When does indexing take place in the SEO process?

Indexing is a critical step in the SEO process that occurs after the crawling phase. When search engines crawl a website, they systematically explore and analyze its content to understand what each page is about. This involves identifying the text, images, and other elements that make up the page.

Once the crawl is completed, indexing kicks in. This is the process where the information gathered during crawling is organized and stored in the search engine's database. The indexed content can then be retrieved and displayed in search results when users conduct relevant searches. It is essential for a webpage to be indexed for it to appear in search engine results; without indexing, the page remains invisible to users searching for related content.

Looking at the other options: keyword research, backlink generation, and on-page optimization are all essential components of an SEO strategy but do not directly precede indexing. These tasks may enhance a website's visibility and relevance, but indexing specifically refers to the organization of content that has already been crawled.