Why is my website not showing up on Google?
Several things that keep a site out of Google can be seen from the outside. Enter your address and this free check looks for them, then tells you what to change.
Check your website
If the page still does not show in Google, the cause is usually something this check cannot see from outside: the site is new and Google has not got to it yet, few other sites link to it, or the page says too little that is new. Search Console's URL Inspection tool shows what Google has.
This check cannot see Google's index, so it cannot tell you whether a page is indexed. It reads your public page, robots.txt and sitemap the way a visitor would. To see what Google has, search Google for site:yourdomain.com and use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console.
This opens our project form with your address and the list above filled in. You can edit it before you send.
What the check looks for.
Each item below is something the checker can observe from outside. A blocker can keep a page out of Google. Anything else is worth fixing but will not block it by itself.
The page does not load properly
If the address returns an error (404, 500), times out, loops through redirects or does not resolve at all, Google cannot read it. A page that returns "not found" drops out of search, and repeated server errors can make Google crawl the site less.
What to do. Open the address in a private browser window. Fix the error, restore the page or redirect it to the right page, and check your domain has not expired.
robots.txt blocks Googlebot
The robots.txt file at the top of your site tells crawlers which paths to stay out of. A line such as Disallow: / blocks the whole site. Google then cannot read the pages, so it has nothing to show beyond, at most, a bare address.
What to do. Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt and look for Disallow lines that match your page. Remove or narrow them. A staging setting that was never switched off after launch can cause this.
A noindex instruction
A noindex tag in the page, or an X-Robots-Tag header from the server, is a direct request to keep the page out of search. Google honors it. Many website builders and plugins have a "hide from search engines" switch, and it is easy to leave it on after launch.
What to do. Turn off the setting that adds noindex, or remove the tag. Then use URL Inspection in Search Console and request indexing.
The canonical tag points to another page
A canonical tag names the preferred address for a page. If it names a different page, Google usually shows that page and treats yours as a duplicate. This can happen after copying a page, or when a theme or plugin writes the wrong address.
What to do. Set the canonical tag to the page's own address, unless you really do want the other page to be the one in search.
No HTTPS, or a certificate problem
Browsers warn visitors about sites without a valid certificate, and Google prefers pages it can load securely. An expired or mismatched certificate can scare visitors away and cause crawling trouble.
What to do. Install or renew a certificate and redirect http addresses to https. Many hosts and website builders include this at no extra cost.
Long redirect chains
One redirect, such as http to https, is normal. A chain of several hops slows the page, and Google gives up on very long chains. A redirect to a different domain usually tells Google that other domain is the real site.
What to do. Point the first address straight at the final one in a single step.
No sitemap
A sitemap is a list of the pages you want found. It is not required, but it helps Google discover new pages, especially on a new site with few links pointing to it.
What to do. Create a sitemap (most platforms and SEO plugins can), list it in robots.txt and submit it in Search Console under Sitemaps.
Missing title, description or H1
These do not stop Google from indexing a page, but they tell it and your visitors what the page is about. Without a title or description, Google writes its own, which may not say what you would.
What to do. Give every page a specific title, a one or two sentence description, and one H1 heading that names the topic.
The page fails on a phone
Google mostly crawls the mobile version of a page. If a phone request gets an error, or the page has no viewport tag, the mobile version may be broken or unreadable.
What to do. Check mobile redirects and firewall rules, and make sure the page has a viewport meta tag or a responsive theme.
The text only appears after JavaScript runs
If the HTML the server sends contains almost no text, the content is probably drawn by JavaScript in the browser. Google can run JavaScript, but it adds a delay and can fail, and other search engines may not try. This tool does not run JavaScript, so a flag here is a hint to check, not a verdict.
What to do. Use server-side rendering or pre-rendering for your main content, and check "View crawled page" in Search Console's URL Inspection to see what Google sees.
What the check cannot see.
Only Google knows what is in its index. This tool cannot see it. Use these four steps to find out, and what to do once you know.
