8 min read
Website not showing on Google search? The checks to run, in the order that usually finds the problem
New or rebuilt site missing from Google? Check Search Console, a leftover noindex, robots.txt, redirects, penalties and time, in the order most likely to find it.
If your website is not showing on Google search, the cause is usually one of two things: Google has not indexed it yet, or something on the site is telling Google to stay away. Both are quick to check, and most of the fixes take minutes rather than weeks.
Here is a real version of the problem. A landscaping company owner posted on r/webdev that after moving to a new domain, "google has only indexed 2 of the 51 pages". Three weeks in, the web consultant was stuck too, and the owner was "just trying to keep my business afloat." The eventual fix was a canonical tag problem and a resubmitted sitemap, not more waiting.
Below are the checks we would run, from the most common cause to the least.
Step 1: Check whether your website is showing on Google at all#
"Not indexed" and "indexed but not ranking" need different fixes, so start here.
The quick check: a site: search#
Type site:yourdomain.com into Google. A list of your pages means Google knows the site. Nothing means it has not indexed it.
Treat this as a rough test. Google itself says the site: operator does not necessarily return every indexed URL, so a short list does not prove pages are missing.
The proper check: Search Console URL Inspection#
Set up Google Search Console (it is free), verify your domain, and paste your homepage URL into the URL Inspection tool. It tells you one of two things:
- URL is on Google: the page can appear in results. If you still cannot find it, you have a ranking problem, not an indexing one. Skip to Step 8.
- URL is not on Google: the page cannot appear yet. The report usually says why, and the reasons map onto the checks below.
Google notes that "on Google" means eligible to appear, not guaranteed to be there. It is still the most reliable answer you can get.
Step 2: Check for a leftover noindex#
One of the most common causes, and often a single checkbox. Developers tell search engines to ignore the staging site, which is sensible. Then the site goes live and nobody switches it back.
WordPress#
Go to Settings, then Reading, and look at "Search engine visibility". If "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" is ticked, WordPress adds a noindex, nofollow robots tag to every page, according to the WordPress documentation. Untick it and save.
SEO plugins such as Yoast or Rank Math can also set noindex on individual pages or whole post types, so check their settings too.
Site builders and custom builds#
GoDaddy, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and Canva sites have their own SEO or visibility settings. Look for a hidden-from-search option, a password page or private mode, and check the site is published on your real domain, not a preview link.
On a custom build (Next.js, React, anything coded), view the page source and search for noindex. Also ask your developer to check the server's X-Robots-Tag header, which does the same job invisibly. Google is clear that once it reads either, it will drop the page from search results regardless of who links to it.
Step 3: Check robots.txt#
Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt in a browser. If you see this, you are blocking every crawler from every page:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /
Another staging leftover. Remove the Disallow: / line and point the file to your sitemap.
One detail catches people out. If a page is blocked in robots.txt, Google cannot read a noindex tag on it, and the URL can still appear in results without a description. So robots.txt is the wrong tool for hiding a page. Use noindex for that, and leave the page crawlable.
Step 4: Check redirects and canonical tags (www vs non-www)#
Your site can usually be reached at four addresses: with and without www, on http and https. All four should end up on one version through a permanent redirect. Type each into your browser. If they do not all redirect to one, Google has to guess which is real.
Then check the canonical tag in your page source. After a rebuild, it often points to the old domain, the staging URL or the homepage on every page. In the landscaping thread above, one reply put it simply: "make sure you don't have cannonical tags pointed at the old site." URL Inspection shows the canonical Google actually selected. If it is not the page you inspected, that page will not show under its own address.
Moving from an old site? Our guide on redesigning without losing SEO covers redirects in more detail.
Step 5: Check for server errors and manual actions#
Server errors. Your site can load fine for you and still fail for Googlebot, thanks to overloaded cheap hosting or a firewall that blocks bots. The Search Console Pages report lists Server error (5xx) as a reason pages are not indexed. If you see it, talk to your host.
