Why my website doesn't show up on Google (and how to fix it)
You launched the website, searched for it on Google and found nothing. The reason is almost always one of these six, and you can find out which in a few minutes.
First: does Google know your website exists?
Type site:yourdomain.com into Google, replacing it with your website's address. If a list of pages shows up, Google already knows the website and the problem is ranking (skip to item 3). If nothing shows up, the website hasn't been indexed yet, and items 1 and 2 explain why.
1. Google doesn't know the website exists yet
A new website with no links pointing to it can take days or weeks to be found. You can speed this up:
- Add the website to Google Search Console, Google's free tool for website owners.
- Submit the sitemap, a file that lists the website's pages (usually at
/sitemap.xml). - Use URL Inspection to request indexing of the home page and the main pages.
Search Console will also show you, later on, which pages were indexed and why any were left out.
2. The website itself is blocking Google
This is more common than it seems, especially on websites that went through a testing phase before launch. Check for:
- A "noindex" tag: markup that asks Google not to show the page. In WordPress, for example, there is a "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" option that is sometimes left on after launch.
- The robots.txt file: a single
Disallow: /line blocks the whole website. - A password or an "under construction" page: if Google can't see the content, it has nothing to show.
URL Inspection in Search Console tells you exactly whether a page is blocked and why.
3. The website shows up, but only when you search for its name
Being indexed is not the same as ranking well. People who don't know you yet don't search for your business name: they search for the problem or the service, such as "employment lawyer" or "fridge repair". To show up for those searches, the website needs a clear page for each service, using the words clients use, and not just a generic home page.
Competition matters too: for highly contested searches, older websites with more content have the edge. That's why it pays to start with more specific searches, where you have a real chance.
4. The text that matters is where Google can't read it well
Google mainly understands text. If the names of your services only appear inside images, banners or videos, it has little to work with. The same goes for websites that build all their content after loading, with lots of JavaScript: Google can process that kind of page, but with more delay and more room for error. The safest option is for the main text to be written in the page itself.
5. The website is slow or hard to use on mobile
Google evaluates websites by their mobile version. If the page takes a long time to load, jumps around while it opens or is hard to use on a small screen, that counts against it, and visitors give up before seeing what you offer. I explain how to measure and fix this in Slow websites lose clients: what PageSpeed is and how to reach 100.
6. Titles and descriptions that say nothing
The page title is the blue text that appears in search results. Pages titled "Home", "Welcome" or just the business name waste the most important space. A good title says what the page offers; the description underneath convinces people to click. Every page should have its own.
Checklist for today
- Search for
site:yourdomain.com. - Add the website to Search Console and submit the sitemap.
- Make sure there is no "noindex" and no block in robots.txt.
- Have one page per service, using the words clients use.
- Measure the speed on mobile.
- Write a unique title and description for every page.