Why is my website not showing up on Google?
Usually one of eight things: Google hasn’t found the site yet, a setting tells it to stay away, the page doesn’t match what people search, or other sites rank first. You can check each one in a few minutes with a site: search and Google Search Console.
What are you seeing?
Pick the closest oneSearch for your own site
Type this into Google, with your own address:
site:yourdomain.comNothing comes back? Google has none of your pages yet. Start with causes 1 to 3.
Pages come back, but not the one you want? Go to causes 4 to 6.
Everything is there, but nobody finds you? That is cause 5 or 6: the pages exist, they just don’t rank yet.
Eight reasons Google doesn’t show your site
In the order we check them, because the first ones stop everything else.
- 01
The site is new, and Google hasn’t found it yet
A site: search returns nothingHow to checkSearch Google for
site:yourdomain.com. No results means Google has none of your pages. Search Console shows no data for the site either.How to fixAdd the site to Google Search Console and submit your sitemap. Link to the site from your Google Business Profile and your social profiles, so Google has a way in. Google says crawling a new site can take from a few days to a few weeks.
- 02
A noindex tag tells Google to leave the pages out
The site vanished after a redesignHow to checkOpen a page, view its source and search for
noindex. In Search Console, the URL Inspection tool says “Excluded by ‘noindex’ tag”. On WordPress, look at Settings › Reading for a ticked “Discourage search engines” box.How to fixRemove the tag, or untick the box. It is often left on from the test version of a site, which is why this one shows up so often after a redesign.
- 03
robots.txt blocks Google
Pages are missing in whole foldersHow to checkOpen
yourdomain.com/robots.txtin a browser. A line that saysDisallow: /blocks the whole site;Disallow: /services/blocks that folder.How to fixDelete the lines that block pages you want found. Keep blocks only for private areas like a checkout or an admin login.
- 04
Google can’t reach your other pages
Only the home page showsHow to checkSearch
site:yourdomain.comand count the results. If your service pages are missing, see whether anything links to them: the menu, the home page, other pages.How to fixLink every important page from the menu or from a page Google already knows, and list them all in your sitemap. A page nothing links to is a page Google rarely visits.
- 05
The page doesn’t match what people search
You show up for your name, not your serviceHow to checkLook at your page titles in the browser tab. “Home” or the business name alone tells Google nothing about what you do or where.
How to fixPut the service and the town in the title and the main heading, like
Emergency Plumber in Fort Worth | Harbor Plumbing, and give each service its own page. - 06
Other sites rank first
You show up, but on page 3How to checkSearch for your main service and town in a private window and open the sites above you. Compare their pages, their reviews and the detail on their Business Profiles with yours.
How to fixMake your pages more complete than theirs, fill in your Business Profile, ask happy customers for reviews, and get links from local sites. This one takes time, and nobody can honestly promise you a position.
- 07
A penalty or a security problem
Traffic fell off a cliff overnightHow to checkIn Search Console, open the Manual actions and Security issues reports. A hacked site can be removed from results, or shown with a warning.
How to fixClean up whatever the report names, then ask for a review from the same report. If the site was hacked, change every password before anything else.
- 08
Your Business Profile is missing or unverified
You’re not on Google MapsHow to checkSearch your business name on Google Maps. If nothing comes up, or the listing has no “Owner” badge, nobody has claimed it.
How to fixClaim and verify your Google Business Profile, pick the right category, and use exactly the same name, address and phone number as on your site.
Most sites we look at have two or three of these at once. Our audit checks all eight, and the rest of what we check, on your own pages.
Not sure which one it is?
Send us your website. We check all eight causes and mark what we find on screenshots of your own pages, free.