The Ultimate Guide to Google Indexing CSV Files Update
Introduction
CSV files, or comma-separated values files, are popular for storing tabular data. They are easy to create and use and can be opened by various spreadsheet and text editors. Until recently, Google did not index it, as evidenced by the March copy of file types indexable by Google. which meant that the CSV could not be found in search results, even if they contained relevant information. However, as recently updated on Google Search Central documentation, CSV files are now among the File types indexable by Google, under Text (.txt, .text, other file extensions), including source code in common programming languages: made the seventh on the list under Text. What is new between both documentations is that you can now index your CSV files for Google Search and make them more discoverable. This can be a great way to improve the visibility of your data and attract more visitors to your website.
What Does This Mean for You?
The recent change in Google’s indexing policy means you can now make your CSV files more discoverable by Google Search. This can be a great way to get your data in front of more people. For example, if you have a CSV file with product listings, you can now make it easier for people to find your products by searching for them on Google.
How to Prepare Your CSV Files for Indexing?
There are a few things you can do to prepare your CSV files for indexing:
- First, ensure that your file’s data is well-formatted and structured. This means the data is properly separated by commas, with no blank lines or extra spaces.
- Use descriptive column headers. This will help people understand what the data in your file represents.
- Use keywords throughout your file. This will help Google better understand what your file is about.
What is CSV indexing?
CSV indexing is the process of making your CSV files searchable by Google. This involves submitting the web page of your files to Google’s index and ensuring that they are properly formatted. When a user searches for a term contained in the structured data on your CSV file, Google may return your file in the search results. This can help you to attract more visitors to your website and improve your website’s visibility.
Why should you index your CSV files?
You should index your CSV files for Google Search for several reasons.
Increased visibility: As mentioned above, indexing your CSV files can help you improve your data’s visibility. This can lead to more website visitors and more leads and sales opportunities.
Improved SEO: When your CSV files are indexed, they can be crawled and indexed by Google, which can help to improve your website’s SEO. This means your website will likely appear high in search results for relevant queries.
Easier data retrieval: When indexing your CSV files, you can easily search for specific data using Google’s search bar. This can save you time and effort when finding the information you need.
Improved data analysis: By indexing your CSV files, you can make it easier to analyse your data. This can help you to identify trends and patterns that may not be obvious otherwise.
Tips for optimising your CSV files for search
Once you have indexed your CSV files, there are a few things you can do to optimise them for search:
Use descriptive file names: Your file names should be descriptive and relevant to the content of your files. This will help Google to understand what your files are about.
Use consistent formatting: Your files should be formatted consistently. This will make it easier for Google to index your files and return accurate search results.
Use relevant keywords: Your files should contain relevant keywords that people will likely search for. This will help your files to appear higher in search results.
Include a title and description: Each file should have a title and description. This will help Google understand what your files are about and why they are relevant to the search query.
Submit the website page of files to Google Search Console: Once you have indexed your CSV files, you should submit them to Google Search Console. This will allow you to track the performance of your files in search results and make necessary adjustments.
Is Google Indexing CSV Related to Recent August 2023 Core Update?
The recent Google August 2023 Core Update is unrelated to Google indexing CSV files. The Core Updates are broad algorithm updates that aim to improve the overall quality of search results. They target all content types, including websites, images, and videos. The ability to index CSV files is a new feature Google announced in August 2023. This means that Google can now crawl and index the data in CSV files, which can be used to create various types of content, such as product catalogues, price lists, and customer data. While the two are not directly related, the ability to index CSV files could potentially impact how websites are ranked in search results. For example, a website that uses CSV files to store product data could rank higher in search results for queries related to that product data. However, it is important to note that the August 2023 Core Update is still relatively new, and it is not yet clear how it will impact the ranking of websites. It is also important to note that many other factors affect a website’s ranking in search results, such as the quality of the content, the backlinks to the website, and the user experience. The ability to index CSV files is a new feature that could potentially impact how websites are ranked in search results. However, it is too early to determine this impact’s significance.
According to Search Engine Journal, it may be a coincidence….
The definition of a core algorithm update is when Google makes “significant” and “broad changes” to its core algorithm. It may be a coincidence that the indexing of CSV files and the core algorithm update happened virtually simultaneously.
But it may bear considering whether Google has improved their crawling engine to index CSV or if that capability was already there.
