucial, but it must also be correctly formatted and up-to-date.
4. Content Quality and Structure: Search engines favor comprehensive, well-structured content that provides value.

Best Practices for Faster Indexing

1. Ensure Proper Technical Setup
2. Verify that your robots.txt file does not prohibit crawling.
3. Use “Fetch as Google” in Google Search Console to test crawlability.

4. Confirm that your sitemap is correctly formatted and includes all essential pages.

5. Enhance Site Authority Gradually

6. Acquire backlinks from reputable sites relevant to your niche.

7. Share your website on social media platforms to generate initial traffic and signals.

8. Optimize Content for Search

9. Ensure each page has unique, keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions.

10. Use clear header tags and a logical site structure.

11. Utilize Manual Submission and Requests

12. Continue submitting individual URLs via the URL Inspection tool.

13. Use the “Request Indexing” feature in Google Search Console when updating pages.

14. Monitor and Troubleshoot

15. Regularly check