SiteMap and Domain Submission for Google
Submitting a SiteMap and your store domain to Google will get you one step closer to being indexed in Google search results. It will only take a few minutes to complete this task. Once you’ve submitted your SiteMap and Domain, Google will eventually send its search bot to crawl your store for keywords.
When Should I Let Google Know About My Store?
It’s up to you when you decide to tell Google about your new store. Once you have submitted your domain and sitemap, Google will periodically check the site for new information. It’s plausible that you could start receiving traffic soon after Google indexes your site. So, are you ready for buyers? If not, you might consider holding off on this task until you’re ready to make that first sale.
On the flip side, if you do submit your SiteMap and domain to Google before your store is live, you can start to get a sense of what kind of traffic to expect. Furthermore, you can use Google Analytics to monitor the traffic more closely. If you choose this route, consider disabling the purchasing feature in the Store Settings (Store >Configure> Store Settings) until your store is ready to go live. To avoid frustrating potential customers, add copy to your Home page telling visitors that your store is under construction. If you have a launch date, let them know when they can come back and make a purchase.
Next week we’ll show you how to take this idea one step further by creating a method that will allow potential customers to join a mailing list. This will enable you to capture potential customers and notify them when your store goes live.
Have you made up your mind? If you’re ready to get indexed by Google, follow these two tutorials:
