Website not showing up on Google? 9 causes and fixes

Not on Google? It is usually one of nine causes, from a leftover noindex tag to a new site Google hasn't found yet. How to check and fix each one.

You launched the website, searched for your business on Google, and nothing came up. It is one of the most common worries after a launch, and the good news is that the cause is almost always findable with free tools in under an hour. This guide goes from the most common cause to the least, with a way to check each one.

First, separate two different problems. Not indexed means Google does not have your page at all. Not ranking means Google has it but shows other pages above it. The fixes are different, so start by finding out which one you have.

Step one: is the site indexed at all?

Search Google for site:yourbusiness.com. If results appear, Google has indexed at least part of your site, and your problem is more likely ranking. If nothing appears, it is an indexing problem, and causes 1 to 6 below are where to look.

The site: search is a rough check. For an exact answer, set up Google Search Console, Google's free tool for site owners. Add your site, verify that you own it (a DNS record is the most reliable method), then use the URL Inspection tool on your homepage. It tells you whether that page is in Google's index and, if not, why.

1. The site is simply too new

Google has to discover a site before it can index it, and a brand-new domain with no links pointing to it can take days or weeks to be found. Speed it up by submitting a sitemap in Search Console (most site platforms create one at /sitemap.xml) and using Request indexing in URL Inspection for your most important pages.

2. A noindex setting is blocking it

This is the most common cause of a site that never appears, and it is usually left over from building. A noindex instruction tells Google not to show a page in results. Places to check:

• WordPress: Settings → Reading → "Discourage search engines from indexing this site". It must be unticked on a live site.
• SEO plugins: pages or whole content types set to noindex.
• Website builders: a "hide from search engines" or "password protect" option left on after launch.

URL Inspection will report "Excluded by 'noindex' tag" if this is the cause.

3. robots.txt is telling Google to stay out

Open yourbusiness.com/robots.txt in a browser. A line that reads Disallow: / under User-agent: * blocks crawlers from the whole site. It is a common leftover from a staging copy. Remove it, then request indexing again.

4. Google is looking at the wrong address

If the site was built on a temporary address and then moved, Google may have found the temporary one first, or every page may point to it through a canonical tag. Check that the live site's pages declare the live address as canonical, that the temporary copy is password-protected or set to noindex, and that the old address redirects to the new one. The same applies to http vs https and www vs non-www: pick one version and redirect the rest to it. Our guide to .htaccess redirects shows the common patterns.

5. The server is returning errors

If Google's crawler gets an error or a timeout when it visits, it cannot index the page. Search Console's Pages report lists server errors (5xx) and pages not found (404). Slow or unreliable hosting shows up here first. See hosting uptime explained and how to reduce TTFB.

6. The content only appears after JavaScript runs

Google can render JavaScript, but sites that load all of their text through scripts are harder to index reliably, and other search and AI crawlers often do not run scripts at all. In URL Inspection, use View crawled page to see what Google actually received. If your headings and text are missing there, the site needs server-side rendering or pre-rendering.

7. Pages are indexed but have little to rank on

A homepage with a logo, one sentence and a contact button gives Google very little to match against a search. Each important service deserves its own page that says, in plain words, what you do, where you do it and who it is for. A page titled "Services" ranks for nothing; a page titled "Emergency plumbing repair in Doral" can.

8. Other sites are simply ahead for that search

If you search for a broad phrase like "bakery" or "web design", you are competing with every business in the country. Search instead for your exact business name: a new site should appear for that first. Ranking for competitive phrases takes useful content, a fast site and other sites linking to you, which is a longer project. Start with the local SEO guide and the WordPress SEO guide.

9. A manual action or security issue

Rarely, Google removes a site from results because it was hacked or broke Google's spam policies. Search Console has a Manual actions report and a Security issues report; both should read "No issues detected". If your site was hacked, follow our recovery guide before requesting a review.

Local businesses: the map results are separate

The map and business listings at the top of local searches come from Google Business Profile, not from your website alone. If you serve customers in a specific area, create and verify your profile, choose accurate categories, and link it to your website. It is often the fastest way for a new local business to appear on Google at all.

And in AI answers

More people now ask ChatGPT or Google's AI answers instead of scrolling results. Most of what helps Google helps there too, plus a few extra steps covered in how to get recommended by ChatGPT and AI search.