My site isn't showing up on Google

Not appearing in Google search results is one of the most common concerns new website owners have. There are several different reasons this can happen, and understanding which one applies to you points you toward the right fix.

Troubleshooter

Why isn't Google showing my site?

Did your site launch in the last few weeks?

Is your site brand new?

If your site launched in the last few weeks, this is almost certainly normal. Google describes Search as working in three stages, and not every page makes it through each one:

Crawling: Google downloads text, images and video from pages it has found
Indexing: Google analyzes what it downloaded and stores it in the Google index, a large database
Serving search results: when someone searches, Google returns what's relevant to them

Crawling, indexing and ranking are three separate stages, and a page can quietly fail either of the first two. That is why having a page live on your site is not the same as having it in Google's index.

Read this as text

Everything you publish starts as a page on your site. Google works in three stages. First a crawler has to discover the page. Then Google decides whether to add it to its index, the database of pages it searches through. Only then, when someone searches, does Google rank the pages in its index based on hundreds of factors.

Pages can fall out at the first two stages. A page may never be crawled if nothing links to it and no sitemap has been submitted, if a robots.txt error blocks Google, or if the page loads very slowly. A page may be crawled and still be left out of the index if the content is thin, duplicated or low quality, if it carries a “noindex” instruction, or if Google couldn’t load it properly.

That is why having a page on your website doesn’t guarantee it’s in Google’s index, and a page that isn’t indexed won’t appear in search results at all.

Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and that indexing isn't guaranteed: not every page Google processes will be indexed.

Patience is key for new sites

There's no shortcut to instant Google indexing for brand-new sites. The most you can do is submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and make sure your site is set up correctly. We handle this as part of every launch.

Step 1: Check if Google has indexed your site at all

Go to Google.com.

Search for: site:yourdomainname.com (replace with your actual domain).

If results appear, Google has indexed your site: the problem is about ranking (where you appear) rather than indexing.

If no results appear, your site hasn't been indexed yet, or there's a technical problem preventing indexing.

Step 2: Check Google Search Console

Google Search Console is Google's free tool for website owners. It shows you how Google sees your site, what pages are indexed, and any errors it has found.

Log in to Google Search Console at search.google.com/search-console.

Select your property (your website).

Open the Page indexing report. It shows which pages Google can find and index on your site, and flags indexing problems. If your site has fewer than 500 pages, Google suggests the site: searches above instead. This report is worth opening when those turn up nothing.

Check the Manual actions report. If it lists anything, a human reviewer at Google has decided pages on your site don't comply with Google's spam policies. A clean site shows a green check mark.

Manual action found?

A manual action means a human reviewer at Google found that pages on the site break Google's spam policies, and some or all of the site won't be shown in search results. This is serious but fixable. Do not attempt to resolve this without professional help. Contact us immediately.

Common reasons a site doesn't appear in Google

Reason	Fix
Site is new (launched in the last few weeks)	Wait; submit sitemap in Search Console
"Discourage search engines" is turned on	Fix a WordPress setting (see Step 3)
No sitemap submitted	Submit sitemap in Search Console
Site has a robots.txt block	Technical fix needed
Google penalties (manual or algorithmic)	Professional SEO review needed
Site is very thin on content	Add more quality content

Step 3: Check the "discourage search engines" setting in WordPress

WordPress has a setting that tells search engines not to index the site. This is meant for sites under development, but it sometimes gets left on after launch.

Log in to your WordPress dashboard.

Go to Settings, then Reading.

Look for the Search Engine Visibility checkbox, labeled "Discourage search engines from indexing this site."

If the box is checked, uncheck it and click Save Changes.

Was the box checked?

If yes, this was almost certainly the cause. Once it's off, WordPress stops asking search engines to stay away and Google can crawl and index the site on its normal schedule. Note that this setting was only ever a request: as WordPress puts it, it's up to search engines to honor it, so unchecking it doesn't force anything to happen on a set date.

Step 4: Submit your sitemap to Google

A sitemap (a file that lists all your pages) is optional (Google can discover your pages without one) but Google says submitting one through Search Console might speed up discovery.

Find your sitemap URL. WordPress has included its own XML sitemap since version 5.5, and publishes it at https://yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml. SEO plugins add their own, often at https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml or https://yoursite.com/sitemap_index.xml. If none of those addresses works, ask us and we'll find it.

Open Google Search Console and go to the Sitemaps report.

Paste your sitemap URL into the "Add a new sitemap" box and click Submit.

If you're not sure where your sitemap is, contact us and we'll check.

Common questions

My site appears when I search my exact business name but not for other searches.

This is normal for newer sites. Brand-name searches are easiest to rank for. Ranking for broader keyword searches takes time and ongoing SEO work. This is separate from the indexing question.

My site was ranking and then disappeared from results.

This is called a ranking drop. It can be caused by a Google algorithm update, a technical change to the site, new competitor content, or a penalty. Contact us: we'll investigate and can recommend next steps.

How long until I see results from fixing these issues?

Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, so give indexing changes that long before you judge them, and remember Google doesn't guarantee that a page will be indexed at all. Algorithm-related changes take longer. There are no overnight fixes for organic search visibility.

I fixed the 'discourage search engines' setting months ago and I'm still not indexed.

Check for additional technical blocks (robots.txt, noindex tags, or a sitemap issue). Contact us: we can run a full technical SEO audit.