You built a website, it is live, and when you search for your business on Google it is nowhere to be found. This is one of the most common frustrations for business owners, and it usually has a simple cause. Here are the seven most common reasons, in plain language, with a way to check each one.
1. Google does not know your site exists yet
A brand-new website is not automatically in Google. Google has to find it first, usually by following a link from another site or by reading a “sitemap” that you submit.
How to check: type site:yourwebsite.com into Google (with your real address). If nothing at all comes back, Google has not indexed your site.
What to do: create a free Google Search Console account, add your site, and submit your sitemap. Ask us if you are not sure where your sitemap is.
2. Something is telling Google to stay away
Sometimes a setting blocks Google by mistake. Developers often switch on a “do not index” setting while a site is being built and forget to remove it at launch. A file called robots.txt can also block search engines.
How to check: in Search Console, use the URL Inspection tool on your home page. It tells you if the page is blocked and why.
3. Your pages say very little
Google wants pages that answer a real question. A page with a few lines of text, or the same text copied across many pages, gives Google little reason to show it.
What to do: write for the person who is searching. Explain what you do, who it is for, how it works and what it costs to get started. Real detail beats clever slogans.
4. The site is slow or hard to use on a phone
Most people search on their phones. If your pages take a long time to load, or the text is tiny and buttons are hard to tap, both visitors and Google notice.
How to check: open your site on your own phone on normal mobile data. If it feels slow to you, it feels slow to everyone.
5. Nobody else links to you
Links from other websites act like recommendations. A new site with no links is a stranger to Google. This is normal at the start, but it needs to change over time.
What to do: list your business on trusted directories, ask partners and customers to mention you, and publish things worth sharing.
6. You are aiming at the wrong words
You might be trying to rank for a phrase nobody types, or for a phrase so competitive that big companies own it. “Best company” is a poor target. “Website for a small clinic” may be a much better one.
What to do: think about the exact words a customer would type when they have a problem, and build a page for each of those.
7. It simply takes time
Even a perfectly built site usually needs weeks or months before it ranks for competitive searches. Google itself says changes can take anywhere from hours to several months to show up. Nobody can honestly promise you a first-page position by a certain date.
What to do next
- Check whether Google has indexed you (reason 1).
- Make sure nothing is blocking Google (reason 2).
- Fix speed and phone problems (reason 4).
- Improve your pages so they answer real questions (reasons 3 and 6).
- Be patient and keep building links (reasons 5 and 7).
If you would like a plain-language review of why your site is not showing, talk to us. We will tell you honestly what is wrong and what it will take.