Last Updated on January 22, 2023 by Arif Chowdhury
If you have a website or blog, you want to index and rank your content as fast as possible because search engines’ organic traffic is completely free yet most complicated to achieve.
Online marketers spend millions of dollars advertising every month to reach their potential buyers through search traffic. In contrast, you can get that same benefit without spending a single dime on advertising if you know how to rank your content.
Though a high authority site (DA 60+) can easily rank its newly published content without doing anything except publish it. In comparison, a new site needs lots of hard work, both on-page and off-page SEO, to get a foothold in search engine ranking.
One key aspect of this is understanding how to get Google to index your site faster, which you can achieve through various techniques such as sitemaps, submitting URLs to the search console, and building backlinks.
How long does it take for new content to rank?
It is also important to note that the time it takes for new content to rank can vary depending on various factors, but generally, it can take anywhere from a few days to several months.
So if your site authority is low, it will be hard to rank your content. However, if you are smart, you can bypass this problematic scenario and achieve your desired success faster than anyone.
I am not saying that you will rank on the top within 30-60 days, as you saw in the fancy advertisement. No, I will not show you any pipe dream that is impossible to achieve. Instead, I will show you some practical ways to get there as fast as possible.
It is a step-by-step guideline. It’s not rocket science; if you have minimal SEO knowledge, then you can do it. However, I want you to read all of it without skipping anything if you’re going to achieve your desired success.
One of the most important things to focus on is content indexing, which you can achieve through search engine optimization techniques such as optimizing meta tags, submitting your sitemap to Google, and promoting your content on social media.
Additionally, it’s essential to remember that Google considers the freshness factor, also known as content recency when deciding which content to index and rank. Therefore, regularly updating your content and promoting it on social media can improve your chances of getting indexed and ranking faster.
So, let’s get started.
Part 1: How to Index your new content faster?
In part 1, I will talk about only the indexing procedures and how to index your new or old content faster than usual, especially if your site is new (below DA 20) and has low organic traffic.
Note: This part is optional to get success because even if you do nothing, Google crawler will automatically find your new content and index it. However, there is no guarantee when it is going to happen.
Depending on your content publication frequency, it may take 3-7 days or even more than one month.
For example, if you publish at least one piece of content every week, then your new content may get an index in less than 48h. But anything less frequent than this will increase the time of the automatic index process.
In this part, I will show you some ways to make this process faster than usual. One of the best ways to increase the speed of google indexing is through social media promotion, as well as implementing technical SEO such as proper use of meta tags and sitemaps.
Additionally, incorporating keyword research into your content marketing strategy can help increase the visibility of your content and make it more likely to be indexed quickly by Google.
Recommended Reading: 9 Best and Cheapest SEO Tools for Beginners? (Tested and Reviewed)
Method #1: Index request manually.
As I said, if your content publication frequency is less than 1 per week, automatic index procedures may take longer than usual.
So, in that case, you can manually do it.
No need to panic; it is simple as 1-2-3. Just visit “Google search console.”
It is the overview page of your search console. Google is kind enough to offer us a control panel to look at what is happening around our site in search engines.
To manually submit your content for index, I want you to click on “inspect any URL in” and type the URL you wish to index.
Like the above example, type the content URL you want to submit.
It will open a new section and show whether this content is indexed.
If your content is not indexed, then in that case, click on the “Test live URL” to test whether this content can be indexed or not.
If the search console shows a green signal, click “Request indexing.” It will prioritize this content in the queue. That’s it; you did manually submit your content for indexing.
Wait for a while; it may take 24-48h to index your content by Google crawl bot.
You can use this manual submission process not only for new content but also for updating old content.
Whenever you update your old content, submit your content URL for re-indexing; that’s it.
Method #2: Submit sitemaps.
Now, this is going to be very interesting. Do you know what sitemaps are? Well, it’s like a roadmap of your entire site.
What do we usually do when we try to find something in a city or the wild? First, we use a map of the entire country or local area.
Yes, this is what a sitemap does. It helps Google and other search crawl bots to navigate within your site.
Though you do not need to submit a sitemap because search crawl bots will eventually find your site contents, if you need to make it hurry, then you will need it.
