In a recent video uploaded to Google’s Search Central YouTube channel, Martin Splitt, a developer advocate at Google, explained why pages that are indexed may still fail to appear in search results.
In the video, Splitt breaks down Google’s four-stage search process: discovery, crawling, indexing, and serving/ranking.
But first, what exactly are the stages of Google’s search process?
Discovery
This is the first step, where Google discovers that a new URL exists on the web. Having a sitemap (a page that lists all the pages that appear on your website) can assist Google in discovering your content more easily.
Crawling
This is where Google sends its crawl bots to visit the URL to examine its content.
Indexing
After Google examines the page, it stores the content within its database through a process called indexing.
Serving/Ranking
If the page is deemed relevant and useful to a user’s search query, Google will display it in its search results.
Splitt emphasized that even if a page is indexed, this does not guarantee that it will appear in search results. For that to happen, the page must still pass the serving/ranking stage.
Why may indexed pages still not appear in Google’s search results?
There are several factors that can prevent a page from appearing in search results, including:
Relevance
A page may fail to appear in search results if Google believes that other pages are more relevant and useful to the user’s search query.
As Splitt explained in the video, “we [may] have other pages that we think will help the user more than yours.”
User Engagement
If a page has low user engagement, this signals to Google that users may not find value from the content. This can reduce its chances of being shown in search results, as Google wants to show content that users find useful.
How can you improve your pages visibility in search results?
To address this, Splitt suggested reviewing your content, making sure it provides useful and relevant information that meets the needs of the users searching for it.
A good way to check this is by performing a manual search of the keyword or query you want to rank for and analysing the top performing results. What is Google prioritising, and does your content match the intent of these results?
If your content isn’t as helpful or relevant, adjusting your content accordingly can help improve its visibility within search results.
Are the pages on your site failing to show up on Google? Contact Engage Web today to find out how we can help improve your website’s visibility!
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