Manual actions. If a Google reviewer decides a site breaks its spam policies, some or all of the site will not be shown in results. Open Security & Manual Actions in Search Console. A green tick means you are clear. This is rare for a new small business, unless you bought a second-hand domain whose past owner earned the penalty. Google covers that case: fix the issues and file a reconsideration request.
Step 6: Accept that a new domain needs a few weeks#
If Steps 2 to 5 are clean and the domain is brand new, you may simply be early. Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site.
You can help it along:
- Submit an XML sitemap in Search Console.
- Use "Request indexing" on the homepage and your main service pages. Google says this typically takes a day or so but can take much longer, and there is a daily limit.
- Get a few real links: your Google Business Profile, social profiles, industry directories, partners and suppliers.
Step 7: "Crawled" or "Discovered - currently not indexed"#
These two statuses in the Search Console Pages report confuse almost everyone. Google's own definitions are short:
| Status | What it means | What usually helps |
|---|---|---|
| Discovered - currently not indexed | Google found the URL but has not crawled it yet, often to avoid overloading the site | Internal links from important pages, a sitemap, patience |
| Crawled - currently not indexed | Google crawled the page and chose not to index it for now | A better, more distinct page (Google says there is no need to resubmit) |
"Crawled - currently not indexed" is the one to take seriously. It usually means Google did not see enough value in the page. Think of a Noida interior designer with twelve "service area" pages that differ only by locality name. Google tends to index one and ignore the rest. Fewer, fuller pages work better: real price ranges, photos of your own work, the questions customers actually ask. Our SEO guide for service businesses goes through what a good service page needs.
Step 8: Your brand name shows up, your keywords do not#
Once indexed, your business name should bring up your site within days. "Interior designer Noida" is a different matter. That is ranking, and a new site with no history, reviews or links will not reach page one straight away.
A mobile bike repair owner in Scotland described this on r/WebsiteSEO: months after launch, a search for "bike mechanic near me" showed neither the site nor the business profile, "even though there aren't many around me." The site was indexed; replies pointed to thin pages and a Business Profile showing the wrong location.
If your brand name works but your keywords do not, your site is not broken. You need better pages, local signals and time. For local searches, a complete and active Google Business Profile often brings calls long before the website ranks. For a realistic sense of how long, see how long SEO takes.
Step 9: The favicon or brand details look wrong#
Last and least serious: your site appears with a generic globe icon instead of your logo. Google needs to recrawl your homepage to pick up a new favicon, which it says can take several days to several weeks. The icon must be square, ideally larger than 48x48 pixels, and both it and the homepage must be crawlable. Even then, display is not guaranteed.
Common questions#
Why is my website not showing up on Google anymore?#
If it used to appear and has vanished, something changed. Check for a plugin or update that switched on noindex, a robots.txt change, a move without redirects, then Manual Actions. If you lost rankings rather than indexing, compare the date with Google's core updates.
Why is my Wix, Squarespace, Shopify or GoDaddy website not showing on Google?#
Builder sites fail the same checks: unpublished, still on a preview address, password protected, or hidden in the visibility settings. Connect your own domain, verify it in Search Console and run URL Inspection.
My pages are indexed but not ranking. What now?#
Check which searches they get impressions for in the Search Console Performance report. No impressions usually means the page does not match what people search for. Impressions on page three or lower means it needs more depth, better internal links and some outside links. Our post on what still brings traffic in 2026 helps too.
The short version#
When a website is not showing on Google, check in this order: indexing status in Search Console, a leftover noindex, robots.txt, redirects and canonicals, server errors and manual actions, then time. If a page is crawled but not indexed, improve it. If your brand name appears but your keywords do not, you have a ranking job ahead, not a technical fault.
If you have run through this and still cannot see what is wrong, book a free strategy call. Send us the URL and we will go through your Search Console with you.
