What is the difference between crawling and indexing?

Crawling and indexing are often mentioned in the same breath, but they are two different steps in the process by which Google includes websites in its search results. Crawling is like exploring your website: Googlebot - Google's robot - visits pages, follows links and gathers information. Only when that information is considered valuable and understandable does indexing come into the picture. Then Google decides to actually include the page in its index so that it can appear in search results.

Think of crawling as the first introduction, and indexing as the invitation to really get involved. No indexing means no visibility in Google - no matter how well your page is written.

How does Google decide what will and will not be indexed?

Not every page that is crawled automatically ends up in the index. Google looks at quality, structure and relevance. Is your content unique? Does it add value compared to similar pages? And is the technical structure logical? Think clear headings, internal links and a sitemap. Factors such as speed, mobile-friendliness and absence of technical errors also weigh in.

In addition, the crawl budget plays a role. Each website gets a certain number of pages from Googlebot that can be crawled per unit of time. If you waste that budget on irrelevant, duplicate or technical pages, your important pages might remain onder the radar.

Having a new domain indexed is often extra challenging. Because little history and trust have been built up yet, you need to be even sharper on technical details and content structure at the start. In this blog about indexing a new domain explains how to approach that process in phases, with concrete tips on how to properly align analysis and implementation.

What can you do yourself to get better indexed?

A good technical foundation is essential. Think of a clear structure with logical URLs, internal links and an up-to-date sitemap that you submit via Google Search Console. Do not forget your robots.txt file either - in it you specify which parts of your site may or may not be crawled.

But technology alone is not enough. Content remains the foundation. Make sure your pages add something. That could be by going deeper into a onderopic than competitors, or by answering questions that remain unanswered elsewhere. Use structured data to give Google extra context, and avoid 'thin content' - pages that offer little or no content value.

Why some pages are crawled but not indexed

This is more common than you think. It does not immediately mean that there is something wrong with your page, but it does signal it. Maybe the page is too new and Google has yet to make a decision. Or it is too similar to another page on your site. Sometimes it simply lacks context or authority to be found relevant.

Technical reasons can also play a role. A noindex tag in the source code explicitly tells Google not to include the page. Another cause could be that the page can only be accessed via forms or scripts, which means Googlebot cannot track it properly.

Balancing crawling and indexing

A common mistake is that websites constantly keep adding new pages, zonder dwelling on what is already on the site. This fragments the crawl budget and can reduce index quality. Regularly cleaning up, redirecting or merging pages is therefore important.

Finding a balance between providing new content and keeping existing pages onder is essential. Focus on your most important pages - the so-called 'cornerstone content' - and make sure they are always up-to-date and crawlable.

Looking beyond the index: how Google interprets your page

Indexation is not an end goal, but an intermediate step. The ultimate goal is to be visible in relevant search results as well as generate clicks. Google not only looks at the content of your page, but also at the context of your page. Do you fit in with a certain theme? Have you built up authority with other strong pages or backlinks?

A page that is indexed but not ranking may still need work on search intent, content depth or user signals. Only when that puzzle is right can you count on visibility that pays off.

Mastering and continuing to develop the basics

Understanding how crawling and indexing work lays a solid foundation for any kind of search engine optimisation. But it doesn't stop there. That knowledge needs to be continuously applied and polished, because Google's algorithm changes, and so does user behaviour. For those serious about this, there is the SEO training of Onder. There you will learn not only how Google works technically, but more importantly how to use content, technology and authority smartly to achieve your goals.

This way, you don't just build a findable website, but a sustainable SEO strategy that moves with the market and stays ahead.