Indexing and rankings are different things

Indexing means the search engine has saved the page and can show it. Ranking depends on many factors and changes from query to query and from region to region. If a page doesn’t appear for one query, that doesn’t yet mean it isn’t indexed.

Is the page accessible to the search engine?

Server errors, crawl restrictions, robots.txt or a noindex meta tag can prevent a page from being discovered and indexed. It’s best not to change settings at random: an incorrect fix can affect many pages at once. When we build a website, we make sure important pages aren’t blocked from search engines.

Webmaster tools

Indexing in Google can be seen in Google Search Console, and in Yandex in Yandex Webmaster. A sitemap.xml helps the search engine find important addresses, but doesn’t force it to index every page. A new website may need time, and nobody can guarantee an exact timeframe.

Content and structure

Every important page needs a clear topic. The title, main text, metadata and internal links help search engines understand it. Pages with nearly identical text are harder to distinguish. We don’t recommend repeating a target keyword just for search; the page should answer a real visitor question. That’s why we often create separate pages for different services, as on a multi-page website.

Internal links

If an important page isn’t linked to anything, it’s harder to find. Connections between pages are shown by navigation, topical links and a proper sitemap, and we build them into the structure from the very start. Visitors may also come from search not to the homepage but straight to a service page, so we make every important page understandable on its own; more on this in the article “What should a homepage include”.

Design won’t replace SEO

A responsive mobile layout, clear hierarchy, readable text and fast loading all help usability, but attractive design alone won’t secure high rankings. That also takes useful content, sound technical implementation and separate work to improve the site’s visibility. If visitors come to the website but don’t send enquiries, the cause is usually elsewhere; see the article “A beautiful website but no enquiries”.

What we check first

First, we identify which page can’t be found and for which search query. Then we check indexing and make sure the page isn’t blocked from crawling. Next we review server responses, canonical tags and the sitemap, followed by content, internal links and the mobile version.

In short

Search visibility starts with a technical check. A website needs to be accessible to search engines, clear in its content and easy to use, but no design technique can guarantee rankings. When SOMO STUDIO builds a website, we provide a clear structure and cover the basic technical requirements; ongoing SEO is a separate service.

— SOMO STUDIO