You search for your business and nothing comes up. Here's how to find out why in about five minutes, using free tools from Google, and how to fix the most common causes.
The short answer
A website usually doesn't show up on Google for one of three reasons: Google hasn't found or crawled it yet (common for new sites), something is blocking it from being indexed, like a noindex tag or robots.txt rule, or it's indexed but not ranking for the searches you're trying. Search "site:yourdomain.com" to check, then use Google Search Console's URL Inspection and Page indexing reports to see the exact reason.
LG
Written by Latisha Gray, founder of Growth Rankers. Former Head of SEO at State Affairs, with SEO roles at CNN and Vox Media. Last updated
What Google says
"It can take a few weeks for Google to notice a new site, or any changes in your existing site."
Google doesn't guarantee crawling: "it's inevitable that some sites will be missed."
Common reasons Google lists: the site isn't well connected from other sites, it's brand new, its design makes crawling difficult, Google got errors when crawling, or it doesn't meet Google's guidelines.
Source: Google Search Central, "Get your website on Google."
Step 1: Check whether Google has your site at all
Search Google for site:yourdomain.com, with no spaces and no "www."
No results: your site isn't indexed. Go to Steps 2 and 3.
Some pages appear, but not the ones you care about: those specific pages have a problem. Use Step 3 on each.
Your pages appear: you're indexed, but not ranking for your searches. Skip to Step 5.
Step 2: Set up Google Search Console
Search Console is free and shows exactly how Google sees your site. Add your site, verify ownership, and submit your sitemap (usually yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml). This tells Google which pages matter most.
Step 3: Find the exact reason in Search Console
Paste a page's address into the URL Inspection tool at the top of Search Console. It will tell you whether the page is indexed and, if not, why. The Page indexing report shows the same reasons across your whole site. The most common:
Search Console status
What it means
What to do
Excluded by 'noindex' tag
The page tells Google not to index it
Remove the noindex tag (often left on by a website builder or a "discourage search engines" setting)
Blocked by robots.txt
Your robots.txt file stops Google from crawling the page
Edit robots.txt to allow it; a leftover rule from a staging site is a common cause
Discovered – currently not indexed
Google found the page but hasn't crawled it yet
Add it to your sitemap, link to it from important pages, and give it time
Crawled – currently not indexed
Google crawled the page but chose not to index it for now
Make the page more useful and distinct; strengthen internal links
Duplicate without user-selected canonical
Google treats it as a duplicate of another page
Merge similar pages or set a canonical tag pointing to the main version
Not found (404) / Server error (5xx)
The page is missing or your server failed
Fix the link or redirect it; check hosting if errors repeat
Soft 404
The page looks empty or like an error, even though it loads
Add real content, or return a proper 404 if the page shouldn't exist
Step 4: Request indexing after you fix it
Once the problem is fixed, use URL Inspection and click Request indexing. Do this for your most important pages, not every page. Indexing still isn't instant or guaranteed, but this asks Google to take another look.
Step 5: If you're indexed but can't find yourself
Being indexed isn't the same as ranking. If a search for your business name finds you, but "[your service] in [your city]" doesn't, the issue is usually one of these:
No page for that service. Google can't rank a page you don't have.
Competition. Other businesses have stronger pages, more reviews or more links.
Local presence. For local searches, your Google Business Profile matters as much as your website. See our Google Maps SEO guide.
A new site. New sites with few links from other sites usually take time to earn trust.
Common causes after a redesign or new website
A "hide from search engines" setting left on after launch
Old page addresses changed without redirects, so links and rankings were lost
The new site blocks crawlers by accident in robots.txt or a firewall
Important text that only loads with JavaScript
If your traffic dropped right after a redesign or move to a new platform, these are the first things to check. Our technical SEO service covers exactly these issues.
The bottom line
Most "not on Google" problems have a specific, findable cause, and Search Console usually tells you what it is. If you'd rather have someone diagnose it for you, the free SEO consultation includes an indexing and technical health check, plus the fixes most likely to get you found.
Sources
Google Search Central, "Get your website on Google" (updated December 2025): developers.google.com
How long does it take for a new website to show up on Google?
Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site or changes to an existing one. Adding your site to Google Search Console and submitting a sitemap helps Google find your important pages, but Google doesn't guarantee that every page will be crawled or indexed.
How do I check if my website is on Google?
Search Google for site:yourdomain.com. If no results appear, your site likely isn't indexed. For a definitive answer about a specific page, use the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console.
What does 'Crawled - currently not indexed' mean?
Google visited the page but chose not to add it to its index for now. Common causes are thin or duplicate content, weak internal linking, or a new site Google doesn't yet trust. Improve the page's usefulness and link to it from your important pages, then request indexing again.
What does 'Discovered - currently not indexed' mean?
Google knows the page exists but hasn't crawled it yet. This is common on new sites. Make sure the page is in your sitemap and linked from other pages on your site, and give it time.
My site is indexed. Why can't I find it when I search?
Being indexed doesn't mean ranking. If you search for your business name and find it, but not for your services, the issue is usually relevance and competition, not indexing. That's where on-page SEO, content and local SEO come in.
Let us diagnose it for you.
The free audit checks your indexing, crawl errors, technical health and competitors, and tells you exactly why you're not showing up and what to fix first.