Why is my website not showing on Google?

1. Check whether your website is really not showing on Google

Search Google for site: followed by your web address, for example site:yourbusiness.co.uk. If pages appear, Google has your site and the problem is ranking, not indexing, so skip to check 7. If nothing appears, the site is not in Google yet and the next checks find out why. Google notes that this search may not list every page it holds.

For a definite answer, add your site to Google Search Console. It is free, and its URL inspection tool tells you whether a page is indexed and why not.

2. Is the site new?

Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site, or changes to an existing one. You usually do not need to submit anything, but you can speed things up by adding a sitemap in Search Console and requesting indexing for your most important pages.

A site launched last week that does not appear yet is normal. A site launched three months ago that still does not appear has one of the problems below.

3. Is a setting telling Google not to list it?

This is the most common cause of a website not showing on Google after a rebuild. A single setting, called noindex, tells search engines to leave a page out. Google says that when a page carries it, Google will drop that page entirely from Google Search results, whatever links to it.

Website builders and WordPress both have a switch to hide a site while it is being built, and it often stays on after launch. In our check of 195 Portsmouth business websites, 3 homepages were hidden this way. In WordPress, look under Settings, Reading, for the option that discourages search engines.

4. Is robots.txt blocking Google?

A file called robots.txt tells search engines which parts of a site they may visit. One wrong line can block the whole site. Google also warns that if robots.txt blocks a page, its crawler will never see a noindex rule on it, and the page can still turn up in results without a description. Open yourbusiness.co.uk/robots.txt and look for a line that disallows everything.

5. Can Google reach the site?

If the site is down, very slow or shows errors, Google cannot read it. Google lists crawl errors among the main reasons a site is missing. Open your site in a private browser window on your phone. If it does not load quickly, Google has the same problem.

In our Portsmouth check, 64 businesses listed a web address that no longer exists, 19 sites returned an error page and 26 did not answer within 15 seconds. An expired domain takes the site out of Google entirely.

6. Does anything link to it?

Google finds most new pages by following links from pages it already knows. Google names a site that is not linked from other sites as one reason it may not be found. Your Google Business Profile, local directories, suppliers and local groups all count. Even a handful of genuine links helps a new site get found.

7. Is it there, but too low to see?

If the site search shows your pages but customers cannot find you, Google has the site and is choosing other pages for the search. The usual reasons are page titles and descriptions that do not say what you do and where, thin pages, and a site that is slow or awkward on a phone.

In our Portsmouth check, 24% of homepages had a title Google cuts short or leaves too thin, and 42% had a missing or badly sized search description. Each page should say plainly what you do and where, for example web design in Portsmouth or Thai takeaway in Southsea.

8. Not on Google Maps?

The map results come from Google Business Profile, not your website. If you are missing from the map, create and verify a profile first. Google says local results are ranked on three things: relevance, distance and prominence. Prominence is based partly on your reviews and the links to your business, so a steady flow of genuine reviews matters. Read how we help businesses show up on Google Maps.

Check it all in 20 seconds

Our free website check tests the most common causes in one go: whether the homepage is visible to Google, whether it has a sitemap, how fast the server answers, whether it fits a phone, and the title and description Google shows. You see the results on screen in about 20 seconds, and we send a full written report within two working days.

If the check finds the site is sound but enquiries still do not come, see what we do when a website is not getting enquiries.