You paid for a new website. It looks good, the phone number is right and your nephew says it loads fast. Then you search your business name on Google and get your Facebook page, a Yelp listing and a directory you’ve never heard of. Your actual website is nowhere.
It’s a frustrating moment, and a common one. But in most cases, nothing is broken. Google either hasn’t found the site yet, has been told not to show it or doesn’t yet see a reason to rank it above other pages.
Those are three different problems with three different fixes. Here’s how to tell which one you have.
First, is Google seeing your site at all?
Go to Google and type site: followed by your domain, with no space. For example: site:yourbusiness.com.
This asks Google to list every page from your site that’s in its index, which is the database it pulls search results from. Google’s own help documentation recommends this exact check.
If you see a list of your pages, Google knows about your site. Your problem is ranking, which we’ll get to below. If you see nothing, Google hasn’t indexed you, and the fix is usually technical.
Why would Google not index a site?
It’s new. Google has to discover a site before it can show it. According to Google, indexing “can be anywhere from a day or two to a few weeks, typically,” and it recommends allowing at least a week after submitting a sitemap before assuming something is wrong. A site launched last Tuesday may simply not be there yet.
Something is telling Google to stay away. Many website builders have a setting that hides a site from search engines while it’s under construction. It’s often a checkbox labeled something like “discourage search engines.” If that setting was left on at launch, Google is following instructions. The same goes for a “noindex” tag on a page or a robots.txt file that blocks crawlers. Your web designer can check all three in a few minutes.
The site is behind a password. Some sites stay password-protected after a soft launch. Google can’t index what it can’t open.
Nothing points to it. Google finds most new pages by following links. A brand-new site with no links from anywhere is harder to discover. A Google Business Profile that links to your website, plus a listing with your local chamber or trade association, gives Google a path in.
How do you tell Google your site exists?
Set up Google Search Console. It’s a free tool from Google that shows which of your pages are indexed, which searches you appear for and whether anything is blocking you.
Once you’ve verified that you own the site, submit your sitemap: a file, usually at yourbusiness.com/sitemap.xml, that lists your pages. Most website platforms create one automatically. Google says sitemaps help it prioritize which pages to crawl, which is especially useful for a new site with few links.
Search Console also has a URL Inspection tool. Paste in any page address, and it tells you whether that page is indexed and, if not, why.
What if your site is indexed but still doesn’t show up?
This is the more common situation, and it’s a different kind of problem.
If site: lists your pages but you don’t appear when you search “roof repair Greenville,” Google knows you exist. It just ranks other pages higher. That’s not a technical fault. It’s competition.
Think of it this way. Being indexed means your book is in the library. Ranking means it’s the one the librarian hands over when someone asks a question. Plenty of books are in the library without ever being recommended.
Google generally ranks pages based on how well they answer the search and how much the rest of the web trusts the site. A brand-new website with a home page, an about page and a single Services page gives Google very little to work with on either front.
So what actually helps you rank?
A few things, roughly in order of speed.
Searching your exact business name should bring up your site fairly soon after indexing, since few other pages match it. If it doesn’t, double-check that your business name appears clearly on your home page and in its page title.
For searches about what you do, rather than who you are, you need pages that are clearly about those things. A dedicated page for each main service gives Google something specific to match.
Then there’s the longer game: articles that answer the questions your customers search before they call, a complete Google Business Profile, steady reviews and links from other local websites. Our guide to local SEO for small businesses walks through each of these in order.
How long should you wait?
For indexing, give it a week or two after submitting your sitemap. For ranking on competitive searches, expect months rather than weeks. We explain why in how long SEO takes to work.
A website that doesn’t show up on Google isn’t necessarily a bad website. It’s usually a new one that hasn’t given Google enough to go on. If you’d like help giving it more, I write search-focused articles for Greenville businesses, and you can book a 15-minute call.