The Difference Between Indexing and Positioning on Google
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 8:56 am
Creativemotions»SEO & Marketing»The Difference Between Indexing and Positioning on Google
the difference between indexing vs positioning on google
Indexing vs. Positioning: What’s the Difference and Most Importantly, Does it Affect SEO?
The terms indexing and positioning are often used interchangeably when talking about search engine optimization (SEO).
Some webmasters (mistakenly) believe that every time Google crawls a website, it indexes and ranks that site.
The truth, however, is that indexing and search engine ranking are two unique processes with their own purpose and characteristics.
Indexing
Indexing refers to the process of adding a website or web page to a search engine results page. But that doesn't mean that website or page ranks for any keyword. It just means that Google knows your site exists and has indexed it.
Be it Google, Bing, or Yahoo, all search engines are overseas chinese in worldwide data nothing more than directories of web pages hosted by other individuals and organizations. This directory of search listings is known as an index, and indexing occurs when a search engine adds a new listing.
You can verify that your site has been properly indexed in Google by searching for “site:yoursitename.com”. If it is indexed, you will see a list of all the other indexed pages. If it is not, Google will return a “does not match any documents” message.
All major search engines, including Google, usually find and index new websites automatically. Even if you don’t create any backlinks or submit a sitemap, search engines will find your site through other web properties and index it.
That said, there are some occasions when a search engine may not index a website. Google, for example, may remove a website or web page from its index if it violates its Webmaster Guidelines.
This usually only happens in extreme circumstances and webmasters can submit a reconsideration request after correcting the violation.
Positioning
Ranking refers to the position in which a website or web page matches a specific keyword in search engines.
If you run an e-commerce site specializing in original auto parts, for example, it might rank highly in Google’s search results or index for keywords like “original auto parts” and “original auto parts.”
There are several ways to find your site's rankings, the simplest being manual keyword research. This involves going to Google (in anonymous mode) and entering the keywords you want to know your rankings for.
Another easy way is to use Google Search Console . Formally known as Webmaster Tools, this free tool tracks a myriad of data about your website, including search rankings.
Alternatively, you can use third-party software or tools to track your rankings ( SEMrush , SeoZoom etc…).
So how do you get a higher search score?
This is done through SEO, which involves creating optimized content, adding meta title tags and meta description tags to pages, improving site speed, acquiring backlinks , and other optimization processes.
The Importance of Being Positioned on Google
As you probably have guessed, it is clearly more important to be positioned than to simply be indexed on Google.
A good positioning will bring the following benefits
Reach a wider audience by introducing yourself to the many web users;
Reach a specific target and improve the quality of your potential buyers;
Increase the number of requests and interactions with people;
Increase sales and customer loyalty;
Strengthen the online reputation and prestige of your services, and more generally of your brand.
You can always do it yourself, but if you want to avoid wasting time and avoid mistakes that could penalize rather than reward your website,
Creativemotions offers professional SEO services that take these burdens off your shoulders.
the difference between indexing vs positioning on google
Indexing vs. Positioning: What’s the Difference and Most Importantly, Does it Affect SEO?
The terms indexing and positioning are often used interchangeably when talking about search engine optimization (SEO).
Some webmasters (mistakenly) believe that every time Google crawls a website, it indexes and ranks that site.
The truth, however, is that indexing and search engine ranking are two unique processes with their own purpose and characteristics.
Indexing
Indexing refers to the process of adding a website or web page to a search engine results page. But that doesn't mean that website or page ranks for any keyword. It just means that Google knows your site exists and has indexed it.
Be it Google, Bing, or Yahoo, all search engines are overseas chinese in worldwide data nothing more than directories of web pages hosted by other individuals and organizations. This directory of search listings is known as an index, and indexing occurs when a search engine adds a new listing.
You can verify that your site has been properly indexed in Google by searching for “site:yoursitename.com”. If it is indexed, you will see a list of all the other indexed pages. If it is not, Google will return a “does not match any documents” message.
All major search engines, including Google, usually find and index new websites automatically. Even if you don’t create any backlinks or submit a sitemap, search engines will find your site through other web properties and index it.
That said, there are some occasions when a search engine may not index a website. Google, for example, may remove a website or web page from its index if it violates its Webmaster Guidelines.
This usually only happens in extreme circumstances and webmasters can submit a reconsideration request after correcting the violation.
Positioning
Ranking refers to the position in which a website or web page matches a specific keyword in search engines.
If you run an e-commerce site specializing in original auto parts, for example, it might rank highly in Google’s search results or index for keywords like “original auto parts” and “original auto parts.”
There are several ways to find your site's rankings, the simplest being manual keyword research. This involves going to Google (in anonymous mode) and entering the keywords you want to know your rankings for.
Another easy way is to use Google Search Console . Formally known as Webmaster Tools, this free tool tracks a myriad of data about your website, including search rankings.
Alternatively, you can use third-party software or tools to track your rankings ( SEMrush , SeoZoom etc…).
So how do you get a higher search score?
This is done through SEO, which involves creating optimized content, adding meta title tags and meta description tags to pages, improving site speed, acquiring backlinks , and other optimization processes.
The Importance of Being Positioned on Google
As you probably have guessed, it is clearly more important to be positioned than to simply be indexed on Google.
A good positioning will bring the following benefits
Reach a wider audience by introducing yourself to the many web users;
Reach a specific target and improve the quality of your potential buyers;
Increase the number of requests and interactions with people;
Increase sales and customer loyalty;
Strengthen the online reputation and prestige of your services, and more generally of your brand.
You can always do it yourself, but if you want to avoid wasting time and avoid mistakes that could penalize rather than reward your website,
Creativemotions offers professional SEO services that take these burdens off your shoulders.