What is the difference between submitting a sitemap and manual URL submission?
Well, technically, there is no difference. In manual URL submission, you do for a single URL, while in the sitemap, you can submit all URLs in bulk. So, it is a real time saver.
Now the question is – how to submit a sitemap?
Before you submit a sitemap, you must create one, don’t you? In that case, there are many paid and free tools. I am going to show you an example with the free one.
First, visit this site XML-sitemaps. It has both paid and free options. In the free version, you can generate a sitemap for up to 500 pages.
Anyway, type your site’s main URL and click start.
Depending on your site, it may take several minutes to finish.
After it finishes, click on the download option to download it in XML format. You can also upload it directly to your site root folder or the Google search console. Though I suggest, you do it manually for maximum privacy.
Now open this XML file using your notepad, which will look like this.
The next step is to visit your Cpanel file manager.
Upload your sitemap.xml file to your root folder, just like this.
Now visit the Google search console and click on the sitemaps.
Just type sitemap.xml in the URL and click submit. That’s it; you are done. Google crawl bot will index your URLs later. You can check the status from here as well.
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Method #3: Index through API.
This procedure is similar to sitemap submission. However, instead of manually submitting a URL or sitemap to the search console, you are about to use API to index your site content.
Currently, indexing through API is only available for a Job posting and event broadcasting sites.
It’s because those site contents are short-lived, maybe for 2-15 days at best. After a certain period, those posts will be deleted, unlike our regular website content.
So, you can directly notify Google about the contents of your site through API whenever these are created or deleted.
I recommend you read the Google indexing API Guide for a better understanding.
Part 2: How to Index and Rank your content faster?
Okay, let’s get warm because we are now discussing the core topic. Until now, we have learned how to index our site content manually and faster than usual.
Indexing is just the beginning and ranking your content is the central part.
Such prominent sites with high authority scores can easily rank their new content faster than a low authority site. Also, a site with high organic traffic can benefit from passive backlinks. Both combined can give them an extra edge which is impossible to achieve for a new site because they do not have a high authority score and do not get enough organic traffic from search engines.
Yet after that, I am going to teach you some essential factors that can directly impact content ranking. If you are smart enough, utilize these methods to get the advantage even if your site is new and has little to no authority and traffic.
Method #1: Proper internal linking structure.
Before you even think about outbound links (backlinks from other sites), I want you to focus on your internal linking structure. Though the external link is a crucial factor for ranking a site’s content, if you do not have a proper internal linking structure, then in the long term, it will hamper your site’s growth even more.
First, categorize your content in an excel sheet with a URL. It will help you to see all of your content at a glance.
Now visit your site and start linking contents to each other where applicable. Do not just link to content because you want to; read the entire content and link to your other content if appropriate.
For example, within my content “Keyword Optimization Insights and Why It’s Important (Beginner’s Guide),” I linked to my other SEO-related content. As a result, it will help my audience find more relevant content within my site, and the Google crawler bot will also rank my other content because they are linked.
Quick Note: If one of your content gets ranked in Google, whoever (your other content) is linked to this content will get a boost in ranking.
Almost every webmaster in the world knows this method. The more quality and authority backlinks you get; the easier it will be for your site to rank higher in SERP.
There are many ways to do it; take a look below:
- Guest post
- Broken link building
- Link request
- Infographic submission
- Provide testimonials
- Recover lost links
The best way is guest posting and link requests (typically or through broken links). Remember, an editorial link is the highest quality backlink that ever existed.
When you publish a guest post, it’s obvious you will mention your site content within it, and that’s why this type of link has less value than editorial links. Because in editorial links, there is no sign of your interaction thus, it is the most natural and valuable link to search engines.
Get as many high-quality backlinks as possible to your new content; this is the easiest way to rank your new content.
Method #3: Target low-competitive keywords.
There are some misconceptions about low-competitive keywords. Everyone keeps saying, “target low-competitive keywords,” but this is not true. You have to target “low-competitive topics,” not keywords.
We can no longer inject keywords as we did before because Google’s algorithm gets more innovative and can detect any keyword stuffing.
Even you may get ranked higher for a keyword you never mentioned in your content, not even a single time.
