Quick Answer: Type site:yourdomain.co.uk into Google, using your own web address. If your pages come up, Google knows about your site. If nothing appears, it may not have been found or something may be blocking it, and Google’s free Search Console can help you find out which. Search Console helps Google find your pages, but don’t expect it to lift your rankings.
You’ve paid for a website, it looks great, and you’ve got no idea whether Google even knows it exists.
You can check in under a minute, and you don’t need to be technical.
How do I check if my website is on Google?
Here are three tests, from quickest to most thorough.
Test 1: The site: search
Go to Google and type site: followed straight away by your web address, with no space:
site:yourdomain.co.uk
Google recommends this check itself. You’ll get one of three results:
- A list of your pages: good, Google has your site.
- Just your homepage: Google knows you exist, but may not have picked up the rest.
- Nothing: Google may not have your site, or at least not under that address.
Don’t treat it as an exact count, though. Google says this search doesn’t show everything it has, and adding or removing the “www” can change what you see. If a page is missing, check it with URL Inspection, which I’ll come to below.
Test 2: Search for your business name
Search for your exact business name. If your website comes up near the top, Google has it and connects it to your name.
If you get your Facebook page and some directories but not your site, that’s worth looking into.
Test 3: Google Search Console
This one gives you a proper answer from Google, page by page. It’s free, and I’ll come to it in a minute.
Being on Google isn’t the same as showing up
This is the bit that catches people out. There are three separate stages, and passing one doesn’t guarantee the next:
- Crawling: Google finds your page and reads it.
- Indexing: Google stores it in its database.
- Ranking: Google decides whether to show it for a search, and how high.
The site: search only tells you about the first two. You can be fully indexed and still be on page 9 for “dog groomer in Skipton”. If that’s your problem, read how local SEO works.
Why isn’t my website showing up on Google?
Google’s list of common reasons is a good place to start.
It’s new
Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site or changes to an old one, so if yours went live last week, give it a chance.
Nothing links to it
Google mainly finds pages by following links from pages it already knows about. There’s no central list of websites to sign up to. A brand new site with no links pointing at it has fewer ways in. I’d add it to your Google Business Profile, your Facebook page and any directories you’re on, as they’re worth doing anyway.
Something’s telling Google to stay away
A small piece of code called noindex tells Google to leave a page out. If it gets left on by mistake, removing it isn’t instant: Google has to crawl the page again, which can take months unless you request it.
A file called robots.txt can also stop Google reading your site. If you’re not comfortable checking these yourself, ask whoever built your site. It’s a quick job for them.
It’s behind a login, or broken
Open your site in a private or incognito window. If it asks for a password or shows an error, Google can’t get in either.
Google simply missed it
Google says it can happen, especially with small sites. Google can’t guarantee it will find or index everything, so give it a helping hand with the steps below.
How do I use Google Search Console?
Search Console is Google’s free tool for website owners. You don’t have to use it to appear in Google, but it’s the clearest way to see what Google makes of your site.
- Add your site. Go to Search Console and choose “Add property”. The “URL prefix” option has the most ways to verify and is easiest for most people.
- Prove it’s yours. Add a small tag or file to your site, or use your Google Analytics account if you’ve got one. Your web designer can do this in a few minutes.
- Inspect a page. Paste a page address into the bar at the top, using the exact address your site loads on, including any www. URL Inspection tells you if the page is on Google. “On Google” means it can appear, not that it will.
- Give it a few days. The rest of your data should start appearing within a few days.
Then look at the page indexing report, which lists the pages Google has left out and the reason. Don’t panic if a few are missing, as not every page needs to be indexed. What matters is your homepage and your main service pages.
Does Search Console make you rank faster?
Search Console helps Google find your pages and helps you spot problems. I wouldn’t expect it to push you up the results. Google doesn’t say this about Search Console directly, but it does say that a sitemap doesn’t guarantee indexing or improve your ranking. (A sitemap is just a list of your pages for Google to read.) It also says nothing automatically ranks you first, and that it doesn’t take payment to rank a site higher.
So if someone offers to “submit your site to Google” for a fee, you can do it yourself for free, and it won’t do what they’re implying anyway.
What does Request Indexing actually do?
Request Indexing is a button in URL Inspection that asks Google to crawl a page. It doesn’t guarantee the page gets indexed.
It’s useful after you’ve published a new page or fixed a problem. Crawling can still take a few days to a few weeks, and Google says asking again and again for the same page won’t speed it up. There’s also a daily limit, so use it for the pages that matter.
Do I need a sitemap?
Possibly not. Google says a small site of about 500 pages or fewer may not need one, as long as your pages link to each other properly. It’s still useful for new sites with few links pointing at them. You submit it through the Sitemaps report in Search Console, and some platforms do it automatically.
How long does it take for a new website to appear on Google?
Google won’t commit to a date. It says it can’t predict or guarantee when or if a page gets indexed, and that it can take a few weeks to notice a new site.
My rule of thumb is that if your site’s been live for a month or two and neither the site: search nor URL Inspection shows it, you should stop waiting and check for one of the problems above. Getting indexed is only the start, though. Ranking takes longer.
What should I do if I’m still not on Google?
Work through this in order:
- Open your site in a private window to check it’s public.
- Add it to Search Console.
- Run URL Inspection on your homepage and read the reason it gives.
- Ask your web designer to fix anything it flags, including any noindex left on.
- Add links to your site from your Google listing, your social pages and directories.
- Request indexing for your homepage and main service pages.
Want someone to just sort it?
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Tell me about your business and I’ll build you a free preview of what your site could look like, with nothing to pay unless you go ahead.