Check These 5 Things First
Reason 1: Your Site Is Not Indexed Yet
Google needs to discover and index your site before it can show up in results. New sites can take 2-4 weeks.
- Search "site:yourwebsite.com" in Google (replace with your actual domain)
- If you see pages from your site, you're indexed. If you see "did not match any documents," you're not.
- Fix: Go to Google Search Console, add your site, and submit your sitemap
- Fix: Click "Request Indexing" for your homepage
- Wait 3-7 days and check again
Reason 2: Robots.txt Is Blocking Google
Your site might be telling Google "don't index me" without you realizing it.
- Go to yourwebsite.com/robots.txt in your browser
- Look for "Disallow: /" under "User-agent: *"
- If you see that, it's blocking all search engines
- Fix: Edit robots.txt to allow indexing or remove the disallow line
- Check in WordPress under Settings → Reading for "Discourage search engines" checkbox - it should be unchecked
Reason 3: Pages Have Noindex Meta Tags
Individual pages might have code that tells Google not to index them.
- Right-click on your homepage and select "View page source"
- Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) and search for "noindex"
- If you find it in a meta tag, that page won't be indexed
- Fix: Remove the noindex tag from your theme or plugin settings
- Common culprit: Yoast SEO or All in One SEO has site visibility set to private
Reason 4: Manual Penalty or Deindexing
If Google thinks your site violates guidelines, they might have removed it from search.
- Log in to Google Search Console
- Click "Security & Manual Actions" in the left menu
- Check if there are any manual action penalties listed
- Fix: Read what the penalty says and follow Google's instructions to fix it
- Submit a reconsideration request after fixing
Reason 5: Your Site Is Too New or Has No Links
Google prioritizes sites with backlinks and history. Brand new sites with zero links take longer to show up.
- Check your site age - if it's under 4 weeks old, this is normal
- Check if you have any backlinks using Ahrefs or Google Search Console
- Fix: Be patient if site is new - focus on adding content
- Fix: Get a few basic backlinks: local business directories, industry listings, social profiles
- Submit sitemap in Search Console and wait 2-3 weeks
Real Example
Case: Contractor website launched 3 weeks ago, not showing up for any searches
Problem: Site was indexed (site: search showed pages), but rankings were nowhere. Search Console showed 0 impressions.
Solution: Found "noindex" tag in theme header. Developer had left it from staging site. Removed the tag, requested reindexing in Search Console.
Result: Within 5 days, site started showing impressions. Within 3 weeks, ranking on page 2-3 for service + city keywords. Within 8 weeks, multiple page 1 rankings.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
❌ Mistake 1: Not Waiting Long Enough
New sites take 2-4 weeks to start showing up, sometimes longer in competitive markets. Don't panic and start changing everything after 5 days.
❌ Mistake 2: Only Searching for Your Business Name
Your site might not rank for your name yet if you have no brand recognition. Search for your service + city (e.g. "plumber brooklyn") to see if you appear.
❌ Mistake 3: Expecting Instant Rankings
Being indexed and ranking well are different. You can be indexed (Google knows you exist) but still rank on page 10. Rankings take 3-6 months of consistent work.
Summary
If your site doesn't show up, check if you're indexed (site: search), check robots.txt for blocks, look for noindex tags, review Search Console for penalties, and be patient if the site is brand new. Most issues are simple blocks that take 10 minutes to fix.
If you've checked all 5 things and still can't figure it out, our free SEO audit includes a full indexing and visibility check with specific fixes.
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