How to make your website show up on Google
A website shows up on Google in two stages. First Google has to find it and add it to its index, which takes a few settings and a few days. Then Google has to judge its pages worth showing for a search, which takes content and time. The eight steps below cover both, in order.
Each sounding opens its section
- 01 1. Publish the site on its own domain 39 words
- 02 2. Make sure nothing blocks Google 42 words
- 03 3. Verify the site in Search Console 42 words
- 04 4. Submit the sitemap 29 words
- 05 5. Request indexing for the main pages 40 words
- 06 6. Give each search its own page 43 words
- 07 7. Claim the Business Profile 43 words
- 08 8. Earn the first links 42 words
- 09 If it still does not appear 40 words
- 10 Questions people ask 132 words
- 11 Free competitor gap report 98 words
- 12 More in this series 244 words
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- Internal links
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1. Publish the site on its own domain
Google lists what is public. A site still in draft, on a trial plan or behind a password is invisible to it. Publish the site, on a domain of its own.
2. Make sure nothing blocks Google
Every platform has a setting that hides a site from search engines, meant for use while it is being built. Check that it is off. Our guides cover the setting on Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and WordPress.
3. Verify the site in Search Console
Google Search Console is free, and it is where Google tells a site’s owner what it has found. Add the site and complete the verification. Most platforms have a field or a button for it.
4. Submit the sitemap
A sitemap lists the pages you want found. Most platforms produce one automatically, usually at /sitemap.xml. Submit its address in Search Console’s Sitemaps section.
5. Request indexing for the main pages
In Search Console, paste the home page’s address into URL Inspection and select Request indexing. Do the same for the main service or product pages. Google then visits sooner than it would unprompted.
6. Give each search its own page
Google ranks pages. A business that offers five services needs five pages, each with a title and heading that name the service in the words customers use, and enough on the page to answer the search.
7. Claim the Business Profile
A business that serves local customers appears in the map results through its Google Business Profile, separately from its website. Claim it, verify it and complete it. Our guide to optimising a Google Business Profile covers the fields.
8. Earn the first links
Google finds and trusts sites through links from other sites. Ask suppliers, trade bodies, local directories and customers with websites to link to yours. A few genuine links do more for a new site than any setting.
If it still does not appear
A site that has been through these steps and is still missing after a month has a specific fault. Our guide to why your website is not showing up on Google works through them.
Questions people ask
How do I get my website on Google for free?
Appearing in Google's ordinary results costs nothing. Verify the site in Google Search Console, submit its sitemap and request indexing for the home page. Paying is only for advertisements, which are a separate system.
How long until my website shows up on Google?
Usually days to a few weeks for the site to be indexed after it is submitted. Showing for searches other than its own name takes longer, and depends on the content and the competition.
Why can I only find my website by typing its name?
Google has indexed the site and does not yet rank its pages for other searches. A page written for each thing customers search for, and links from other websites, change that.
Free competitor gap report
Appearing is the first step, and appearing above competitors is the one that pays. Name up to three and we measure your site against theirs, then send you what they have that yours still needs.
- Speed and technical health, side by side
- On-page SEO and site structure
- The content they are found for and you are not
- Who holds the searches that matter in your market
- A prioritised list of what to fix first
Request your free report by email
- Address
- contact@hadalmedusa.com
- Include
- your site; up to three competitors; where you compete
More in this series
- Why your website is not showing up on Google
- Why your Wix site is not showing up on Google
- Crawled, currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it
- Discovered, currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it
- Page with redirect: what it means in Search Console
- Why your Squarespace site is not showing up on Google
- Why your Shopify store is not showing up on Google
- Why your Google Business Profile is not showing up
- Why your Shopify store is not getting traffic or sales
- Why your WordPress site is not showing up on Google
- Alternate page with proper canonical tag: what it means
- Duplicate without user-selected canonical: what it means and how to fix it
- Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user: what to do
- Excluded by noindex tag: what it means and how to fix it
- Blocked by robots.txt: what it means and how to fix it
- Soft 404 and Not found (404): what they mean and how to fix them
- Server error (5xx): what it means and how to fix it
- Redirect error in Search Console: what it means and how to fix it
- Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt: what it means and what to do
- Blocked due to access forbidden (403): what it means and how to fix it
- When a site is not showing on Google: the whole topic
- All guides
- On-site SEO: what the service includes