Website not showing up on Google? Start here.
Find out whether your page is missing, blocked or simply not ranking for the searches you care about.
You have published your website, shared the link and searched for it. Still nothing. Before you rewrite the page or pay for more SEO work, find out which part of the process needs attention. Start with one important URL, such as your home page, a product page or your latest article.
First, separate a missing page from a low ranking
A page can be in Google’s index without appearing for the phrase you searched. Open Google Search Console, choose the property for your site, and inspect the exact URL. Read the indexing result and the reason shown. A search for your business name and a search for a competitive category are different tests.
Google’s guide to a page missing from search
Check what the page returns today
Open the URL in a private browser window. You should reach the page without signing in or entering a password. Then check its technical settings. A live page check is a useful first step even before you connect Search Console.
- Does the URL load the right page, or does it return an error or redirect elsewhere?
- Does a noindex instruction ask search engines to leave this page out?
- Does the declared canonical point to the page you want people to find? A different URL may be intentional.
- Can a visitor reach the page through a useful link elsewhere on your site?
Use Google’s result to choose the next step
If the page is not indexed, inspect the reported reason instead of submitting the same URL repeatedly. If you have changed the page since Google last checked it, use the live test to review the current version. The live test and the stored indexing result answer different questions.
If Google has selected another canonical, compare the two pages before changing anything. If access is blocked, check with the person who manages your site. Do not remove rules from private or deliberately excluded pages.
How to read the URL Inspection report
If it is already indexed, look at impressions and clicks
Open the Search results report in Search Console and filter to this page. See which queries produce impressions and whether they lead to clicks. That gives you a better question to work on: does the page answer the right search, and does its search listing explain why someone should visit?
Understanding Search Console’s performance report
Keep a record after you make a change
Write down the URL, the issue you found and what you changed. Check again after the update. In IndexLinks, you can keep pages together, connect Search Console for Google status and send changed URLs to participating search engines through IndexNow. Start with the pages that matter to your business, then make the check part of publishing.
Next: how to increase organic traffic once pages can be found
Use this information as a starting point, then verify the page-level evidence available to you.