# Search Engine Submission Checklist

> **Quick reference** for submitting workroot.in to search engines

---

## Pre-Submission Checklist

- [x] Sitemap.xml is live at `https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml`
- [x] Robots.txt is configured at `https://workroot.in/robots.txt`
- [ ] Site is live and accessible via HTTPS
- [ ] SSL certificate is valid
- [ ] All pages return proper HTTP status codes (200, 301, 404)
- [ ] No canonical tag issues
- [ ] XML sitemap validates (use https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/validate-xml-sitemap.html)

---

## 1. Google Search Console

### Setup (15 minutes)

**URL**: https://search.google.com/search-console

1. **Add Property**:
   - Click "Add Property"
   - Enter: `https://workroot.in`

2. **Verify Ownership** (choose one):

   **Option A: HTML Tag** (Recommended)
   - Copy verification code
   - Add to `src/components/SEO.astro`:
     ```html
     <meta name="google-site-verification" content="YOUR_CODE" />
     ```
   - Deploy and click "Verify"

   **Option B: DNS**
   - Add TXT record to domain DNS
   - Value: `google-site-verification=YOUR_CODE`

3. **Submit Sitemap**:
   - Go to "Sitemaps" section
   - Enter: `sitemap.xml`
   - Click "Submit"

4. **Set Preferred Domain**:
   - Ensure HTTPS version is primary
   - Set up 301 redirects from HTTP → HTTPS

### Post-Submission

- [ ] Coverage report shows pages discovered
- [ ] Core Web Vitals report is green
- [ ] No manual actions or penalties
- [ ] Set up email alerts for critical issues

**ETA**: First pages indexed in 3-7 days

---

## 2. Bing Webmaster Tools

### Setup (10 minutes)

**URL**: https://www.bing.com/webmasters

1. **Import from Google** (Easiest):
   - Click "Import from Google Search Console"
   - Authorize access
   - Done! ✅

2. **Or Manual Verification**:
   - Add site: `https://workroot.in`
   - Verify via XML file or meta tag

3. **Submit Sitemap**:
   - Sitemaps → Submit Sitemap
   - URL: `https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml`

### Post-Submission

- [ ] Site scan completes
- [ ] SEO reports show no critical issues
- [ ] Crawl stats show activity

**ETA**: Indexed in 1-3 days (faster than Google)

---

## 3. Yandex Webmaster

### Setup (10 minutes)

**URL**: https://webmaster.yandex.com

1. **Add Site**:
   - Enter: `https://workroot.in`

2. **Verify**:
   - Upload HTML file to `public/`
   - Or add meta tag

3. **Submit Sitemap**:
   - Indexing → Sitemap files
   - Add: `https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml`

**Note**: Important if targeting Russian/Eastern European markets

---

## 4. IndexNow (Instant Indexing)

### Setup (20 minutes)

**URL**: https://www.indexnow.org

1. **Generate API Key**:
   ```bash
   openssl rand -hex 32 > public/[KEY].txt
   ```
   Example: `public/a1b2c3d4e5f6.txt`

2. **Create Submit Script**:
   ```bash
   # Add to scripts/indexnow-submit.sh
   curl -X POST "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{
       "host": "workroot.in",
       "key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
       "keyLocation": "https://workroot.in/YOUR_API_KEY.txt",
       "urlList": [
         "https://workroot.in/blog/new-post/"
       ]
     }'
   ```

3. **Use When**:
   - Publishing new blog posts
   - Major page updates
   - New portfolio items added

**Partners**: Bing, Yandex, Seznam, Naver

---

## 5. Additional Directories (Optional)

### DuckDuckGo
- **No submission needed** - Uses Bing index
- Ensure Bing indexing is working

### Brave Search
- **URL**: https://search.brave.com/help/webmaster
- Submit sitemap (uses independent index)

### Ecosia
- **No submission** - Uses Bing index

---

## Automation

### Sitemap Ping on Deploy

**GitHub Actions** (already configured):
- File: `.github/workflows/sitemap-ping.yml`
- Triggers: Push to main (content changes)
- Pings: Google + Bing

**Manual Trigger**:
```bash
./scripts/ping-sitemap.sh
```

### Monitor Weekly

```bash
# Check sitemap accessibility
curl -I https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml

# Count indexed URLs
curl https://workroot.in/sitemap.xml | grep -c '<loc>'
```

---

## Verification Timeline

| Search Engine | Verification | First Index | Full Index |
|---------------|--------------|-------------|------------|
| Google | Instant | 3-7 days | 2-4 weeks |
| Bing | Instant | 1-3 days | 1-2 weeks |
| Yandex | 1-2 days | 3-5 days | 2-3 weeks |

**Factors**:
- Site authority (new sites take longer)
- Content quality
- Internal linking
- Backlinks

---

## Common Issues

| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| Sitemap not found | Check `public/robots.txt` has sitemap URL |
| Can't verify ownership | Try different verification method (DNS vs HTML) |
| Pages not indexing | Check robots.txt doesn't block, ensure canonical tags correct |
| Duplicate content | Set proper canonical URLs, use 301 redirects |
| Slow indexing | Get quality backlinks, submit via IndexNow |

---

## Post-Submission Checklist

**Week 1**:
- [ ] Google Search Console shows site verified
- [ ] Bing shows site added
- [ ] Sitemap submitted successfully
- [ ] No crawl errors

**Week 2-4**:
- [ ] Homepage indexed
- [ ] Key pages indexed (services, about, contact)
- [ ] Blog posts appearing in search
- [ ] Core Web Vitals passing

**Ongoing**:
- [ ] Monitor coverage reports weekly
- [ ] Fix crawl errors promptly
- [ ] Ping on new content
- [ ] Track ranking improvements

---

## Resources

- **Google Search Console Guide**: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9128668
- **Bing Webmaster Guidelines**: https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a
- **Sitemap Validator**: https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/validate-xml-sitemap.html
- **Rich Results Test**: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

---

## Next Steps

1. ✅ Submit to Google Search Console (priority #1)
2. ✅ Submit to Bing Webmaster Tools (priority #2)
3. ⏳ Set up IndexNow for instant indexing
4. ⏳ Monitor coverage reports weekly
5. ⏳ Create backlink strategy (separate doc)

---

**Updated**: 2026-03-21
**Domain**: workroot.in
**Status**: Ready for submission
