Search engine registration
In order for websites and internet portals optimized for a specific topic or field to be found in the indexes of search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing, it was necessary until a few years ago to perform a search engine registration, also known as indexing, of a webpage. The registration involved submitting the homepage's URL. Through this, the web crawlers of search engines (for example, Google's Googlebot) access the corresponding subpages of the webpage, provided they are internally linked. In many cases, the search engine registration is completed with the entry of the URL. In the case of Google, it is at the discretion of the search engine whether it includes the submitted URL in the index and subsequently crawls the subpages. Google does not guarantee inclusion in the index and usually does not provide timing information for indexing. For this reason, many website operators in the 1990s began registering their homepages multiple times and even used automated programs for this purpose. However, this led to the registration being no longer necessary today and even making search engine registration—that is, inclusion in the search index—less meaningful.
How are websites indexed today?
If registering with search engines is no longer a standard procedure for webmasters and can even be counterproductive, there must be another way to get the site into the search index. Today, this is usually done through linking. Web crawlers are now so powerful that they can re-index web pages in a very short time. However, this is only successful if the website has incoming links through which the crawler can access it. Due to the frequency of crawler visits, a small backlink structure is usually sufficient to be indexed. Therefore, search engines find the web pages themselves, and registration is no longer strictly necessary.
Why a search engine submission for indexing is still recommended
Anyone who creates a site usually wants to be found. By registering manually, you ensure that your website is indexed in any case. Especially with a newly created online shop, you don't want to wait for the crawler to find the page by itself. Manual indexing also ensures that Google is always well-informed about all changes (e.g., content updates) on the website.
Search engine submission for various search engines
In Germany, it makes sense to register with the most important search engines, namely Google and Bing. We explain how to do it.
Google: Search engine registration via the Search Console
Google is still the most important search engine in Germany. Registration is very simple via the Google Search Console. The use is free of charge. Whether it's an entire site or individual pages, that is, URLs—all of this can be requested for indexing by the search engine. You can request it through two methods:
Submitting the sitemap: The sitemap concisely indicates which pages should be indexed and which should not.
Function "Request Indexing": here the Google crawler crawls the page in real-time.
However, the search engine registration may take a few days.
Bing: Search engine registration via Webmaster Tools
At Bing, the best method for search engine registration is through the Bing Webmaster Tools. Only a Microsoft account, which is free, is necessary here. Finally, the site's URL is registered with the search engine, and you must confirm that you are the website owner. With additional functions, you can also monitor the website's performance there.