Here are some possible reasons why your website is not showing up in a Google search:
- Your website is new, and Google hasn’t had a chance to index it yet.
- There may be technical issues preventing Google from indexing your site.
- Your website may have been penalized by Google.
- Your website may have a “noindex” setting, discouraging Google from indexing your website.
- Google doesn’t consider your site to be sufficiently “trustworthy” or “relevant” to show it for the keywords you want to rank for.
- You’ve blocked the googlebot crawler in your robots.txt.
- Your business isn’t verified.
There are many reasons why a website might not show up on Google search. One of the most common reasons is that the website is new, and Google hasn’t discovered it yet.
In other cases, there could be technical issues or content problems that stop search engines from finding the website.
Here are 11 steps to take if your website isn’t appearing on Google search.
1. Check if Google has indexed your website
You can easily check if your website has been indexed by using the “site:” command in Google search, followed by the domain name of the website. If your site appears, it means Google knows about it. However, it might not be ranking for any keywords yet.
If your website isn’t indexed, Google won’t show it. If your site is new, give it some time—sometimes a week or more—for Google to update its search results. You can also create a Google Search Console account and ask Google to crawl your website.
2. Submit your website through Google Search Console
The quickest way to get Google to notice your website is by submitting it to the Google Search Console. You’ll need to create an account for your domain and upload an XML sitemap. This sitemap is a file that lists your website’s key pages. Free SEO plugins like SEO Framework can help you create one.
After submitting the sitemap, Google will crawl and index your website within a few days. You can use the “Inspect URL” tool in the search console for individual pages that aren’t showing up.
3. Ensure your website isn’t blocking search engines
Sometimes, settings like the robots.txt file or a noindex tag can stop search engines from accessing your website.
- Robots.txt file: Check this file by typing “/robots.txt” at the end of your domain (like example.com/robots.txt). If you see “Disallow: /”, your site is blocking all search engines. Remove the “/” symbol to allow access.
- Noindex tag: Right-click on your website and click “View page source.” If you see this code— <meta name=’robots’ content=’noindex,follow’ />—your site is blocking search engines from indexing it.
4. Make sure your site works on all devices
Your website should be accessible on different devices, especially mobile phones. Google now uses a mobile-first index, which means it checks the mobile version of your site. If your site doesn’t work well on mobile, it might not show up in Google search.
5. Fix content problems
Google might avoid showing your site if it has low-quality content. For example:
- Little or no text: If your pages don’t have enough text, search engines can’t understand them.
- Duplicate content: If your content is copied from other websites, Google may not show it.
- Spammy content: Google wants to avoid showing spammy websites in search results.
6. Check for a manual penalty
Sometimes, Google may manually penalize a website for bad practices. If this happens, you’ll get a message in Google Search Console under “Security & Manual Actions.”
7. Use keywords in your content
Your content needs to include keywords people use to search. These keywords should be in your title, headings, and text. Titles and meta descriptions should be clear about what your content is.
8. Target less competitive keywords
Some keywords are harder to rank for because many big websites are competing for them. If your site isn’t showing up for certain search terms, it could be because those keywords are too competitive. Try using longer, more specific keywords that have less competition.
9. Improve your website’s speed
Google prefers faster websites. If your site is slow, it might not rank well. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s speed and make improvements if necessary.
10. Get links to your website
Having other websites link to yours can help improve your site’s visibility on Google. Start by linking to your website from your social media profiles or ask others to link to your site.
11. Optimize your website for SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves improving your website so it ranks better in search engines. SEO includes creating high-quality content and making sure your website is easy for search engines to crawl and index.
By following these steps, you can increase the chances of your website showing up on Google search and reaching more people.