Search for your site
Type site:yourdomain.com into Google. If nothing comes back, Google has no pages from the domain. If some pages show, it only means those are indexed. The search is a rough guide, not a full list.
Inspect one address in Search Console
Verify your site in Google Search Console (it is free), paste a page address into the bar at the top and read the verdict. It says whether the page is on Google and, if not, why.
Read the Pages report
The Pages report under Indexing lists pages that are not indexed, with a reason for each. The reasons include a noindex tag, a robots.txt block, "Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user", "Crawled - currently not indexed" and "Discovered - currently not indexed". Each reason points to a different fix.
Ask for indexing
After fixing a problem, inspect the address again and choose Request indexing. Submit your sitemap under Sitemaps. Neither forces Google to show the page, but both tell it where to look.
Common causes by platform.
When the checker recognizes your platform it adds fix notes to each finding. Menu names change, so treat these as pointers to the right setting.
Wix
Each page has its own SEO settings, including whether search engines may index it, and a page can also be hidden by a password or a members-only setting. robots.txt is edited in the SEO dashboard under Tools and settings. Check which address you test: the free wixsite.com address and a connected domain are different sites to Google.
Squarespace
Pages have a "Hide page from search results" setting in their SEO options. Under Settings, Crawlers, a "Block Search engine crawlers" switch adds a Disallow rule to robots.txt. The site's availability must be Public. Squarespace builds your sitemap for you.
WordPress
Under Settings, Reading, "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" adds a noindex tag to every page, and it is easy to leave ticked after development. WordPress does not block your public pages in robots.txt by default. SEO plugins add per-page indexing settings, their own sitemaps and sometimes a robots.txt editor.
Shopify
A storefront password hides the whole store from visitors and Google. Remove it under Online Store, Preferences, when you are ready to launch. robots.txt can be changed through a theme template.
Want to go deeper? Read our step-by-step guide to auditing your website, see how ourSEO service works, or take the website quiz to find out what kind of site fits your business.
Questions people ask.
Why is my website not showing up on Google?
There are three broad reasons. The page is blocked (robots.txt, noindex or a password), Google has not found or crawled it yet because the site is new or has few links to it, or Google crawled it and chose not to index it. The checker above covers the first group. Search Console's Pages report shows which group applies to your page.
How long does it take for a new website to show up on Google?
Google says it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for a new site to be crawled, and it does not guarantee that a page will be indexed at all. Submitting a sitemap and requesting indexing in Search Console helps Google find your pages sooner.
How do I check if my website is indexed by Google?
Search Google for site:yourdomain.com for a quick look, and use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console for an exact answer about any single page. This checker cannot see Google's index, so it will not tell you.
My website shows up for my business name but not for anything else. Why?
Being indexed and ranking are different. If a search for your business name finds you, the page is in Google. Ranking for other searches depends on how useful and relevant the page is compared with others, and on links from other sites. That is a content and SEO question, not a blocker.
How do I submit my website to Google?
Add and verify your site in Google Search Console, submit your sitemap under Sitemaps, and use URL Inspection on your most important pages to request indexing. There is no other form that guarantees inclusion.
Does the checker store the address I enter?
We do not save the address or the result. Our server requests that page, its robots.txt file and its sitemap, runs the checks and returns the result to your browser. To limit repeated use, we keep a counter of recent checks under a one-way hash of your IP address, and the checker deletes counters more than an hour old as it runs. If you choose "Have us fix this", the address and the findings are placed in the project form in your browser, and we receive them only if you send that form.
The checker found nothing wrong but my site is still not on Google. What now?
Open Search Console and read the reason for the page in URL Inspection. If it says "Crawled - currently not indexed" or "Discovered - currently not indexed", Google knows about the page but has not added it. Improving the page, adding internal links to it and earning links from other sites are the usual next steps.
Want it fixed for you?
Our team can fix what the check finds and set up your site so Google can read it. Send us your address and the findings.
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