← e-Plus Blog Marketing & Growth

Google Index: what is it and how does it apply to e-commerce?

By Tiago Moraes 4 minutes reading
Google Index: what is it and how does it apply to e-commerce?
Google Index is Google's inventory of pages. Image: @pch.vector
Google Index is Google's inventory of pages. Image: @pc.vector

Google Index is the name given to the inventory of pages on the world's largest search engine. In other words, it's a library with thousands of pieces of content from different authors. This content is used to provide answers to internet users' searches. Thus, every time an internet user performs a search on Google, the system consults the inventory and then lists the relevant content by degree of relevance in what are called SERPs , an acronym for Search Engine Results Pages.

In effect, only pages listed in the Google Index can appear on the SERPs. That is, if the sales pages of your virtual store are not in the inventory, they will never appear in the results of searches made by internet users in the search engine. This is very bad for business as Google has 91,9% share of the search engine market. Therefore, the pages that appear on Google are more likely to be visited and to generate purchases. Therefore, in general, everyone wants to be indexed by Google. But to do that, you first need to understand how the Google Index works.

HOW DOES THE GOOGLE INDEX WORK?

The Google Index works in three stages, they are:

Tracking:

Google relies on bots that scan the internet around the clock. These bots follow internal links, external links and backlinks on webpages. On the way, they often find and crawl new pages with fresh content.

Indexing:

Soon after crawling new pages on the web, the system will check if they are relevant. If they have any value, the pages, texts, images, audios and other contents will be included in the inventory. In this way, new contents are added to the library, making it increasingly robust and more complete. 

Classificação:

The classification, in short, happens when an Internet user does a search on Google. When this occurs, the system lists the responses by degree of relevance to the Internet user and displays them in the SERPs. Obviously, pages at the top of the SERPs are more likely to be clicked on and visited.

But how does this apply to your e-commerce? That's what you'll find out right away. Keep reading!

APPLYING IN E-COMMERCE: KNOW HOW TO INDEX YOUR VIRTUAL STORE!

According to data from the Reboot blog , 43% of all e-commerce traffic comes from organic Google search. Furthermore, 23,6% of e-commerce orders are directly linked to organic traffic. Finally, 95% of search traffic goes to the first page of search results. Basically, this data tells us two things. The first is that it's crucial to get your sales pages indexed by Google. And the second is that simply being part of Google's inventory isn't enough; relevance is essential to appear at the top of the SERPs.

Video: Learn how to use SEO to get more organic hits on your online store!

That said, it's important to mention that you can take a proactive stance to get your online store and sales pages indexed on Google. That is, instead of waiting for bots to crawl your web pages, you can tell Google directly that these pages exist. To do this, simply create a sitemap with a list of all the URLs on your online store and submit it via Google Search Console. 

To ensure your URLs consistently appear in the top SERP positions, it's crucial to invest in creating rich content anchored in SEO techniques. For e-commerce blogs, for example, well-written content of around 3.000 words performs better.

Finally, for a better understanding of Google Index and to obtain support for SEO content production, seek help from an SEO agency such as Agência e-Plus , for example. Furthermore, to speak with our team, simply click the button below and start a conversation with us via our messaging app:

Do you want to apply this?
In your operation?

Schedule a Strategic Diagnosis with ae-Plus and discover how to transform this analysis into real results for your business.

Schedule a Strategic Diagnosis
Follow the blog

More readings like this, delivered straight to your email.

Signs of Digital Commerce, Marketing and Technology — no spam, only when it makes sense.

Follow the blog

Receive upcoming readings.

Digital Commerce, Marketing, and Technology delivered straight to your email inbox — no fuss.

No spam. Cancel anytime.