Struggling to get your website found? Even the best content won’t rank if search engines can’t crawl or index it properly.
Poor crawlability means missed opportunities; lower traffic, fewer leads, and slower growth.
But here’s the good news: fixing it isn’t as hard as you think. With the right tweaks, you can help search engines discover and prioritize your pages, boosting visibility and sales.
In this article, an experienced Chicago Technical SEO company will teach you how to improve crawlability and indexing for higher rankings, no tech headaches required!
Let’s get your site the attention it deserves.
What Is Crawlability and Indexing? How Does It Affect SEO?
Does “crawlability” and “indexability” sound like Chinese to you? Let’s break this topic down…
Think of crawlability as a search engine’s ability to “walk” through your website. If pages are blocked, slow, or buried, Google’s bots can’t explore them, meaning they won’t get indexed.
Indexing is the next step. It’s when Google adds your pages to its library, making them eligible to rank.
No indexing? No rankings. No traffic. We can say this is a pretty fundamental step.
Why does all this matter for SEO? Simple:
- More crawlability = More pages discovered
- Better indexing = More ranking opportunities
- Faster crawling = Quicker updates in search results
If your site has broken links, poor structure, or bloated code, search engines hit roadblocks. And when they struggle, your rankings suffer.
The fix? Optimize for smooth crawling and instant indexing. Next, we’ll show you exactly how.
6 Ways to Enhance Website Crawlability & Indexing To Boost Rankings
Now that you know why crawlability and indexing matter, let’s get tactical.
These aren’t just “set-and-forget” fixes; they’re ongoing wins.
Implement these 6 strategies, and you’ll make it effortless for search engines to find, understand, and rank your pages.
Ready to outpace competitors? Let’s start:
Optimize and Manage Your Crawl Budget
Think of your crawl budget like a VIP pass for search engines; it determines how often Google’s bots explore your site.
Waste it on unimportant pages, and your key content gets ignored. Smart businesses maximize it by:
- Blocking low-value pages (like admin sections or duplicate product filters) via robots.txt
- Fixing 404 errors that force bots down dead ends
- Using canonical tags to stop duplicate content from diluting your efforts
- Prioritizing fresh/updated content in your internal linking
The result? Google spends its limited crawl time on pages that actually drive traffic and conversions.
For small sites, this might not seem urgent, but as you grow, it becomes critical for rankings.
Submit Your Site’s WebMap to Google
Your sitemap is like a treasure map for search engines; it tells Google exactly where to find your most valuable pages.
But here’s the catch: Google won’t use it unless you submit it through Search Console.
Here’s how to do it right:
- Generate a dynamic sitemap (most CMS platforms do this automatically)
- Submit via Google Search Console under “Sitemaps”
- Update it regularly when adding new content
- Include only canonical versions of pages
Bonus: Monitor the “Coverage” report to see which pages got indexed. Missing some? That’s your next optimization opportunity.
This simple 5-minute task can dramatically improve how quickly (and thoroughly) Google discovers your content.
Create an Internal Linking Strategy
Internal links are your website’s navigation system; they guide both users and search engines to your most important pages.
A smart linking strategy:
- Distributes page authority evenly across your site
- Helps Google discover and prioritize key content
- Improves user experience and reduces bounce rates
Here’s how to optimize your internal link structure:
- Link naturally within your content (no forced “click here” anchors)
- Ensure every important page is 3 clicks or less from homepage
- Use descriptive anchor text that tells Google what the page is about
- Fix orphan pages (those with no internal links)
Fix Crawling Errors ASAP
Broken links and crawl errors are like roadblocks for search engines; they waste your crawl budget and hurt rankings.
Google Search Console’s “Coverage Report” reveals these critical issues:
- 410 Gone for deleted pages (clearer than 404s)
- 301 Redirects for moved content
- Fix server errors (5xx) immediately – they’re ranking killers
- Resolve soft 404s (pages returning 200 but empty content)
Pro Tip: Set up email alerts in Search Console to get notified of new errors the moment they appear.
A clean site architecture keeps Google crawling smoothly and indexing efficiently.
Improve Site Speed and Mobile Accessibility
Over 50% of users abandon sites that take longer than 3 seconds to load.
Google is not indulgent either. If your site loads slowly or fails mobile tests, rankings suffer.
Critical page speed fixes:
- Compress images (WebP format cuts file sizes by 30%)
- Enable caching so repeat visitors load pages instantly
- Minify CSS/JS to reduce render-blocking resources
- Test mobile UX using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
Extra Tip: Use Core Web Vitals metrics in Search Console to identify specific speed bottlenecks.
Faster sites get crawled more thoroughly and rank higher, especially after Google’s page experience update.
Conduct Periodical Technical SEO Audits
Like a car tune-up, your website needs regular check-ups to maintain peak performance.
Just one broken redirect or missing canonical tag can silently hurt your rankings.
Essential audit checks:
- Index coverage (Search Console) for crawl errors
- Robots.txt for accidental page blocks
- HTTPS security and mixed content warning
- Structured data errors in Rich Results Test
Pro Tip: Schedule quarterly audits–more frequently if you regularly update content. Tools like Screaming Frog (free for small sites) automate 90% of the process.
Ready to Improve Crawlability & Indexing and Skyrocket Your Rankings?
You’ve now got the blueprint to make your website irresistible to search engines.
From optimizing crawl budget to fixing technical errors, these strategies ensure Google can easily find, understand, and rank your content.
But knowledge without action won’t move the needle.
Start with one high-impact task today, whether it’s submitting your sitemap or running a quick SEO audit.
Small steps compound into big ranking wins.
Need help implementing these changes? Don’t hesitate to call the technical SEO experts. Let’s turn your website into a traffic-generating machine.
Lesa Smith