Why is my website not showing on Google, and how do I fix it?

You paid for a website, it's live, and when you search for your business on Google it isn't there. Or it shows up for your name but never when customers search for what you sell. Both are common, and most of the causes can be found in fifteen minutes with free tools.

This guide goes through the checks I run when a business owner asks me why their site isn't on Google, in the order I run them.

The short answer#

Step 1: is your site in Google at all?#

Search Google for site:yourbusiness.com (with your own domain). This lists the pages Google has indexed.

• No results:Google hasn't indexed the site. Go to steps 2 and 3.
• Some pages, but not the important ones: those pages are blocked, hard to find, or too thin. Use step 3 on them.
• All your pages are there:the site is indexed, but doesn't rank for the searches you care about. Go to step 5.

Step 2: make sure the site isn't telling Google to stay away#

This is the most common cause on new websites, and the easiest to fix. Websites are often built with search engines blocked so that unfinished pages don't appear, and nobody removes the block at launch.

• WordPress:in Settings → Reading, make sure “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is not ticked.
• robots.txt: open yourbusiness.com/robots.txt. If you see Disallow: / under User-agent: *, the whole site is blocked.
• noindex tags: a page with noindexin its code will never appear. Search Console's URL Inspection tool (next step) tells you if a page has one.

Step 3: set up Google Search Console#

Google Search Console is free, and it is the only place where Google tells you directly what it sees on your site. If your developer didn't set it up, do it now:

1. Go to Google Search Console, add your domain, and verify it (usually by adding a record at your domain provider).
2. Submit your sitemap, usually at yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xml. This gives Google a list of every page.
3. Paste your home page address into the URL Inspection bar at the top. It shows whether the page is indexed, and why not if it isn't.
4. If the page can be indexed, click “Request indexing”. Do this for your most important pages, not every page.

Step 4: for local businesses, set up Google Business Profile#

When people search for something like “website designer in Vashi” or “packers and movers in Vashi”, Google often shows a map with local businesses above the normal results. Those come from Google Business Profile, not from your website. Create or claim your profile, choose the right category, add photos and your service area, and link it to your website. The profile and the website then support each other.

Step 5: indexed, but not showing for the right searches#

If site:shows your pages but customers still can't find you, the site is in Google but isn't the best answer for their searches yet. The usual reasons:

• No page for what people search.If you offer five services in three areas but have one “Services” page, Google has nothing specific to show for “service + area” searches. Give important services their own pages.
• Thin text.A page with a heading, a photo and two lines doesn't explain what you do, where, for whom and at what price.
• Missing basics. Every page needs a unique title and description that say what it offers and where.
• Slow on mobile.Most of your customers search on a phone. Test the site with Google's PageSpeed Insights.
• New domain, no mentions. Links from your Google Business Profile, social profiles, local directories and partners help Google trust a new site.
• Strong competition. Some searches are dominated by big directories and marketplaces. Start with more specific searches, such as a service in a particular area, which are easier to win.

What to expect, and when#

• Your business name: once indexed, usually within days to a few weeks.
• Specific local searches (service + area): weeks to a few months, with good pages.
• Broad, competitive searches: months, and it depends on how strong the competition is.

Anyone who guarantees “first page in two weeks” for competitive searches is guessing, or selling ads.

If you want help#

Every site I build as a website designer and developer in Navi Mumbai launches with Search Console set up, a sitemap submitted, search engines unblocked, and titles and descriptions written for the searches that matter. If your current site isn't showing on Google, send me the addressand I'll tell you what is stopping it. If it needs a rebuild, you can see what a new website costs.