4) Search Engine Indexing Periods
When your site has been completed then it is time to place it on the search engines. This is referred to as indexing your site. First a website is submitted to Google, Bing and/or Yahoo and then the search engines will index them into the right categories so that people can find your site.
This is not to be confused with a website going live. A website is live when it has been connected to the internet. That means that you, or anyone else, can see it if they write the domain name in the address bar. However, you will be unable to find it by searching on a search engine because it has not been indexed yet.
How long does search engine indexing take?
The time it takes for your site to be properly indexed can vary greatly. Know that indexing takes time. It usually takes several weeks for a site to be fully indexed. As a general rule, it takes 4 to 6 weeks.
The Bottom Line: Take into account that building a website is only one aspect of the process. Next comes indexing, but when first indexed your website will probably have a low ranking. If you want your site to rank well then understand that you will need to continue to develop it. We will discuss some of these strategies in the final section of this article.