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Why is my website not showing up on Google?

Enter your site. In a few seconds the check reads it the way Google does and tells you whether something on the site is keeping it out of Google, and what to fix.

First: not on Google at all, or not on the first page?

These are two different problems. Search Google for site: followed by your domain, for example site:example.com. If pages from your site come back, Google has the site, and the question is where it ranks. If nothing comes back, the site is not in Google's index, and one of the reasons below applies.

  • A page Google has indexed can show up for a site: search, but Google does not promise that it will. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)
  • Search Console’s URL Inspection tool reports what Google has indexed for one page, and whether the page can be indexed. (Search Console Help, read 11 November 2026)

The 8 reasons a website is not on Google

The check above tests the first 5 from the site alone. The last 3 are about what Google has done with your pages, and only your own Search Console shows that.

1. A noindex tag or header tells Google to leave it out

This check tests it

What it looks like. The page asks search engines not to index it, in a robots meta tag or in an X-Robots-Tag header. Site builders and staging setups add this to keep a site hidden before launch, and it is easy to leave on.

  • Google drops a page that carries noindex from its results entirely, even when other sites link to it. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)

What to do. Remove the noindex from the page and from the header. Google sees the change when it next crawls the page.

2. robots.txt shuts crawlers out of the whole site

This check tests it

What it looks like. The file at /robots.txt has "Disallow: /" for all crawlers or for Googlebot. It is often left over from before launch.

  • robots.txt tells search engine crawlers which addresses on a site they may read. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)
  • A page that robots.txt blocks can still be indexed if other sites link to it. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)

What to do. Change "Disallow: /" to an empty "Disallow:" or delete the line.

3. The canonical tag names another site

This check tests it

What it looks like. The page tells Google that its real address is somewhere else. A site builder’s preview address is often left there after a custom domain is connected.

  • Google treats a canonical link as a strong signal that the address it names is the one to index. (Google Search Central, 10 July 2026)

What to do. Point the canonical tag at the page’s own address.

4. The site does not answer, or answers with an error

This check tests it

What it looks like. The home page does not load for a crawler, or it answers "not found" or another error status instead of the page.

  • Google does not index an address that answers with a 4xx error, and removes one it had indexed. (Google, 4 February 2026)

What to do. Check that the domain points at your host and that the site is deployed.

5. The pages are empty until JavaScript runs

This check tests it

What it looks like. The HTML your server sends has almost no text. The content appears only after scripts run in a browser. Google does run them, in a second step that a page can wait for.

  • Google runs a page’s JavaScript in a second step. A page can wait for that step for a few seconds, or longer. (Google Search Central, 4 March 2026)
  • Google still recommends rendering pages on the server: it is faster, and not every bot runs JavaScript. (Google Search Central, 4 March 2026)

What to do. Render pages on the server or at build time, so the text is in the HTML.

6. Google has not got to it yet

Only Search Console shows it

What it looks like. The site or the page is new. Nothing is wrong, and nothing shows yet.

  • Once Google knows about a page, crawling it can take from a few days to a few weeks. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)
  • Google finds most pages by following links from pages it has already crawled. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)
  • A new site that no other site links to may not be found at all. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)

What to do. Add the site to Search Console, submit a sitemap there, and ask for the home page to be indexed with the URL Inspection tool. A link from a site Google already reads helps it find yours.

7. Google read the page and did not keep it

Only Search Console shows it

What it looks like. Search Console’s Page indexing report lists the page under "Crawled - currently not indexed".

  • Google does not index every page it reads. (Google Search Central, 18 December 2025)
  • Google calls “Crawled - currently not indexed” a common message that does not always mean something needs fixing. (Search Console Help, read 11 November 2026)

What to do. Google gives no reason for one page. What is in your hands: link to the page from pages Google already has, and list it in the sitemap.

8. A manual action

Only Search Console shows it

What it looks like. A reviewer at Google found pages on the site against Google’s spam policies. It is listed in Search Console’s Manual actions report.

  • With a manual action, some or all of a site is not shown in Google’s results. (Search Console Help, read 11 November 2026)

What to do. Open the Manual actions report in Search Console. If one is listed, the report says which pages it covers and how to ask for a review once it is fixed.

How long does it take a new website to show up on Google?

Google gives a range, and no promise:

  • Once Google knows about a page, crawling it can take from a few days to a few weeks. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)
  • A change can show in Google within hours, or take several months. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)
  • Google does not promise to crawl, index or show any page, even one that follows its rules. (Google Search Central, 18 December 2025)

So a site that is a few days old and not on Google yet is normal. A site that is a few months old and still not there has a reason, and the check above rules out the ones that sit on the site itself. A sitemap submitted in Search Console is the one thing you can add: A sitemap helps search engines find a site’s addresses. It does not guarantee they are crawled or indexed. (Google Search Central, 10 December 2025)

What this check can and cannot tell you

It can tell you whether something on the site keeps Google out. It loads your home page, robots.txt, your sitemap and a few more pages, and tests for reasons 1 to 5. Those are usually one tag, one line or one setting, and quick to fix.

