As someone that recently started a blog, one of the first things you want to do before publishing your first post is to submit your blog to Google.
This step is very important if you want to get visibility, traffic, or know how your website is performing across the web.
In the past, I’ve noticed that a lot of new bloggers totally do skip this step because they were not informed. So, in today’s guide, I’ll be showing you the steps you can take to submit your blog to Google, Bing and other search platforms.
What Does It Mean to Submit a Blog to Search Engines?
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Search engines such as Google and Bing help people find information on the web.
For your blog posts to appear in search results, search engines generally have to be able to discover the pages, crawl their content and decide whether to include them in their index or not.
Submitting your blog or sitemap helps search engines discover your content. However, it doesn’t guarantee that every page will be indexed or appear at the top of search results.
It’s more like a first step to your blog, website or content getting indexed and seen online. And whether you’re building on WordPress, Wix or any other platform, you still have to submit your blog to the search engine.
How to Submit Your Blog to Google
Most experts usually start with Google Search Console. This free tool helps you monitor your website’s visibility in Google Search and identify potential indexing problems.
Here’s how to use it.
Step 1: Add your blog
Visit Google Search Console and sign in with your Google account. You can use the link here to register.
Ater you have registered with your Gmail account, select the option to add a property, then enter your website address.
Follow the verification instructions to confirm that you own or manage the site.
Step 2: Submit your sitemap
A sitemap is a file that lists important URLs on your website and helps search engines discover them.
Once your property (your blog or website) is set up, open the Sitemaps report in Search Console and submit your sitemap URL.
If you’re using WordPress, your SEO plugin or website platform may already generate a sitemap for you. With Yoast SEO, for example, you can check the plugin’s settings to find your sitemap.
Step 3: Check whether your pages are indexed
After submitting your blog to Google, the search engine bots will crawl and index it but. Sometimes this process takes a few hours or weeks for newer websites. But you still have to confirm that this process has taken place the way it should.
To do that, open the URL Inspection tool in Search Console and enter the address or URL of a blog post or page you want Google to check.
The tool can show whether Google has discovered or indexed the page. After you input the page link.
If the result returns as not indexed, you can request indexing.
That’s it! You’ve taken the important steps to help Google discover your blog.
Remember, submitting a sitemap or requesting indexing doesn’t guarantee that Google will include your pages in search results. Although they do, in most cases.
How to Submit a Blogspot Blog to Google
If you’re using Blogger, also known as Blogspot for blogging, you can make your blog discoverable without installing a separate SEO plugin.
First, check your search visibility settings.
- Sign in to Blogger.
- Select the blog you want to make visible.
- Click Settings in the menu.
- Find the Privacy section.
- Turn on Visible to search engines.
This allows search engines to discover your blog on its own.
But, if you want to monitor the performance or have a more in-depth understanding of what is going on, you should still add your Blogspot blog to Google Search Console to monitor its indexing and search performance.
If you want to submit a sitemap for blogspot, check whether your blog’s sitemap is available at an address ending in /sitemap.xml.
For example, a Blogspot address might look like this: https://yourblogname.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml
Replace yourblogname.blogspot.com with your actual blog address, and make sure the sitemap loads correctly before submitting it in Search Console.
If you use a custom domain, check the corresponding sitemap address for that domain.
One more thing: you don’t need to submit every new Blogspot post manually. Blogger can help search engines discover new content automatically.
For more information, see Blogger’s official search visibility guide.
How to Submit Your Blog to Bing
You don’t just want to submit your blog to Google alone because there are other places to consider when you want to submit your blog to search engine.
For instance, Bing also provides tools that help bloggers monitor how their content is discovered.
To get started with Bing:
- Visit Bing Webmaster Tools (using this link: bing.com/toolbox/Webmasternew).
- Sign in and add your website.
- Follow the instructions to verify ownership if required.
- Open the Sitemaps section.
- Submit your sitemap URL.
If your website is already verified in Google Search Console, Bing may offer an option to import your verified site. This can be done with a single click.
Once your site is set up, you can use Bing Webmaster Tools to monitor sitemap processing and investigate certain crawling or indexing issues.
What If Your Blog Posts Still Don’t Appear on Google?
So you’ve submitted your blog to Google, but you still can’t find your articles in search results. What should you do?
Before you panic, check the following:
- Your blog is new: Google may need time to discover and crawl your pages. It takes from days to sometimes weeks, for very new blogs.
- Search visibility is disabled: Check your Blogger settings or WordPress visibility settings to ensure that your blog can be accessed by the search engine.
- Your pages are blocked: Look for accidental noindex directives, robots.txt restrictions or other crawling issues.
- Your content isn’t indexed: Use URL Inspection in Search Console to investigate the affected page. You can check for individual pages.
- Your content needs improvement: Make sure your posts answer readers’ questions clearly and provide useful, original information especially if it is a new blog.
Fix any problems you discover before requesting another crawl. Repeatedly submitting the same URL won’t make Google index it faster.
Also, remember that indexing and ranking are two different things. Getting your article into Google’s index does not automatically mean it will rank on the first page.
It might still be indexed and still end up ranking many pages behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve put together some of the most frequently asked questions on this subject to further guide you on how to submit your blog to Google and Bing, get indexed and start receiving traffic.
How long does it take Google to index a blog?
There is no fixed timeline. Google may discover and index a page within days, but it can take longer. Submitting a sitemap does not guarantee immediate indexing.
Do I need to submit every blog post to Google?
No. Google can discover new posts through links and sitemaps. You can use URL Inspection when you need to check an individual page or request a recrawl (mostly done after an update or fixes).
Can I submit my Blogspot blog to Google?
Yes. Enable Visible to search engines in Blogger’s settings, then use Google Search Console to monitor indexing and submit your sitemap if necessary.
Does submitting a blog guarantee traffic?
No. Submission helps search engines discover your content, but traffic depends on several factors, including relevance, content quality, competition and search visibility.
Final Words
Submitting your blog to search engines is an important step towards building your online presence. Whether you’re using WordPress or Blogger, tools such as Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools can help you understand how search engines discover your content.
But don’t stop there. Keep publishing useful articles, link related posts together and monitor your indexing reports, if you want to keep getting visibility and traffic.
The goal isn’t just to get your blog submitted. It’s to create content that people can find, read and benefit from.
If you’ve tried doing this and you can’t get it done, reach out to us here to book a session, free. Read more about how to optimize your website SEO here. And AI SEO here.
Now it’s your turn. Have you had challenges submitting your blog to the search engines? Drop your comments below.
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