How Google Indexes Your WordPress.com Blog and Tips to Speed Up the Process

As a passionate blogger on WordPress.com, I’ve often wondered about the intricate dance between my posts and Google’s indexing process. Getting your blog indexed by Google is essential for visibility and growth, and understanding the hows and whys has been pivotal for me. Let’s dive into how Google indexes our blogs and explore some actionable tips to make that process faster.

Now, since I write with privacy in mind on this blog, it took me a while until I accepted that it’s ok for Google to index my blog. I realized that being visible on search engines is only a good thing and that my privacy is kept well as long as I don’t share too many personal details about me here.

Understanding Google Indexing

When you publish a new post on your WordPress.com site, Google’s bots, often referred to as web crawlers or spiders, are alerted to your content. Here’s how it typically unfolds:

1. Crawling: Google sends out bots to discover new content across the web. They follow links from one page to another, which means having other websites link to your blog can significantly enhance discoverability.
2. Indexing: Once the bots find your content, they analyze it and store it in Google’s index. This index acts like a massive library where information is organized and stored for retrieval when users search.
3. Ranking: After indexing, Google determines how well your pages match specific search queries and ranks them accordingly. Factors like keywords, quality of content, and user engagement play a crucial role here.

Faster Indexing: My Top Tips

As I navigated the blogging world, I stumbled upon several effective strategies to accelerate Google’s indexing of my posts:

1. Publish Quality Content

Creating high-quality, original content is non-negotiable. The more valuable your post is to readers, the more likely it is to be shared and linked to, giving Google a reason to index it promptly. You guys have been sharing my stuff on social media, especially on Bluesky and for that – I appreciate you! You also let me know when I’ve done something right and you’ve loved my content.

2. Use Tags and Categories Wisely

WordPress.com allows you to categorize your posts and add tags. Use relevant tags and categories to help Google understand the topics of your posts better. This helps in quick discovery when users search for related content. Like I’ve mentioned before, keep the use of categories to 1 or 2 and the tags to somewhere between 5 – 15. More or less of that and your post will be either regarded as spam or ignored.

3. Share on Social Media

Every time I publish a new post, I share the link on my social media profiles. This not only brings traffic to my blog but also signals to Google that there’s fresh content to be indexed. I share only to Bluesky, Pinterest and to the Fediverse. I know having a Facebook page and an instagram account is useful for a blog, but for this blog – it’s an absolute no. I’d rather have less visitors than handle main social media when other services are better and also available to the public with no or little hassle.

4. Submit Your Sitemap

While WordPress.com automatically generates a sitemap, it’s a good practice to submit it directly to Google Search Console. This tells Google where to find all the important pages on your blog and speeds up the indexing process. You can setup an account with the GSC and check your blog from time to time if you’d like. I have not done that yet.

5. Engage with Other Blogs

Leaving thoughtful comments on other blogs and participating in discussions can create backlinks to your blog. These links serve as pathways for Google’s bots to find your content more efficiently. I try and leave as many comments as I can on other blogs, no matter if I follow them or not. Even if the author of that blog does not visit yours, it leaves a permanent link that is useful for SEO purposes and also for other bloggers and readers to find you and subscribe to your blog. I’ve connected with at least two separate bloggers on WordPress.com by checking the comment section on a post.

6. Update Older Posts

If you have older posts, updating them with fresh information or enhancing their content can recapture Google’s attention. This practice not only helps with SEO but also keeps your content relevant for readers. This blog is still fairly new, so updating them so far is something I’ve rarely done. Most of the time I update old posts due to misspelled words or other things I’ve noticed are missing. Most often, I choose to write a new post altogether and then I link to my old one.

Conclusion

Every time I hit “publish”, or in my case “schedule” on WordPress.com, I feel a rush of excitement, akin to sending a message in a bottle out to the ocean. With these strategies, I’ve created a supportive environment for my content to flourish and be discovered. Remember, patience is key. While implementing these tips can speed things up, building an audience takes time and dedication. Keep writing, sharing, and engaging—your blog’s potential is limitless!

By focusing on these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to making sure that your thoughts and creativity reach a wider audience faster. Let your passion shine and inspire others through your words! Please have in mind, though that growing and indexing a blog takes time, most often years. Few blogs are indexed right away and even fewer can feel the success of a blog as well. Hang in there and trust the process as they say.