It cannot see Google's index. A result with nothing blocking means Google is free to read the site. It does not mean Google has indexed it. For that, use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. If your traffic fell on a site that Google does read, the SEO doctor page goes through the usual causes.

Questions

Why is my website not showing up on Google?

Either something on the site keeps Google out, or Google has not indexed it yet. On the site, the usual causes are a noindex tag left on from before launch, a robots.txt that disallows everything, a canonical tag that names another address, or a home page that answers with an error. The check on this page tests for those. If none apply, Google can read the site, and Search Console shows which pages it has indexed so far.

How do I check if my website is on Google?

Search Google for site: followed by your domain, for example site:example.com. If pages from your site come back, Google has it. Google says an indexed page can show up for a site: search but does not promise that it will, so for one page use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console: it reports what Google has indexed for that page.

How long does it take for a new website to show up on Google?

Google gives a range and no promise. It says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, that some changes take effect in a few hours and others take several months, and that it does not guarantee to crawl, index or show any page.

Do I have to submit my website to Google?

No. Google finds most pages by following links from pages it has already crawled. A new site that no other site links to may not be found, which is when a sitemap submitted in Search Console helps. A sitemap helps Google find your addresses. It does not guarantee they are indexed.

My site shows for site: but not when I search its name. Why?

Then Google has the site, and this is a question of ranking, not of indexing. The check on this page cannot answer it. It tests whether Google can read the site, not where the site ranks for a search.

Do I need an account, and what do you store?

No account. The check fetches public pages only, the same ones any visitor or search engine can load. The result is kept for 24 hours so a repeat check is instant, then dropped.

Sources

Every statement about Google on this page is from Google's own documentation, read on 11 November 2026. Each entry quotes the sentence it rests on.

  1. Google Search Central, How to use the site search operator, 10 December 2025. “If a URL is indexed in Google, it can show up in search results for site: queries that are related to the URL, however it's not guaranteed.”
  2. Search Console Help, URL Inspection tool, read 11 November 2026. “The URL Inspection tool provides information about Google's indexed version of a specific page, and also allows you to test whether a URL might be indexable.”
  3. Google Search Central, Block Search indexing with noindex, 10 December 2025. “When Googlebot crawls that page and extracts the tag or header, Google will drop that page entirely from Google Search results, regardless of whether other sites link to it.”
  4. Google Search Central, Robots.txt introduction and guide, 10 December 2025. “A robots.txt file tells search engine crawlers which URLs the crawler can access on your site.”
  5. Google Search Central, Robots.txt introduction and guide, 10 December 2025. “A page that's disallowed in robots.txt can still be indexed if linked to from other sites.”
  6. Google Search Central, How to specify a canonical with rel="canonical" and other methods, 10 July 2026. “A strong signal that the specified URL should become canonical.”
  7. Google, How HTTP status codes affect Google’s crawlers, 4 February 2026. “In the case of Google Search, Google doesn't index URLs that return a 4xx status code, and URLs that are already indexed and return a 4xx status code are removed from the index.”
  8. Google Search Central, Understand JavaScript SEO basics, 4 March 2026. “The page may stay on this queue for a few seconds, but it can take longer than that.”
  9. Google Search Central, Understand JavaScript SEO basics, 4 March 2026. “Keep in mind that server-side or pre-rendering is still a great idea because it makes your website faster for users and crawlers, and not all bots can run JavaScript.”
  10. Google Search Central, Ask Google to recrawl your website, 10 December 2025. “Crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.”
  11. Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide: the basics, 10 December 2025. “Google primarily finds pages through links from other pages it already crawled.”
  12. Google Search Central, What is a sitemap, 10 December 2025. “Googlebot might not discover your pages if no other sites link to them.”
  13. Google Search Central, In-depth guide to how Google Search works, 18 December 2025. “Indexing isn't guaranteed; not every page that Google processes will be indexed.”
  14. Search Console Help, Page indexing report, read 11 November 2026. “Google doesn't index all pages across the web, so this is a common message for many sites and doesn't necessarily indicate an issue that needs attention.”
  15. Search Console Help, Manual actions report, read 11 November 2026. “If a site has a manual action, some or all of that site will not be shown in Google search results.”
  16. Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide: the basics, 10 December 2025. “Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several months.”
  17. Google Search Central, In-depth guide to how Google Search works, 18 December 2025. “Google doesn't guarantee that it will crawl, index, or serve your page, even if your page follows the Google Search Essentials.”
  18. Google Search Central, What is a sitemap, 10 December 2025. “A sitemap helps search engines discover URLs on your site, but it doesn't guarantee that all the items in your sitemap will be crawled and indexed.”

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