Managing Google Crawlers

Ask Google to Recrawl Your URLs

When you've made changes to your website, like adding new content or updating existing pages, you want search engines like Google to reflect those changes as soon as possible. This process of updating search engine indexes is called "crawling." While most content management systems (CMS) automatically notify search engines about new content, sometimes you need to give them a little nudge. This document explains how to request Google to recrawl your URLs.

Understanding Automatic Submission

If you're using a hosted CMS like Blogger, WordPress.com, Wix, or Squarespace, chances are your platform handles submitting new content to search engines automatically. This means when you publish a new blog post or update a page, your CMS informs Google, simplifying the process for you. However, it's always a good idea to check your platform's support articles or documentation to confirm their specific process for submitting content to search engines.

Methods for Requesting a Crawl

Google offers several ways to request a recrawl of your web pages, depending on the number of URLs you need to be reindexed:

1. URL Inspection Tool (For a few URLs)

The URL Inspection tool, available within Google Search Console, allows you to request a crawl for individual URLs. This method is ideal for situations where you've made significant changes to a few specific pages and want to ensure Google indexes those changes quickly.

Example:

Let's say you run a food blog and have completely revamped your recipe for "Chocolate Chip Cookies." You've updated the ingredients, instructions, added new images, and even included a video tutorial. Since this is a key page on your site, you want Google to reflect these changes as soon as possible. Using the URL Inspection tool, you can submit the specific URL of your updated recipe page (e.g., "https://www.yourfoodblog.com/chocolate-chip-cookies/") for recrawling.

Code Example (Submitting a URL through Google Search Console API):

from googleapiclient import discovery

# Replace with your actual values
api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY'
search_console = discovery.build('searchconsole', 'v1', developerKey=api_key)
url = 'https://www.yourfoodblog.com/chocolate-chip-cookies/'

request = search_console.urlInspection().index().inspect(
    body={'inspectionUrl': url, 'siteUrl': 'https://www.yourfoodblog.com/'}
)
response = request.execute()

print(response)

Important Considerations:

• You need to be an owner or full user of the Search Console property to request indexing through the URL Inspection tool.

• There's a daily quota for submitting individual URLs using this tool.

• Repeatedly submitting the same URL won't expedite the crawling process.

2. Submitting a Sitemap (For many URLs)

When you have a large website with frequent updates or have made significant changes across numerous pages, submitting a sitemap is the most efficient method.

What is a Sitemap?

A sitemap is essentially a roadmap of your website, presented in an XML format that search engines can easily understand. It lists all the important URLs of your website that you want Google to crawl and index.

Example:

Imagine you manage an e-commerce store selling handmade jewelry. You've recently added a new product category for "Gemstone Rings" and listed several new ring designs within this category. Since you've made changes to multiple pages (the new category page and individual product pages), submitting an updated sitemap to Google will help them discover and index these new URLs.

Code Example (Sitemap.xml Structure):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.yourjewelrystore.com/</loc> 
    <lastmod>2023-10-26T10:00:00+00:00</lastmod> 
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.yourjewelrystore.com/gemstone-rings/</loc>
    <lastmod>2023-10-26T10:15:00+00:00</lastmod> 
  </url>
  <url>
    <loc>https://www.yourjewelrystore.com/gemstone-rings/amethyst-ring.html</loc>
    <lastmod>2023-10-26T10:30:00+00:00</lastmod> 
  </url>
  </urlset>

This code snippet shows an example of a sitemap.xml file, outlining the structure and essential elements. Remember to replace the example URLs with your actual website and page URLs.

Benefits of Using a Sitemap:

• Helps Google discover all the pages on your website, especially new or recently updated ones.

• Provides valuable metadata about your pages, such as the last updated date, which can help Google prioritize crawling.

• Useful for websites with a large number of pages or complex structures.

How to Submit a Sitemap:

You can submit your sitemap to Google through your Google Search Console account.

Crawling Timeframes and Expectations

It's essential to understand that crawling and indexing take time. While requesting a crawl can help expedite the process, there's no guarantee of instant inclusion in search results.

Google's systems prioritize crawling and indexing based on various factors, including:

• Content Quality: High-quality, original, and useful content is given higher priority.

• Website Authority: Established websites with a good reputation tend to be crawled more frequently.

• User Demand: Pages that are frequently accessed by users are likely to be crawled more often.

Monitoring Crawl Progress:

You can monitor the progress of Google's crawl using the following tools:

• Index Status Report (Search Console): This report provides insights into how Google is indexing your website, including any indexing errors encountered.

• URL Inspection Tool (Search Console): Use this tool to check the index status of specific URLs and see when they were last crawled.

Remember:

• Crawling is an ongoing process; Google continuously crawls and indexes web pages to keep its search results fresh and relevant.

• Focus on creating high-quality content, optimizing your website for user experience, and building authoritative backlinks to improve your chances of being crawled and ranked favorably by Google.