> Why a website does not show up on Google and how to find the cause: check whether it is indexed, then work through blocks, quality, age and competition. - Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/website-not-showing-on-google/ --- # Why your website is not showing up on Google A website is missing from Google for one of two reasons: Google has not indexed it, or Google has indexed it and places it too low to be seen. One search tells you which. The fixes are different, so find out which problem you have before changing anything. Updated 6 October 2026 ## First, find out which problem you have Type `site:` followed by your domain into Google, with no space, as in `site:example.co.uk`. The result settles the question. - No results: Google has not indexed the site. Go to the next section. - Some pages, but not the ones that matter: those pages have an indexing problem of their own. - The pages are all there: the site is indexed, and the problem is where it is placed. ## If nothing is indexed A site that is absent altogether is almost always new, unannounced or blocked. ### The site is new Google finds sites by following links and reading sitemaps. A new site with neither waits. Add the site to Google Search Console, submit the sitemap, and request indexing for the home page. ### The site tells Google to stay away Four things block a site, and all four are easy to leave on by accident. - A `noindex` instruction in the pages, often a setting left over from building the site. - A `robots.txt` file that disallows everything. - A password or “coming soon” page in front of the site. - A setting in the website builder that hides the site from search engines. Website builders each have their own switch. Our guide to a [Wix site not showing on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/wix-site-not-showing-on-google/) covers that platform. ### Search Console says why Search Console’s URL Inspection tool gives Google’s own answer for any address: whether it is indexed and, if not, the reason. Its Page indexing report lists every reason across the site. ## If some pages are missing The Page indexing report names a reason for each page left out. Three account for most questions. - [Crawled, currently not indexed](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/crawled-currently-not-indexed/): Google read the page and left it out. - [Discovered, currently not indexed](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/discovered-currently-not-indexed/): Google knows the address and has not fetched it. - [Page with redirect](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/page-with-redirect-search-console/): the address forwards to another, which is usually correct. ## If the site is indexed but not seen An indexed site that nobody finds has a ranking problem, and the causes are different. - The search is too broad. A new plumber’s site will appear for its own name long before it appears for “plumber”. - No page targets the search. Google ranks pages, and a search with no page written for it has nothing to rank. - The competition is stronger. Other sites have more content, more links and more history. - For local searches, the Google Business Profile is missing, incomplete or unverified. Our guide to [why a competitor outranks you](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/why-a-competitor-outranks-you/) compares one of your pages with one of theirs, check by check. ## What to do, in order Work through the causes from the most basic to the least: confirm the site can be indexed, submit it, read what Search Console reports, then build the pages and earn the links that move it up. Fixing a title on a page Google is blocked from reading changes nothing. ## Questions people ask ### How long does it take for a new website to show up on Google? A new site is usually crawled within days of its sitemap being submitted, and its pages appear over the following days and weeks. Appearing for competitive searches takes longer, because the site has to earn its place against established ones. ### Why does my website show up for its name and nothing else? The site is indexed, and Google does not yet consider its pages the best answer for other searches. Pages built around the searches customers make, and links from other websites, are what change that. ### Do I have to pay Google to appear in search results? No. Appearing in the ordinary results is free and cannot be bought. Google Ads buys a separate, labelled position above them. ## Free competitor gap report Once a site is indexed, the question becomes why others are placed above it. Name up to three competitors that do appear and we measure your site against theirs, then send you what they have that yours lacks. 1. Speed and technical health, side by side 2. On-page SEO and site structure 3. The content they are found for and you are not 4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market 5. A prioritised list of what to fix first [Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Guide%3A%20Why%20your%20website%20is%20not%20showing%20up%20on%20Google&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A) - **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com - **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete ## More in this series - [Why your Wix site is not showing up on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/wix-site-not-showing-on-google/) - [Crawled, currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/crawled-currently-not-indexed/) - [Discovered, currently not indexed: what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/discovered-currently-not-indexed/) - [Page with redirect: what it means in Search Console](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/page-with-redirect-search-console/) - [Why your Squarespace site is not showing up on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/squarespace-site-not-showing-on-google/) - [Why your Shopify store is not showing up on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/shopify-store-not-showing-on-google/) - [Why your Google Business Profile is not showing up](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-business-profile-not-showing-up/) - [Why your Shopify store is not getting traffic or sales](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/shopify-store-not-getting-traffic/) - [Why your WordPress site is not showing up on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/wordpress-site-not-showing-on-google/) - [Alternate page with proper canonical tag: what it means](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/alternate-page-with-proper-canonical-tag/) - [Duplicate without user-selected canonical: what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/duplicate-without-user-selected-canonical/) - [Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user: what to do](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/duplicate-google-chose-different-canonical/) - [Excluded by noindex tag: what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/excluded-by-noindex-tag/) - [Blocked by robots.txt: what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/blocked-by-robots-txt/) - [Soft 404 and Not found (404): what they mean and how to fix them](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/soft-404/) - [Server error (5xx): what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/server-error-5xx-search-console/) - [Redirect error in Search Console: what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/redirect-error-search-console/) - [Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt: what it means and what to do](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/indexed-though-blocked-by-robots-txt/) - [Blocked due to access forbidden (403): what it means and how to fix it](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/blocked-due-to-access-forbidden-403/) - [How to make your website show up on Google](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-make-your-website-show-up-on-google/) - [When a site is not showing on Google: the whole topic](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/not-on-google/) - [All guides](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/) - [On-site SEO: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/seo/)