Why isn't my website on Google? 8 common reasons and how to fix each

Before you start guessing, check. Go to Google and type `site:yourdomain.com` (with your real domain). This command shows how many of your pages Google knows about at all. The answer splits your problem into three, and the rest depends on what you see:

• You get zero results. Google knows nothing about your site. The problem is indexing. Reasons 1 to 3 and 8 are for you.
• You get some pages, but not the important ones. Part is indexed, part isn't. Look at reasons 3, 4, and 7.
• All pages show up, but you're not near the top. Indexing is fine, the problem is ranking. Reasons 4, 5, and 6 are for you.

Now that you know which it is, read on to the right reasons. You can skip the rest.

If the website went live a few days or a few weeks ago, the cause may be the simplest one: Google hasn't discovered it yet. Google crawls sites at its own pace, and for a new site that takes time.

How to fix it: create a free Google Search Console account and add your site. There's a tool called URL inspection: you paste in your page's address and hit "request indexing". That tells Google the page exists and is worth a look. It's not magic that puts you first instantly, but it speeds up discovery.

This is the most common silent killer. Your page may have a line of code that tells search engines outright: don't index this page. Typically this happens when the site was being built and someone ticked "hide from search engines" so it wouldn't show during development. And then forgot to untick it.

Two things are worth checking:

• The noindex tag. This is a line hidden in the page code: `<meta name="robots" content="noindex">`. In WordPress it's often behind a single tickbox in settings ("search engine visibility"). Untick it.
• The robots.txt file. This is a file at `yourdomain.com/robots.txt`. If it has the line `Disallow: /`, it blocks the entire site. Open that address in your browser and look for yourself.

How to fix it: remove the noindex tag and fix robots.txt. Then go to Search Console and request indexing again. This is where many sites suddenly appear on Google within a week, because the problem had been a single tickbox all along.

A sitemap is a file that tells Google which pages your website has, when they were last changed, and which are important. Without it, Google has to find your pages itself, and often doesn't find them all.

How to fix it: most website platforms and SEO plugins create a sitemap automatically. It's usually at `yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml`. Open it and check that your pages are listed. Then add the sitemap address to Google Search Console under "Sitemaps". That way you know Google got the list.

Google doesn't want to index pages that have nothing to say. If your page is three sentences, a phone number, and one image, Google may decide it isn't valuable enough to show in search. The same applies to ranking: a thin page won't reach the top even when it is indexed.

How to fix it: write a page that genuinely answers the question the customer is searching for. Not more words for the sake of words, but real substance: what you offer, to whom, at what price, answers to recurring questions. Simple test: open five competitor pages and ask what they have that you don't. The gap is your to-do list.

Google has said outright that page speed is a ranking factor. A slow page drives away both the visitor and Google. And since most searches come from a phone, a page that's broken on mobile is a double problem.

How to fix it: go to pagespeed.web.dev and paste in your page address. You get a specific report. If the mobile score is under 70 or the page loads in over three seconds, you have a problem. Common culprits are oversized images, too many scripts, and cheap hosting. You can shrink images yourself today. Deeper technical work usually needs a developer's hand.

Sometimes a page is nicely indexed yet still invisible in search. The reason: the page wasn't written for any specific search. The homepage says "Welcome" and lists values, but nobody searches Google for "welcome".

How to fix it: decide, for each page, which search it answers. Put that keyword in the title, the first paragraph, and the page address. One page, one clear question, one clear answer. How to choose a keyword that brings real customers, not just the curious, is something we've covered at length: SEO is not rocket science.

If the same content exists in several places as far as Google is concerned, Google doesn't know which to show, and often shows none of them well. Typical cases: the page is reachable both with and without `www`, on both `http` and `https`, or the same text is copied across several pages.

How to fix it: make sure your site redirects all versions to a single address (usually `https://` and one fixed form, with or without `www`). This is a technical setting a developer does quickly. Don't copy the same text across pages: if two pages have the same content, merge them into one or write them differently.

Some websites are built so the content only appears after the browser has run a pile of code. To a human everything looks fine, but Google may see a blank page. This often happens with certain page builders and heavy script-based sites.

How to fix it: check, in Search Console's URL inspection tool, what Google actually sees on your page. If the content is missing there, the problem is rendering. This is the most technical reason on the list and usually needs a developer to change how the page is built.

Let's be honest about what's what. You'll fix a big part of this list yourself in one evening: untick noindex, add the sitemap to Search Console, add content, shrink images, give every page one clear keyword. These are all doable without a developer.

Some of it needs real work: rendering problems, deeper speed optimisation, canonical settings, and the situation where a site is simply so old and broken that a new one would be faster than fixing it.

If you want someone to review your situation and tell you exactly which one you're dealing with, our AI-powered SEO service does that diagnosis fast. And if your site is old anyway, we'll build a new one with a top-3 guarantee: you reach the top three on an agreed keyword or you get every euro back.

But before you pay anyone, run that 30-second test above. Often the answer is a single tickbox you fix yourself in five minutes. We'll tell you honestly when that's the case, even if it means you buy nothing from us.

How long until Google finds a new page?

Usually a few days to a couple of weeks for a new page, if everything is technically sound. Requesting indexing via Search Console speeds it up. If there's still nothing after a month, the issue isn't waiting, it's one of the other reasons on this list.

Do I have to use Google Search Console?

Essentially yes. It's free and it's the only place you see exactly what Google sees on your site: what's indexed, what isn't, and why. Without it you're just guessing. Setting it up takes a quarter of an hour.

Why is a competitor ahead of me on Google when my site is better?

"Better" in your eyes and "the better answer to this search" in Google's eyes are two different things. The competitor may be older, faster, targeting the right keyword, or simply answering the question more specifically. Look at their page and ask what they do that you don't.

Is it worth building a new site or fixing the old one?

Depends how broken the old one is. If the problem is noindex, sitemap, or content, fix the old one, it's faster. If the site is slow, built so Google can't read it, and old, a new site can be cheaper than endless patching. The honest answer comes only once someone reviews the site.

What is noindex?

It's a command in the page code that tells search engines "don't show this page in search". It's used deliberately for pages you don't want shown (an internal thank-you page, say). The problem arises when it stays attached to the whole site by accident and nobody knows to check for it.

• Don't guess, check. `site:yourdomain.com` tells you immediately whether the problem is indexing or ranking.
• The most common surprise is noindex. A single tickbox can keep a whole site out of Google.
• Search Console is free and shows what Google actually sees on your site. Start there.
• You'll fix a big part yourself: untick noindex, add the sitemap, add content, shrink images, one keyword per page.
• The rest needs real work. We'll tell you honestly which it is, and fix it if you'd rather not.

Your site not showing up on Google? Let us know your domain and the keyword you want customers on. We'll tell you what's wrong, and whether you fix it yourself in five minutes or it's worth calling for help.