How long does it take for posts to be indexed on Google? - measure a piece of string!

Morning my lovely WAers - Happy Sunday.

BREAKING NEWS: This morning, I have answered a question that I, and I know many of you have about getting your posts indexed on Google. So here it is...

Question: How long does it take for posts to be indexed on Google?

Answer: How long is a piece of string!!

"What?!" I hear you scream at your laptop/mobile/tablet... "That doesn't make sense!"

And that, my friends, is now the conclusion that I have come to.... it doesn't make sense and we will never really know!

The evidence...

Many of you know that I have been here a while - always as a member, but actively, on and off. In the time I have been here, however, I have built 2 sites; one with 97 posts and one with 47 posts. Since January this year, I have been actively working on all my online businesses and have written over 30 posts for my sites and most of these have yet to be indexed as you will see from my screenshot of my published posts from WA, where there are an awful lot of black Gs!

By contrast...

I recently started a new very niche site. In fact, I only created it just over 2 weeks ago on 29th January and despite having only 4 posts, it has already been indexed by Google.

This morning, I checked on a post that I published at 2.30 pm YESTERDAY, less than 24 hours ago, and it was already ranking no. 31 on page 4 of Google.

Now I did submit this URL for indexing using the page on Google Search Console, just to be transparent, but I am GOBSMACKED!!

No applause, please!

I also realise that there is work to do. Ranking no. 31 and on page 4 is not the ultimate goal, but it's a very good start for a site that is only just over 2 weeks old and only my 4th post!

I'm not looking for congratulations here, and I'm not here for a pat on the back. I just wanted to share a little bit of an insight that I've had regarding this and my other posts.

We don't know how Google works, and probably never will.

LESSONS...

1. The answer to the question about when posts get indexed really is: "How long is a piece of string?" - it will happen in its own time and to Google's own algorithm, and not one of us here really understands this!
2. Stop worrying about when Google will index your posts - trust they will if you have done your homework, followed the training, write quality posts and write consistently.
3. New sites, can index quickly.
4. New posts can index quickly, especially if they are very niche - the one I published yesterday was very specific to a certain audience (I'm not sure many of you live in the UK, and I'm even more sure that most of you don't want to become a drama teacher, but send me a dissertation on the merits of "Verfremdungseffekt" if you do!!).
5. Check regularly but not every 5 minutes! It's a waste of your time and can lead to frustration and thoughts of giving up. Remember, this is a long-term business project so treat it as such. Rome wasn't built in a day and all that...

Finally...

I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. Rest, relax and do what you need to to achieve your goals.

I'm off to redo my breakfast because, in the excitement of the moment, I decided to butter my crumpets before putting them in the toaster!! Oh, the ups and downs of life! And yes, we English do still like a hot buttered crumpet! Or in my case, a cold, soggy one.

To your success!

Gail