As content creators, podcasters, and website owners, we all want our shows to be easily discoverable by listeners. One of the best ways to ensure that happens is to have your site properly indexed in Google. But what happens if you start wondering whether your site is even showing up on Google’s radar? The good news is that it's easy to check and take action if you need to.
Why Does Being Listed on Google Matter?
Google is the largest search engine in the world, handling billions of searches each day. If your website is not indexed by Google, it’s like having a store in the middle of nowhere—no one will be able to find you unless you directly send them your link. Without indexing, your website won’t appear in search results, limiting your ability to grow your audience or attract potential customers.
Having your pages indexed means they can appear in search results when people type in queries related to your content, products, or services. This helps new listeners find your podcast, discover new episodes, or learn more about what you offer.
How to Check If Your Website is Indexed by Google
Here’s the good news: Checking if your website is listed on Google is incredibly easy. All you need is a Google search bar and your website’s domain. Here’s how you can quickly find out if Google knows your site exists.
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Go to Google Search
Open your browser and navigate to Google.com. -
Use the “site:” Search Operator
In the search bar, type the following:site:yourwebsite.com(Just replace yourwebsite.com with your actual domain, e.g.,
site:podcastshow.com). -
Review the Results
Hit enter, and Google will show you how many of your pages are indexed. If you see a list of your pages, that means Google has found and indexed your site.The number of results shown is a good indicator of how many pages Google is aware of on your site. Keep in mind, it’s not always an exact number, but it gives you a general idea of your site’s presence in the search engine.
What If No Results Appear?
If no results show up after performing the search, it means Google hasn’t indexed your website yet. But don’t panic! This is something you can easily fix.
How to Get Your Site Indexed by Google
If you’re not seeing any results, follow these steps to get your site listed and start showing up in search results:
1. Submit Your Site to Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a powerful tool that lets you manage your site’s presence on Google. It helps you submit sitemaps, monitor your site’s health, and resolve any potential issues that might affect indexing.
- If you haven’t already, sign up for Google Search Console.
- Add and verify your website.
- Submit your sitemap so Google can easily crawl and index your site’s pages.
2. Create and Submit a Sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists all the important pages on your website, helping search engines crawl and index them more efficiently. You can create a sitemap using tools like Podpage, which automatically generates a sitemap for your podcast website. (Your sitemap is yourdomain.com/sitemap ).
Once your sitemap is ready, you can submit it directly to Google through Search Console. This speeds up the process of indexing and ensures Google knows about all your important pages.
3. Make Sure Your Site is Crawlable
Sometimes, technical issues can prevent Google from indexing your site. Check that your website’s settings are not blocking Google’s crawlers (the bots Google uses to scan and index content). This can be done by reviewing your robots.txt file and ensuring it’s not inadvertently preventing search engines from accessing important pages.
You can also use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or PageSpeed Insights to make sure your site is optimized for crawling and indexing.
To see your robot.txt file in click on Pages and see the option near the bottom..
4. Build Backlinks and Promote Your Site
Backlinks—links from other websites to yours—play an important role in helping Google discover your content. The more authoritative sites link to your podcast, the faster and more effectively Google will find your site.
Start by sharing your site and podcast in relevant communities, guest posting on other blogs, and reaching out to podcast directories to list your show. The more exposure your site gets, the more likely Google will crawl it and index your pages.
Additional Tips to Ensure Google Loves Your Site
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Fresh Content: Regularly update your website with new content, whether it’s new podcast episodes, blog posts, or pages. Fresh content signals to Google that your site is active and worth indexing.
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Optimize for SEO: Ensure that your pages are optimized for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) by using relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive titles. This will help Google understand the content of your pages and improve your chances of ranking higher in search results.
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Mobile-Friendly Design: Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in its rankings, so ensure that your site is optimized for mobile users. A responsive design will make your site look great on all devices and improve your site’s chances of being indexed.
Wrapping Up
Ensuring that your podcast website is indexed by Google is an essential step in increasing your visibility and growing your audience. By following these simple steps—checking your site’s status, submitting your sitemap, and making your site more discoverable—you can ensure that Google knows you exist and that your content reaches the people who are searching for it.
If you need help with getting your show listed in Google or optimizing your site for search engines, check out our help desk article or reach out to us. We're here to help!