Do you know why? Because Google uses semantic keyword analysis for your content. It tries to find relevant keywords to understand the topic of your content.
If your site is new, try to write low-competitive content. For example, instead of writing “Social media marketing plan,” write “How to use a Facebook group for marketing your products” or “How to use Instagram to reach your local customers.”
The point is – that it does not focus on a broad topic; instead, its focuses on a subtopic. As a result, it will help you to rank your content much faster.
Method #4: Smartly implement LSI keywords.
What are LSI keywords? The complete form of LSI is “Latent semantic indexing.” In short, when you write an article about a topic, you naturally input keywords called LSI.
For example, in the article “15 ways to index and rank your new content faster in 2023,” LSI keywords are SEO, search engines, content, rank in Google, rank content, audience, visitors, keywords, etc.
Did you get it? Just ask yourself how you are supposed to write this article without these keywords. With these keywords, everyone can write an article on this topic.
Yes, this is precisely how Google analyzes content nowadays. It no longer relies on a specific keyword but focuses on semantic keywords.
Another example could be, let’s say you write an article about “link building methods“; however, you forget to mention the guest blog technique in your content. In this case, Google won’t find any keywords related to guest posts or blogging, am I right?
If your competitor writes an article on the same topic and if they talked about guest blogging in their content. Thus, keywords related to guest blogging will naturally appear in their content while none exist in yours.
Human readers do not need to look for semantic keywords to understand a topic, but a search engine is still a program, and that’s why they depend on LSI keywords to measure the depth of your content.
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Method #5: Answer high-valued questions.
This one is highly related to “topical authority.” Do you know what it is?
A topical authority is a new age apart from DA and PA. By getting lots of backlinks, a site can easily rank in Google. However, shortly, the topical authority will rule.
By investing enough money in link building, anyone can rank higher in Google without having high-quality content. In contrast, a true expert may not rank higher only because they don’t have enough funds to invest in expensive link building.
So, this is not fair.
It is why Google now focuses more on content rather than backlinks.
The fact is – the more you cover a different aspect of a topic, the more authority you will gain.
If you want to gain topical authority, choose a single topic and write everything related to that. Then, answer every possible question your audience may ask.
Use Google “people also ask” for an unlimited source of questions.
Method #6: Update old contents.
Most websites or blogs forget this vital part. Instead, they focus on building new fresh content but must remember to update their old content.
Can you increase your overall organic traffic by updating your old content, primarily if you have published hundreds of blog posts?
Here are some reasons why you need to update old content:
Your CTR (Click-through rate) is very low.
Examine the Search Analytics by login into your Google Search Console. If your CTR rate on those contents is inferior, it’s a vital sign that it is time to improve your content.
Have a look at the title and summary. Remember to include important keywords. Remember, it has to be both engaging and appealing to your audience. So make use of phrases most likely to entice people to click.
You are not getting enough organic traffic.
Examine the metrics to see which one of your content is getting little to no organic traffic. Then, get ready; you will be shocked by what you discover.
Doing nothing will not make the content climb to the top of the ranking. So you should prepare a spreadsheet, categorize your content to find out which is most valuable, and begin reviewing those first.
Your content has backdated information.
Content that needs to be updated needs improvement. And if the content generates a lot of traffic, you should still check whether it is updated.
Content with a lot of backdated information will negatively impact your business reputation. Should you provide the latest and relevant facts to your audience? It could be better for the audience who comes across it. They’ll undoubtedly accuse you if you give them incorrect information or explanations.
Method #7: Social media engagements and sharing.
While social media does not explicitly affect SEO rankings, the ties you share through social media sites help to raise brand awareness. As a result, they accumulate and affect SEO.
- Users sharing your content across different social media platforms
- People are talking about your content means a longer lifespan than usual
- It will increase brand awareness among general users
- Finally, boost your content visibility in local search
Your social media shares have no impact on your SEO scores. Even so, the more users share your content on social media more impactful signals it will provide. Eventually, search engines will put more value on your content.
What role does social media play in SEO? First, as it can push mass traffic from various sources to your site, it is critical because it indirectly impacts variables that affect search rankings.
