Why is my website not showing on Google?

You search Google for your business and your website is not showing. A customer searching for what you sell finds someone else instead. The cause is usually one of the seven below, and they fall into three groups: Google has not found the site yet, something on the site keeps Google out, or the site is on Google but far down the results. One search tells you which group you are in.

First, check if Google has your site at all

Open Google and search for site:yourwebsite.com, with your own address after the colon and no space.

If nothing comes up, Google most likely has not added your site to its index, the list of pages it can show in results. Look at reasons 1 to 5 below.
If your pages come up, but not when you search for what you sell, your site is on Google but lower down. Look at reasons 6 and 7.

Google says the site: search does not always list every page it has. For a firm answer about one page, use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console, explained further down.

Seven reasons your website is not on Google

1. The site is new and Google has not reached it yet

Google finds most pages on its own, by following links from pages it already knows. A new site that no other site links to can wait a long time. Google's guide says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site.

Add the site to Google Search Console, Google's free tool for site owners, and submit your sitemap there. A sitemap is a file that lists every page on your site. Then get other sites to link to yours, such as the directories in your trade.

2. A setting asks search engines to leave your site out

A developer may hide a site from search engines while building it, then forget to switch that off at launch.

On WordPress, the setting is under Settings, then Reading: a box called Discourage search engines from indexing this site. If it is ticked, untick it and click Save Changes.

Any site can do the same with a noindex instruction, which asks Google to leave a page out of its results. Open your home page, press Ctrl+U (Cmd+Option+U on a Mac) and search the code for "noindex". The instruction can also be sent in a way the page code does not show. If you find nothing, the URL Inspection tool will still tell you.

3. Your robots.txt file blocks Google

A site can have a small file at yourwebsite.com/robots.txt with rules for crawlers, the programs search engines send to read websites. These two lines tell every crawler to stay out of the whole site:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Google follows that rule, so it cannot read your pages. If you see these lines in your file and did not mean them, ask your developer to remove them.

4. Google cannot read your pages

Google reads text. A site made mostly of images, a page behind a login, or a site that keeps failing to load can each stop it. Google's guide asks owners to use text, not just images or video, and to check that the site opens in a private browser window.

Open your site in a private window on your phone (Incognito in Chrome). If you see a login screen, an error or a blank page, Google most likely meets the same wall. The URL Inspection tool shows exactly what Google got.

5. Google read the page and chose not to add it

Google does not add every page it reads, and its documentation says that indexing isn't guaranteed. In Search Console this shows as "Crawled - currently not indexed", which means Google read the page and left it out. A page that says nearly the same as another can also be left out as a duplicate.

Make each page useful to a customer on its own. A page that lists every service in one line says little about any of them. A page for each main service, saying what you do, for whom, where, and how to reach you, gives a customer what they came for. Google asks site owners to put their visitors first.

6. Your site is on Google but lower down than you looked

You may find your site when you search for your business name, then miss it when you search for "website designer in Indore". Few other pages use your business name, so your site matches it easily. For a general search, Google weighs your page against many other businesses that offer the same thing.

It helps to give each service its own page. Write it in the words your customers type, with your city in it. For local searches, Google also shows businesses from Google Maps through their Business Profiles, so claim yours and fill it in.

7. You rebuilt or moved the site and the old addresses broke

A move to a new address or a rebuild can turn the pages Google knew under the old addresses into errors. Google then drops those pages, and every link pointing to them leads to an error.

Ask your developer to send each old address to its new page with a permanent redirect, called a 301. Get the list of old addresses from them and test each one before your old site is switched off.

How to check your site in Search Console

Google Search Console is free. It shows which pages Google has added and, for a page it left out, the reason.

Add your site. Google calls it a property and asks you to prove you own the site; your developer can help with that step.
Open Sitemaps and submit your sitemap. It is often at yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml; your developer can confirm.
Paste your home page address into the URL Inspection box at the top. It says whether the page is on Google, and if it is not, why.
Once the cause is fixed, press Request indexing.

Google says crawling can take a few days to a few weeks. Requesting the same page again does not speed it up.

What not to do

Do not pay anyone who promises a top spot. Google says it doesn't accept payment to crawl a site more often or rank it higher.
Do not buy links. Google warns that paying sites to link to you could break its spam policies, its rules against gaming search results.
Do not use robots.txt to hide a page. Google says robots.txt is not a way to keep a page out of Google. Use a noindex instruction instead, and leave the page open to Google so it can read that instruction.

Questions owners ask

How long does a new website take to show on Google?

Google says crawling can take a few days to a few weeks, and a page it has read is not always added. Links from other sites and a submitted sitemap help Google find your pages.

Why does my website show for my business name but not for my service?

Few other pages use your business name, so your site matches it easily. For a search like "CA in Bengaluru", Google weighs your page against many firms that offer the same service. A page for each service, in your customers' words, gives you a better chance.

Does Google charge to list my website?

No. Google says it does not accept payment to crawl or rank a site. The results marked "Sponsored" are Google Ads, which advertisers pay for separately.

Why is my business not showing on Google Maps?

Google Maps lists a business through its Google Business Profile, which is separate from your website. Search for your business on Maps. If no profile comes up, you can create one; if you find one you did not make, you can claim it.

A free check of your site

Our free report reads your home page and up to 10 pages, the way a phone sees them. It checks whether Google can index them, your sitemap and robots.txt, and broken pages, and it runs three Google searches from your city. You get an email summary within a working day.