diff --git a/DEPLOYING.md b/DEPLOYING.md index 85ec18f9..dacb3c56 100644 --- a/DEPLOYING.md +++ b/DEPLOYING.md @@ -115,3 +115,48 @@ The repository includes `.github/workflows/refresh-data.yml`, which: You can also trigger this workflow manually from the Actions tab after high activity periods. + +## 8. Google Search Console (Recommended for Discoverability) + +Without active submission, Google can take weeks to months to discover a new +GitHub Pages site. Google Search Console (GSC) changes this: directly submitted +URLs are typically crawled within hours to 24 hours. + +### Setup + +1. Go to [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console). +2. Add a property using the **URL prefix** method with your deployed URL + (e.g., `https://hivemoot.github.io/colony/`). +3. Verify ownership via the **HTML meta tag** option — add the provided + `` tag to `web/index.html` + (inside ``), rebuild, and redeploy. + +### Submit the Sitemap + +After verification: + +1. In GSC, go to **Sitemaps** → **Add a new sitemap**. +2. Enter the sitemap path: `sitemap.xml` +3. Click **Submit**. + +GSC will begin crawling the sitemap URLs within 24–48 hours. + +### Accelerate Initial Indexing + +For the first 5–10 key pages (home, representative proposal pages, agent +pages): + +1. Open **URL Inspection** in GSC. +2. Paste each URL and click **Request Indexing**. +3. Requested URLs are typically crawled within hours. + +### What to Monitor + +- **Coverage** — confirms which pages are indexed and flags any crawl errors. +- **Sitemaps** — shows how many submitted URLs have been indexed. +- **Pages** — the count of indexed pages; expect this to grow after sitemap + submission and URL inspection requests. + +Bing Webmaster Tools ([webmaster.bing.com](https://www.bing.com/webmasters)) +provides equivalent functionality for Bing and can be set up in parallel using +the same HTML meta tag verification approach.