If your website isn't showing on Google, it's usually one of four things: Google hasn't found it yet, something is telling Google to stay away, the pages don't give Google much to work with, or the site is indexed but ranking too low to notice. Here's what each one means, and how we find out which it is.
"Not showing" can mean different things
Sometimes Google has no pages from the site at all. Sometimes it has a few pages but not the important ones. And often the pages are in Google's index but sit so far down the results that nobody finds them. Each has a different cause and a different fix, so the first job is working out which one you're dealing with.
Where we look first: Google Search Console
Google Search Console is Google's free tool for site owners. It shows how Google sees your site: which pages are indexed, which aren't and why, and which searches you appear for. If it's never been set up for your site, nobody can see what Google is reporting. It's the first place we look.
Reason 1: Google hasn't found it yet
New sites and new pages can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to appear. A site that Google hasn't been told about, with nothing linking to it, can take longer, because Google has no path to it.
Reason 2: Something is blocking Google
This is more common than you'd think, especially after a redesign. The usual culprits:
- A "noindex" setting. Many website builders and WordPress have a "discourage search engines" option that's left on after launch.
- Crawler rules telling Google to stay out. One line in the site's robots.txt file can block the whole site.
- A password or "coming soon" page still in front of the site.
- Canonical tags pointing elsewhere, telling Google another address is the real one.
None of these are visible to a normal visitor, so a site can look fine in the browser and still be invisible to Google.
Reason 3: The pages don't give Google much
Google may find a page and choose not to index it if there's little on it, or if it's almost the same as other pages. Common causes:
- one "Services" page instead of a page for each service
- suburb pages that are copies with the suburb name swapped
- pages that are mostly images, with very little text
- the same content on several pages
What Google wants is useful, specific pages: one for each service and real area you serve, each answering the questions customers actually ask.
Reason 4: It's indexed, but ranking too low
If your pages are in Google's index but you can't find yourself for "your service + your suburb", the site is losing to others. That's a ranking problem, not an indexing one. It usually comes down to:
- Your Google Business Profile. For local searches, the map results often matter more than the website. See getting your business on Google.
- Page titles and headings that don't clearly say what and where
- Speed on phones: see why is my website slow?
- Reviews and local links
What is local SEO? explains how local rankings work.
Did it disappear after a redesign?
If your site used to show up and stopped after a rebuild, the usual cause is changed page addresses without redirects, or a noindex setting carried over from the test site. Our article on moving a website without losing rankings explains what goes wrong.
How we find and fix it
When a site isn't showing on Google, we:
- Check how Google sees it in Search Console, setting it up first if needed.
- Find and remove whatever is blocking Google, from leftover noindex settings to crawler rules and canonical tags, and make sure every important page is indexed.
- Write proper service and location pages where thin or duplicate pages are holding the site back.
- Fix titles, headings and speed, and set up or optimise your Google Business Profile for local searches.
- Redirect old addresses after a redesign, so Google can connect the old pages to the new ones.
Our free website health check covers Google indexing, and our SEO service takes it from there.
Still not showing up?
Get a free website health check, or call us. We'll check how Google sees your site and tell you what's stopping it from showing up.
This article is general information only and isn't legal, financial or technical advice for your situation. Questions? Talk to us.