Can I allow Google to index my Confluence *Cloud* pages?

[Peng Xiao]

I have a confluence space (cloud) at https://zenuml.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ZEN ( Update, now I have created a Knowledgebase space at https://zenuml.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ZEN1/overview, Google still not indexing) that I would like to be searchable on the internet, or at least indexable by Google. Some pages are public and are accessible by anonymous users.

However, when I try to search on Google, no useful content is returned.

Is there some configuration that can be used to allow Google crawlers?

[Jonh Gaarg]

Why don't you index it manually? It's pretty simple and doesn't take long. Also, I would suggest that you find all the pages on your site, even those that are not indexed, and check them out. This will allow you to get a complete overview of your website and clean it up to improve SEO. To learn how to do this, you can read this tutorial https://seranking.com/blog/find-all-pages-on-a-website/. There you will find helpful tools, reasons for these pages, and options for resolving indexing issues.

[Guido Leenders]

Confluence at the moment seems largely unable to get indexed correctly at Google. This is not alone a technical issue with frequently errors being indexed instead of actual content. Metadata is not great for indexing, such as the titles not actually reflecting the contents.
As a workaround we build content that is to be found using google using an authoring system from another supplier. Content for end users that know their way around our knowledge base is made available on Confluence. They know and understand where to look and search the content there.
To analyze indexing results I use the site:name.tld google keyword.  

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Peng Xiao

Confluence spaces with Public Access enabled should index in Google - see this answer for a great description :)

Ste

[Peng Xiao]

@Ste Wright thanks. I saw that page a few days ago. I tried with one of my normal space. It did not work. I gave anonymous user access in global permission and then on the space setting. Still, it is not indexing.

I also tried to use the Jira Service Desk Knowledge base feature which is supposed to put everything public. After about 24 hours the page is not indexed yet. The site is at https://zenuml.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ZEN1/overview

[Ste Wright]

Hi @Peng Xiao

Is this now working? I can find some of your Confluence pages (Docs not Support) in Google

If you're still having issues having followed the previous answer, I would suggest contacting https://support.atlassian.com/

Ste

[Peng Xiao]

Thank you Ste. It seems that Google starts indexing one page. Here is what I did:

1. Created a new space - ZenUML Docs (this may not be necessary);
2. Configured the landing product as confluence;
3. Configured the default space as ZenUML Docs.

I think the second (#2) step made the difference. I am adding more links on that page to see if Google can index them, and am hoping the wired "{"serverDuration": 54, "requestCorrelationId": "00ce9ed44317d2b6"}" will be gone soon.

[Peng Xiao]

Below is what the support replied to me (it might help someone else coming to here):

After reviewing further, we have searched for possible solution for this. You can find more info here:Google provides three ways to manage site indexing:

1. Take a passive approach
2. Actively manage your URLs
3. Submit new and updated URLs to Google.

More information on this is in Google's Introduction to Indexing.This page Indexing pages to be included in search results is also relevant.

[Zoryana Bohutska _SaaSJet_]

Hi @Peng Xiao

Are your pages available for Google search now?