Why isn't my website showing up on Google?

First, is Google listing you at all?

1. Go to Google and type site: followed by your domain, with no space and nothing else. For example: site:yourwebsite.com
2. Some of your pages show up: Google has your site. Your problem is ranking for the words people type, so skip to Listed, but hard to find.
3. Nothing shows up: Google hasn't listed your site yet. Read the reasons below, then your builder's section.

Google says a site: search doesn't always show every page it has, so treat it as a quick check, not a full count.

The usual reasons, on any builder

• It's new

  Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site, or changes to an old one.

• It's still private

  A free trial, a site-wide password or a store in private mode keeps Google out.

• It's told to hide

  A "noindex" tag (a note in the page's code that says "don't list me") or a builder setting that hides pages from search.

• Nobody links to it

  Google finds most sites through links on other websites. A brand-new site with no links is easy to miss.

Our free Google search preview reads a page the way a search engine would. It warns you if the page has a "noindex" tag, and if it shows your password page instead of your home page, that's your answer.

You don't need to pay anyone to "submit" your site. Google Search Console, Google's own dashboard for site owners, is free. See Spot scam emails about your website for the sales pitches that say otherwise.

Squarespace website not showing up on Google

If no pages show up

1. Make sure you're on a paid plan and the site is published. Google can't find trial, expired or canceled sites.
2. Remove any site-wide password, and any password on your home page. Open your site in a private (incognito) window to check.
3. If you or a designer added code (code injection), remove any "noindex" code from the site-wide and home page code injection.
4. Connect Google Search Console: open the Analytics panel, click Search keywords, click Connect, and sign in to your Google account. If your domain is from another company, wait 48 hours after connecting it before you do this.
5. In Search Console, open Sitemaps, enter yourwebsite.com/sitemap.xml and click Submit. A "Couldn't fetch" message can show for 24 to 48 hours while Google reads it.

If only some pages are missing

Open each missing page's settings and check:

• General tab: Enable is checked, and there's no page password.
• SEO tab: Hide this page from search results is not checked.
• Advanced tab: no "noindex" code.
• The page isn't behind a paywall. Google doesn't list pages that need a paid plan to see.

Wix website not showing up on Google

1. Publish your site. Google can only list pages you've published.
2. In your site's dashboard, go to SEO & GEO, scroll to Tools and settings, click SEO Settings, and make sure Let search engines index your site is on.
3. Check the page's own SEO settings in the editor: they can hide a single page from search engines.
4. Remember that password-protected and members-only pages can't be listed.
5. Connect Google: work through Wix's SEO Setup Checklist. Once it's done, Wix sends your sitemap to Google for you, and updates it as you change the site. This needs an upgraded (paid) site and a connected domain.

Wix suggests at least 250 to 400 words on a page: pages with very little on them may not be listed.

Connecting Search Console by hand instead

1. In Google Search Console, add a URL prefix property with your full address (with https://www), and copy the HTML tag.
2. In Wix, go to SEO & GEO, Tools and settings, Site Verification, expand Google Search Console, paste the tag and save.
3. Back in Search Console, click Verify.

Shopify store not showing up on Google

1. Pick a paid plan. Shopify says search engines don't list trial stores.
2. Turn off private mode (the password page): in your Shopify admin, go to Online Store, click the Private label, select Public and click Update. If you're on a trial or haven't added a business address, Shopify asks you to do that first.
3. Add your store to Google Search Console. Click Add property, choose URL prefix, enter your address with https://, choose HTML tag and copy it.
4. In Shopify, go to Online Store, find your theme, click Edit code, open theme.liquid under Layout, paste the tag on the line straight after <head>, and click Save. Then click Verify in Search Console. If it fails, wait 15 minutes and try again.
5. In Search Console, under Indexing, click Sitemaps, enter sitemap.xml and click Submit.

Shopify says Google usually picks up changes within 48 to 72 hours. For a brand-new store, Google's own advice is that it can take a few weeks. Moved from another platform? Old links that now go nowhere hurt too: see Redirect a page and fix 404 errors.

Listed, but hard to find

If site: finds you but a normal search doesn't, Google has your pages but ranks others higher for those words. What helps:

• Use the words your customers type, in your page titles, headings and first lines. "Bakery in Burlington, VT" beats "Welcome".
• Check each important page's title and description with Google search preview.
• For a local business, set up a free Google Business Profile: Get your business on Google Maps.
• Be patient. Google says some changes show in a few hours, others take several months.

Ask Google to look at one page

Once your site is in Search Console, paste a page's address into the search box at the top (the URL Inspection tool) and click Request indexing. Google says it usually takes a day or so, can take longer, and doesn't promise to list the page. There's a daily limit, so save it for your most important pages.