Why Your Website Isn't Showing Up on Google (and How to Fix It)

"My website isn't on Google" usually means one of two different problems: Google doesn't have the page, or it has the page and ranks it too low for you to find. Start by working out which.

Step 1: search for yourself the right way

Type site:yourdomain.com into Google. If you see results, your site is indexed and you probably have a ranking problem, so skip to cause 6. If you see nothing, Google doesn't have your pages, and causes 1 to 5 apply.

Step 2: set up Search Console

Add your site to Google Search Console. It's free and it removes the guesswork. The Page indexing report lists which pages are indexed and gives a reason for each one that isn't, and the URL Inspection tool checks a single page.

The seven usual causes

1. The site is too new

A brand-new domain can take days or weeks to appear. Submit a sitemap in Search Console and request indexing for your homepage. Links from other sites, such as your social profiles and business directories, also help Google find you.

2. A noindex tag was left in place

Developers often hide a site from Google while building it, and the setting sometimes survives launch. In WordPress, check Settings, then Reading, then "Discourage search engines". On any site, look in the page source for noindex. Google's documentation explains how the tag works.

3. robots.txt is blocking Google

Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt. A line reading Disallow: / under User-agent: * tells every crawler to stay out. Remove it unless you meant it.

4. Wrong canonical tags or redirects

A canonical tag pointing at another page tells Google to index that page instead. Sites moved from staging often carry canonicals pointing at the old address. URL Inspection shows which canonical Google chose.

5. Google crawled the page and passed

Search Console labels this "Crawled - currently not indexed". It usually points to thin or near-duplicate content: a service page with two sentences, or fifty city pages with only the name changed. Make the page more useful and link to it from your important pages.

6. You're indexed but outranked

If site: finds you and your target search doesn't, this is a ranking problem. Go after more specific phrases first. "Custom furniture maker in Ahmedabad" is winnable long before "furniture" is. Our guide to SEO for business growth covers this.

7. The site is slow or broken on phones

Google mainly looks at the mobile version of your site, so problems there affect how it sees you. Our free audit tests your real mobile speed in about 30 seconds.

For local businesses

If you serve one area, set up and verify a Google Business Profile as well. It's how you appear on Maps and in the local results. Our local SEO checklist walks through it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Google take to index a new site?

Often days to a few weeks. It varies, and a sitemap and a few inbound links usually help. There's no way to pay Google to speed up organic indexing.

Does running Google Ads help my organic ranking?

No. Ads and organic results are separate systems.

I fixed the problem. What now?

Use URL Inspection to request indexing for your key pages, then give it time. If you'd like a second pair of eyes, we can take a look.