In addition to hypertext and HTTP, URL is one of the basic building blocks of the web. Browsers use it to retrieve any and all published material online. Submitting a URL to Google is one of the essential functions performed for any website. It’s all part of a basic aspect of on-page SEO.

First, let’s get the basics out of the way. For example, what does URL stand for? In fact, it means uniform resource locator. A URL is the address of any given website on the internet.

A URL generally points to a unique entity, such as an HTML page, a CSS document or an image. A web server is supposed to handle its resources, which are its URL. That includes if you shift domains or have added new ones. 

It is through Google’s URL Inspection Tool that you tell the search engine that you have either new or updated content that it needs to crawl and index. Why ask Google to recrawl your URLs? Well, if you don’t ask it to recrawl your website, you may be left wondering if (and when) it will ever get done. In other words, you want to ask Google to recrawl your URLs to make sure it happens.

Format for Submitting a URL to Google

This process isn’t terribly difficult. It is as follows:

• Sign in to your Google Search Console account
• Select a property
• Copy the URL address you wish to submit
• Paste the URL into the upper part of the platform
• Check to see if the URL is indexable by clicking the “TEST LIVE URL” button
• Click on the “REQUEST INDEXING” button

Once these steps have been taken, Google then adds the submitted URL to its list of sites to be crawled. If you wish to monitor the status of your submission, this can be done. Simply paste a given URL into the exact same field a second time. At that point, it will say if that URL has been crawled and when.

Submitting a Sitemap to Google

Of course, there’s still more work to be done. Now, you want to keep on top of submitting a sitemap to Google.

So, exactly what is an XML sitemap? It’s a file listing your website’s important web pages. The objective is simple: to be certain that Google is indeed finding, crawling and indexing all of them. In addition, a site map helps Google better understand how your website is structured.

There may be some questions as to which pages you want to include in your sitemap. In general, it’s best to consider the relative importance of a URL. Is this the page you want people landing on for a particular subject? Maybe but maybe not. If not, you can simply add a “noindex” tag. You want to do this rather than trying to leave the URL out of your sitemap. Remember that if Google can find a page by following links, it can be indexed. In other words, leaving something out of the sitemap doesn’t mean it won’t be indexed.

Here is how you submit your sitemap to the Sitemap section of Google’s Search Console:

• Log on to the Google Search Console
• Choose a property
• Click the Sitemaps button located in the column menu on the right
• Enter a sitemap URL and then click the SUBMIT button

Need Help With All of This?

While the process of submitting a URL to Google is simple, it has to be done frequently. That’s why it’s best to leave these duties to a professional digital marketing team.

Dreamscape Marketing has the knowledge and experience needed to keep your website front and center on Google searches. Call us today at 888.307.7304 and we’ll make sure your website stays up to date and Google-ready at all times.