They become promoters as you produce and post high-quality content that wins your target audience’s hearts.
What is the reason for this? That you provide them with something valuable. It ensures that the target group can read and share the articles with their community.
Their friends will follow in their footsteps, and the cycle will continue. You should remember that writing and creating content is an excellent way to increase the number of people who visit the website. Prepare your content in any size or style as long as it keeps the viewers interested.
Method #8: Getting more clicks from searches.
Ranking high in SERPs is excellent. However, it does not guarantee that people will visit your website.
What matters most is the number of people who click on your link and actively visit your site, reading your content thoroughly without bouncing back. Your ultimate goal should be to draw in more audiences who are most likely to stay and convert.
Matt Cutts from Google, in an interview, talked about the relevance of increasing organic CTR in 2009. Here’s a crucial quote that summarizes everything:
“What is important is not about how many impressions you got but how many times you clicked and how many conversions you ultimately receive.
Repeatedly analyze your content description, URL, and the snippets that Google creates to see if there are any opportunities to enhance them and make them more appealing to consumers since this would increase the likelihood of them clicking. As a result, you’ll see more audience and a higher conversion rate than before.”
Method #9: Constantly create fresh new content.
On the internet, every website or blog is a living being. Therefore, any change you make when a website is published affects how it interacts with users, clients, and search engines. On the other hand, a static website with no changes could be considered a “dead” object by search engines, with no new activities, updates, or new content.
Thankfully, your constantly updated website is a sanctuary for search engines looking for a new source of information that audiences are continually seeking. Simply put, search engines will become fond of you if you frequently provide high-quality and relevant content.
Make sure to consider this term because adding new content would improve indexing. But, unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Instead, you have a better chance of achieving higher rankings depending on what you offer, as search engines will visit your site more regularly.
Based on our research, if you publish four pieces of content every month or one content per week, then it will do the trick. However, some expert believes publishing 2-3 or more articles per week will be even better.
According to Neil Patel, once you publish 400 pieces of content, you will receive double the organic traffic from search engines; hence your ranking has already increased.
It’s not always enough to write high-quality content with lots of backlinks. However, you may rank higher for a targeted keyword and offer a valuable resource for the audience. However, more is needed to make your content stand out in the search results.
You must gain authority on a specific topic to outrank the industry’s biggest competitors. To put it another way, you’ll need topical dominion.
Topical authority demonstrates to the audience and search engines that the site is the house of all things relating to a particular subject or field of expertise. Consider it as if you were creating a library for a specific topic.
Every content you write is shelved with other posts on related topics and connected to additional relevant content. So to discover more, the reader needs to dig further into your pages.
Building a comprehensive resource for a subject improves your authority in that area and your ability to rank. If done correctly, your blog would signal to readers and search engines that it has high authority on that particular topic that the audience can depend on.
Method #11: Utilize URL structure properly.
Since your audience will arrive at your site through a link, you should be wondering if the URL of a particular page matters.
The truth is – yes, it is vital to your site’s SEO.
URL has to be relevant.
Surprisingly, many websites use URLs that appear like meaningless random numbers. Do you know they need to take advantage of a significant on-page SEO improvement that gives their audience a more puzzling experience?
The most critical step in customizing your website’s URLs is based on its category and content.
Simplify your content category.
Decide which category you’ll use and how you’ll represent it on the URL.
Don’t make it too complex. Try to use as few categories as possible for your content, as too many can clog up the URLs, and it will be frustrating rather than helpful.
Short and easy to remember.
It’s better to use a short URL. Ensure you are not stuffing it with needless words or letters; stay away from it. A word of warning, do not do any keyword stuffing in the URL.
Thus, your audience will undoubtedly view your material using history from a browser or a bookmark rather than traveling directly to the URL. So let’s make it possible for anyone to recall your content whenever required.
Conclusion.
There are still many minor ways to index and rank your content faster than usual; however, what I listed here in this article is vital to success.
Before I wrap things up, I want you to remember something. Do not use tricks, and don’t try to play with search engines. Because they are improving and becoming smarter faster than you, so sooner or later, you will get caught and lose it all.
The best practice is – even if it is slow, stay honest, and success will be yours.