Website Not Showing Up on Google? Reasons & Quick Fixes

Why Your Website Isn’t Showing Up on Google (and What to Do About It)

If your website isn’t showing up on Google, it can feel like shouting into a void. You’ve built it, launched it, maybe even added some content - but nothing appears in the search results.

This article breaks down the most common reasons why your site isn’t appearing in Google, how indexing works, and what you can do to fix it.

Whether you’re launching a new website or dealing with a drop in visibility, you’ll find practical answers here.

Outline of Topics Covered

1. What does it mean to be indexed by Google?

2. How to check if your site is on Google

3. Why your website isn't showing up in Google search

4. Google Search Console: your starting point

5. Telling Google to index your site

6. Fixing crawl and index issues

7. What role does a sitemap play?

8. Understanding search intent and content relevance

9. Is your site being penalised by Google?

10. How to optimise your website for visibility

1. What does it mean to be indexed by Google?

Before anything else, your website needs to be part of Google’s index. This means that Google has found your website, crawled its pages, and added them to its database.

If your site isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in search results.

When Google crawls your website, it uses bots to read through the content on each page. It then decides if the page is worth indexing.

Indexing simply means it’s been included in Google’s searchable library of pages. If that doesn’t happen, your website isn’t going to show up on Google - no matter how good the content is.

It’s important to note that just having a website doesn’t mean it will automatically appear on Google. There are steps needed to make sure search engines like Google can crawl and index your site effectively.

2. How to check if your site is on Google

The easiest way to check if your site is in Google’s index is to run a simple site search. Go to Google and type:

site:yourdomain.com

If results show up, Google has indexed your site. If nothing appears, your website pages are not in the index. That’s where the troubleshooting begins.

Another way is to log in to your Google Search Console account and review the Index Coverage report.

This will tell you how many pages Google has indexed and highlight any problems that may be preventing your site from appearing in search results.

3. Why your website isn't showing up in Google search

There are a number of reasons your site may not be visible:

• The site is new and hasn’t been crawled yet.

• Your site is blocked from indexing (often through a noindex tag or robots.txt file).

• There’s been an error in your sitemap or page structure.

• Google may not want to index low-quality or duplicate content.

• A manual action or penalty has been applied.

One common cause is that the site hasn’t been submitted to Google at all. Google tends to find websites through links from other pages, but if your site has no inbound links, it may never be found unless you tell Google about it directly.

4. Google Search Console: your starting point

If your website isn’t showing, the first tool you should use is Google Search Console. It provides a direct line to how Google sees your site. You can:

• Submit your sitemap to Google.

• Request indexing for individual URLs.

• Check indexing errors and crawl issues.

• See which pages are excluded from the index.

Google Search Console is free and essential if you want to appear in Google search results. It gives real data about what Google sees - and doesn’t see - on your website.

5. Telling Google to index your site

Once you’ve signed up for Google Search Console, you can actively tell Google to crawl your site. This can be done by:

• Submitting a sitemap.

• Using the URL Inspection Tool to request indexing.

• Fixing any issues listed under “Coverage.”

If you don’t tell Google, it may still find your site eventually. But if you want to get your site on Google quickly, especially if it’s new, it helps to be direct.

You should also make sure your robots.txt file isn't preventing Google from crawling your site. Mistakes in that file are a common reason websites don’t appear on Google.

6. Fixing crawl and index issues

Google can’t index what it can’t find. So, if your site structure is broken, pages aren’t linked properly, or you’re using noindex tags incorrectly, it may block indexing.

Here are some quick checks:

• Use Google Search Console to crawl your site and check status.

• Make sure no important pages are blocked by robots.txt.

• Remove noindex tags from pages you want indexed.

• Link to important pages from your homepage or sitemap.

If there’s an issue with your site that prevents crawling, your site won’t appear in Google’s index. You’ll need to fix that first.

7. What role does a sitemap play?

A sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website. It helps search engines understand the structure of your site and find all your important content.

You should always submit your sitemap to Google via Search Console.

Key points:

• It helps Google crawl your site efficiently.

• It lists pages that might not be linked elsewhere.

• You can tell Google when pages were last updated.

Submitting a sitemap to Google doesn’t guarantee every page will be indexed, but it does help guide the process. If your sitemap has errors, though, it can confuse Google and stop indexing altogether.

8. Understanding search intent and content relevance

Even if your pages are indexed, they still may not show up for searches. That’s where search intent and content come in.

Google tries to match search results with what the user is actually looking for.

If the content on your website doesn’t align with what people expect to find, your site may not appear in Google searches - even if it’s indexed.

Tips to improve relevance:

• Write clear, specific content that answers real queries.

• Use headings and structure to help search engines understand your topic.

• Match your content with specific search intent (informational, transactional, etc).

Remember, it’s not just about being in the index. You also need to appear in the right context to show up in Google search results.

9. Is your site being penalised by Google?

In some cases, a site may be indexed but still not show up properly due to a penalty. This might be from spammy backlinks, copied content, or violations of Google’s webmaster guidelines.

You can check for penalties in Google Search Console under “Manual Actions.” If you’ve been hit with one, you’ll need to fix the issue and request a review.

Not all penalties are manual. Algorithmic penalties won’t show up in Search Console, but they can still affect how and where you appear on Google.

If your site suddenly disappears from search results, it’s worth considering.

10. How to optimise your website for visibility

Getting indexed is the first step. After that, you’ll need to optimise your website so it actually ranks and appears for relevant searches.

Here’s what to focus on:

• Fast loading times

• Mobile-friendly layout

• Descriptive title tags and meta descriptions

• Internal links that help Google crawl your site

• Keyword-focused, useful content

Search engine optimisation (SEO) isn’t just a technical task. It’s about structuring your site so it makes sense - to people and to search engines like Google.

Keep your content fresh. Google tends to favour sites that are updated regularly and offer current, relevant information. If your content is thin or outdated, Google may not want to keep showing it.

Summary: Key Actions to Get Your Website on Google

• Check if your site is already indexed using a site search or Google Search Console.

• Submit a sitemap to Google and fix any crawl errors.

• Remove anything that may be blocking indexing (like noindex tags or robots.txt rules).

• Use Google Search Console to monitor how Google sees your website.

• Align your content with search intent to improve relevance.

• Fix technical issues that could be preventing your site from showing.

• Avoid penalties by sticking to Google's guidelines.

• Keep content updated and your site technically sound.

• Optimise on-page SEO elements like title tags, headings, and internal links.

If your website isn’t showing up on Google, don’t guess. SEOJet can help you identify the problem, fix it, and put a strategy in place that gets real results.

Whether your site is brand new or you’re dealing with a drop in rankings, we’ll help you move forward with clarity.

Get in touch with SEOJet and make your site visible where it matters.