How to Index Your Webflow Website on Google: A Step-by-Step Guide

Just launched your new Webflow website? Here's how to get it on Google's radar in 5 simple steps:

1. Set up SEO essentials in Webflow:

Enable automatic sitemap generation in Site Settings > SEO > Sitemap. Here, it's also highly recommended to deactivate Webflow subdomain indexing, so Google won't try to index your final domain and Webflow staging domain at the same time.

2. Create a Google Search Console Account

This free tool is crucial for monitoring your site's performance in Google search results. Create your account at Google Search Console. You'll need a Gmail account, and it's better if it's the same one you use for your Google Analytics account (if you don't have one, it's highly recommended for tracking important metrics of user visits on your website).

3. Add your page to Google Search Console Account

With your new Google Search Console account, a message to select your property type will appear (if it doesn't, go to the top left corner and just below the Google Search Console logo, select the arrow to display more options and select "Add property"). Here, select the URL prefix option and insert the URL of your webpage. It should be your primary domain name (it's best to go to your site and copy/paste the URL). Then, under "Other verification methods," I recommend using Google Analytics (if you already have it set up) or HTML tag. If you select HTML tag, copy this meta tag code and paste it into a text editor, then copy only the content between the quotes. Paste this content inside Webflow, in Site Settings > SEO > Google Site Verification ID > Save Changes, and Publish the site. Finally, go back to Search Console and click Verify. For a detailed walkthrough, check out this helpful Webflow video.

4. Submit a Sitemap to Google Search Console

Let Google know about all the important pages on your site for more efficient crawling. Google is supposed to crawl your site automatically (which may take some time), so we can help speed up this process. First, we need to create our sitemap; fortunately, Webflow generates the sitemap for us (be sure that you followed step 1). The sitemap is under the URL: yourdomainname.com/sitemap.xml (for example, my sitemap for Menta is https://www.grupomenta.com/sitemap.xml). Copy this URL and in Google Search Console, inside the Sitemaps tab, just below "Add a new sitemap," paste this URL and click Submit. Sometimes it shows an error, but most of the time you just have to refresh it. If this doesn't work, check the URL, or contact Webflow assistance if the sitemap is not generated.

5. Check SEO essentials for your Webflow webpage

Ensure you've optimized Title Tags, Meta descriptions, and that Sitemap Indexing of each page is active, among other relevant technical factors that improve SEO. For a comprehensive checklist, refer to our Menta checklist, under SEO and Accessibility.

Final comments

Remember, patience is key. Data in Search Console may not appear immediately, and completing these steps doesn't guarantee top Google rankings. Achieving high organic positions requires ongoing effort: creating valuable content, regularly updating your site, and focusing on keywords your target audience actually searches for.

If you need assistance with optimizing your Webflow site for search engines, at Menta we'll be happy to help you navigate this process and improve your site's visibility, you can contact me at luis.ponce@grupomenta.com

‍

‍