Why isn't my website showing on Google?

First, check it really is missing

Type site:yourdomain.co.uk into Google (with your own address, and no space after the colon). Google suggests this test in its own help pages, and suggests turning SafeSearch off first, as it can hide results. If your pages are listed, Google has them. The problem is ranking, not indexing, so jump to the last section.

If nothing comes back, or only your homepage does, work through the reasons below in order.

1. The site or page is new

Google says crawling and indexing a new site or page can take "anywhere from a day or two to a few weeks". It asks you to allow at least a week after submitting a sitemap or an indexing request before assuming something is wrong. If you launched last week, the honest answer may simply be: wait.

2. Something is telling Google to stay away

Three things block Google outright: a noindex instruction in the page, a robots.txt rule that stops Google crawling it, and a login or password in front of it. Website builders sometimes switch on "hide from search engines" while a site is being built, and nobody switches it off at launch.

To check, add your site to Google Search Console (free), paste the page address into the search bar at the top, and read the result. If it says the page is not indexed, it will usually say why. Fix the cause, then click Request indexing.

3. Google can't find a link to it

Google finds new pages mainly by following links. Its guidance is to make sure every page can be reached by following links from your homepage, and to get links from other sites. A page that lives only in an email campaign or behind a button that runs a script may never be found.

A sitemap (a list of your pages for search engines) helps here. Google says small sites of about 500 pages or fewer that are well linked may not need one, but it costs nothing and is worth submitting in Search Console.

4. There isn't enough text for Google to read

Google asks for text rather than words baked into images or videos. Some website builders also send a blank page that fills itself in with code once it reaches the browser. Google can usually run that code, but many other search tools read only the raw page.

A quick test: open your page, right-click and choose View page source. If you can't find your main heading and opening paragraph in that text, search tools may not be able to either. That is a job for whoever built the site.

5. It's indexed, but too far down

If the site: search shows your pages but customers never see you, Google has you but ranks you low for the words people actually type. In Search Console, open Performance and look at the Queries tab. It shows the searches you appeared for, how often you were shown (impressions) and your average position. Position 1 to 10 is page one. Anything above 20 is rarely seen.

The fix there is content. Write pages that answer the exact questions in that list, put the answer in the first paragraph, and use the customer's words in the page title.

What to do this week

1. Run a site: search for your domain.
2. Add the site to Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.
3. Inspect your homepage and your most important page, and fix anything it reports as blocking.
4. View the source of one page and check your words are actually in it.
5. Check that every page you care about is linked from the homepage or the main menu.
6. Come back in a week and look at the Queries tab.