Google needs to index your backlinks to boost your rankings. But getting backlinks indexed quickly can be tricky especially with Google’s constant updates.
This guide provides a comprehensive look at safe and efficient techniques to ensure your new backlinks get indexed rapidly. This article will equip you to maximise your backlink indexing efforts whether you’re an SEO pro or new to link building.
Understanding Backlink Indexing and SEO
Non-indexed links essentially don’t exist from Google’s perspective until they are added to the index.
So why is fast backlink indexing important? The sooner your new links get indexed, the quicker they can start sending ranking signals to Google and positively impacting your SEO performance. Delayed indexing postpones the SEO value of the links you’ve worked hard to earn.
There are several common reasons why your backlinks may not be indexed right away:
- The linking content lacks uniqueness or quality signals
- The backlinks themselves are from low-quality or spammy sources
- You built links on pages that use the “noindex” tag to discourage crawling
- You acquired backlinks on platforms rife with user-generated spam
Optimising for fast backlink indexing allows you to fully capitalise on your link building investments and blog outreach efforts sooner rather than later. The following sections outline safe, effective techniques to get your new backlinks indexed rapidly without running afoul of Google’s guidelines.
Importance of Building High-Quality Backlinks
Getting backlinks indexed faster starts with building high-quality backlinks.
Links from spammy sites or platforms rife with user-generated spam hold little weight and credibility.
Acquiring backlinks through manipulative tactics like link buying, link schemes and link exchanges can hinder indexing. These unnatural link practices violate Google’s guidelines and can negatively impact your site if detected.
Focus instead on earning backlinks naturally through:
- Outreach
- Publicity
- Guest posting
- Developing quality content
High-quality backlinks come from trustworthy, relevant websites with high domain authority. Editorial links from respected publications and industry sites carry much more indexing influence. Tools like Moz’s Link Explorer can help identify authoritative link opportunities.
How to Get Backlinks Indexed Faster
There are several safe and effective ways to index backlinks you can use to help get your new backlinks indexed rapidly by Google:
- Submit the URL with your new backlink to Google Search Console directly if you have access to the linking site. This notifies Google about the new link and requests crawling and indexing.
- Use third-party indexing tools or services like IndexMeNow and OneHourIndexing to submit URLs for immediate fetching and indexing by Google’s crawlers. This can bypass waiting for the next crawl.
- Ping the page containing your new backlink as a reminder for search engines to recrawl it. Pinging a URL sends a notification to services that monitor websites for updates.
- Share the linking page URL on popular social platforms like Twitter to expedite indexing. Social signals draw search engine attention.
- Subscribe to your backlink URL if the linking site offers RSS feeds. Feed readers act as another way to get pages indexed faster.
- Acquire additional backlinks pointing to the existing page hosting your original backlink. This compounds signals for Google to recrawl and index that page.
- Post on Web 2.0 platforms. Publishing content with embedded backlinks on sites like Blogger acts as another indexing avenue for your links.
- Implement social signals. Services that createrented social engagement around your links can accelerate indexing through increased online visibility.
Keep in mind that none of these tactics guarantee immediate indexing. Patience is still required as Google’s algorithms ultimately control crawling and indexing schedules.
Checking for Indexing Issues
Even after employing tactics to speed up indexing, sometimes your backlinks still don’t get indexed right away. Before getting frustrated, it’s important to check if there are any underlying indexing issues at play. Here’s how to check indexing issues.
- Ensure the links pointing to your site are actually “follow” links and not “nofollow.” Google may skip indexing nofollow links.
- Inspect the page where your backlink is located to see if it has a “noindex” meta tag. This tag tells search engines not to index that page’s content, including your backlink.
- Look at the quality and relevance of the surrounding content. Low-quality, thin, duplicative or spam-filled pages may get deprioritized for indexing by Google.
- Check if the linking domain itself is trusted or has been flagged as malicious/spam by Google. Backlinks from banned or penalised sites likely won’t get indexed.
Resolving any of these potential issues increases the chances of your backlinks getting properly indexed. A little quality control on your link sources prevents wasted indexing efforts.
Tracking and Monitoring Backlinks in Google Search Console and Tools
No SEO strategy is complete without diligently tracking and monitoring your efforts – and backlink indexing is no exception. Flying blind never yields optimal results.
Have a clear picture of what’s happening with your backlinks over time to guarantee your link indexing initiatives are working effectively. Which links get indexed, which didn’t, and how quickly?
You can use these powerful tools exist for comprehensively monitoring your backlink profile and indexing status:
- Ahrefs Backlink Checker – Ahrefs’ backlink analysis shows all referring domains and pages linking to your site. You can filter to see which links are indexed vs. not indexed.
- Google Search Console – The “Links” report inside Google Search Console reveals which specific backlinks Google has detected and indexed for your property.
- SEMRush Backlink Audit – SEMRush’s backlink audit tool analyses your inbound link profile, including an Index Status check to identify non-indexed links.
- Rank Ranger – Rank Ranger crawls websites to check indexed backlink counts and statuses to measure indexing efficiency.
- Manual Checks Always supplement third-party data by manually checking indexing through private browsing searches like “site:example.com” to validate.
Consistent tracking allows you to quickly spot indexing snags, test new indexing methods, and validate your link building ROI. Don’t let all your outreach go to waste – monitor indexing vigilantly.
Best Practices and What to Avoid to Get your Backlinks Indexed
When it comes to indexing backlinks efficiently, there are some best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid:
Best Practices:
- Be Patient – Google’s crawlers work on their own schedule. Allow sufficient time (4-6 weeks) for natural indexing before getting antsy.
- Build Quality Links – Focus link building efforts on earning backlinks from authoritative, trusted, and relevant websites.
- Leverage Proper Tactics – Use approved methods like submissions, indexing services, social sharing, and following Google’s guidelines.
- Track Indexing Closely – Implement monitoring and auditing to validate your backlinks are getting indexed successfully.
What to Avoid:
- Link Buying/Schemes – Never purchase or acquire backlinks through any manipulative link schemes. These violate Google’s policies.
- Passive Waiting – Don’t just wait idly for backlinks to get indexed on their own. Actively employ indexing techniques.
- Noindex Platforms – Avoid building backlinks on sites that are entirely blocked by a “noindex” directive.
- Chasing Non-Indexed Links – Don’t obsess over a few stragglers that don’t get indexed – some are inevitable and ok.
- Spammy Tactics – Steer clear of any black hat or spammy link indexing methods like hackable redirects or cloaking.
Maximise your chances of getting backlinks indexation rapidly while staying safe and compliant by following indexing best practices and avoiding restricted tactics.
Conclusion to Index Backlinks Faster
Getting backlinks indexed doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to understand how it works. Build quality links and use the right tactics.
Remember, some links may take time to index which require patience. So being proactive with the outlined methods prevents backlinks from getting stuck in limbo.
Track and monitor indexing efficiency. This data helps you optimise what works and discard what doesn’t. Small tweaks yield big results.
The right approach and full effort will provide you a foundation in indexing your backlinks quickly.
