Make linking pages easy to discover and evaluate

Keep three observations separate: a publisher added a link, Google discovered the referring page, and the page appears in Google's index. Seeing the first does not establish the other two. It also does not demonstrate that the link caused a change in your own page's position.

Google's recrawling guidance says that requesting a crawl does not guarantee inclusion in search results. Apply that limit to any indexing discussion with a publisher or provider. Ask what they can show about the page itself, and decline a fixed indexing deadline presented as a certainty. Your first useful record is the actual referring URL and the context in which the link appears.

If you manage the referring site, check that the article is publicly reachable and that its intended content is present. Look for accidental access restrictions, broken destinations and links implemented only as scripted interactions. Ask a developer to inspect the page if the visible result and underlying markup do not agree.

Google's link guidance recommends an anchor element with an href that resolves to a web address. It also explains that JavaScript-inserted links can be crawlable when they use that markup. Review the resulting link rather than declaring all JavaScript links unusable. If another publisher controls the site, report the specific issue and let its owner decide the correction.

Place an article where readers researching its topic can find it. A relevant category archive and contextual links from related material are useful starting points. Avoid adding a page to unrelated articles just to increase the number of links pointing at it. The route should help a visitor understand why the page belongs there.

Google recommends linking each important page from at least one other page on the site, with descriptive text and surrounding context. Its sitemap guidance describes another way to provide information about important URLs. Keep the sitemap aligned with the pages you intend to publish, but do not treat submitting it as proof that every listed URL has been indexed.

When similar versions of a page exist, review which URL the site identifies as the preferred version. Google's canonicalization guidance describes redirects and canonical annotations as signals for selecting a representative URL. These signals should reflect the actual relationship between the pages, not an attempt to assign every article to an unrelated destination.

Use Search Console's URL Inspection tool when you have the necessary access to the property. Review the available indexing information and distinguish it from a live-page check. For a third-party article, ask its owner for relevant evidence instead of implying that you can inspect a property you do not manage. Record the date of the check because the page and its status can change.

Google says that submitting the same URL for recrawling repeatedly will not make it crawl faster, and you cannot request indexing for URLs you do not manage. Repeating submissions is therefore not a substitute for reviewing the page. Nor should you invent extra link placements solely to create the appearance that an article is useful.

Maintain a concise record of the referring URL, its editorial relevance, any observable technical issue and the publisher's response. If the article adds little value, address that editorial problem before seeking another submission tool. Close the review with a specific correction or an honest statement that you are waiting on the site owner. Discovery work improves the conditions for evaluation; it does not give you control over Google's decision.