The sinking feeling when your website can't be found
You've just launched your business website. You've told customers to visit you online. You've added your URL to your business cards and social media. Then a customer calls and says, "I searched for you on Google, but nothing came up."
Your heart sinks. The website is right there and you can see it in your browser. But Google can't find it. And if Google can't find it, neither can most of your potential customers.
This is more common than you'd think, especially for new websites or sites that have recently changed. The good news: in most cases, it's fixable. Here's what's likely going wrong and what you can do about it.
Why Google can't see your website
Google doesn't automatically know every website exists. Its "spiders" (programs called crawlers) need to discover your site, read its pages, and add them to Google's index, the giant database of websites that powers search results.
Here are the most common reasons this process breaks down:
Your site is too new
If you launched your website in the last few days or weeks, Google may simply not have found it yet. New sites can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to appear in search results. This is normal, but there are ways to speed it up (covered below).
Your site is blocking search engines
Sometimes websites accidentally tell Google, "Don't look at this." This happens in two main ways:
- Robots.txt files: a file on your site that tells search engines which pages to crawl. If it's misconfigured, it can block everything.
- Noindex tags: code in your pages that says "don't include this page in search results." Useful for draft pages, but catastrophic if left on your live site.
Your site has technical problems
Google's crawlers expect websites to follow certain conventions. If your site has broken links, missing XML sitemaps, or a confusing structure, Google may struggle to crawl it properly.
Your content is thin or duplicated
Google tries to show high-quality, original content in its results. If your site has very little text, or if content is copied from other sites, Google may choose not to index it.
Your Google Business Profile isn't properly linked
For local businesses, your Google Business Profile is often the first thing customers see in search results. If it's not properly linked to your website, or if the profile isn't verified, customers won't find you through local search either.
How to check if Google has indexed your site
Before you panic, check whether Google actually knows your site exists. There are two easy ways:
The "site:" search trick
Go to Google and type site:yourwebsite.com.au (replace with your actual domain). If Google has indexed your site, you'll see a list of your pages. If you see "Your search did not match any documents," Google hasn't indexed your site yet.
Google Search Console
This is Google's free tool for website owners. It shows you exactly which pages are indexed, which have errors, and how people are finding your site. If you haven't set it up yet, do so immediately. It's the single most useful tool for understanding your site's visibility.
How to get your site showing on Google
Submit your site to Google Search Console
Once you've created a Search Console account and verified that you own the site, you can:
- Submit your XML sitemap (a file that lists all your pages)
- Request indexing for specific pages
- See exactly which errors Google is encountering
This is the fastest way to tell Google, "I exist. Please look at my site."
Check for technical blocks
If your site is using WordPress, Wix, Shopify, or another platform, check in the settings to make sure "Discourage search engines" or "Noindex" is turned off. These settings are useful when you're building a site but should be disabled before you launch.
If you're not sure how to check this, ask your web developer or hosting provider. Most can check in a few minutes.
Build quality content
Google rewards sites with useful, original content. Make sure each page on your site has:
- Clear headings that describe what the page is about
- Enough text to explain your services or products
- Original content, not copied from other websites
A single-page website with a logo and a phone number is unlikely to rank well. Give Google something to work with.
Link your Google Business Profile
If you're a local business, make sure your Google Business Profile is claimed, verified, and has your correct website URL. This ensures customers searching for your business name or services in your area will see both your profile and your website.
How ongoing monitoring catches problems early
Even after your site is indexed, things can go wrong. Your site could go offline. A plugin update could accidentally add a noindex tag. A domain renewal could lapse. Any of these would make your site invisible to Google, and you might not notice until customers start calling to ask where you've gone.
Ongoing monitoring watches your website continuously and alerts you the moment something breaks. Instead of discovering the problem from a frustrated customer, you get an alert and can fix it before most people even notice.
Farview checks your website around the clock and sends you an alert the moment something goes wrong, whether it's downtime, broken links, SSL certificate issues, or search visibility problems. You fix it fast, and your customers never know there was an issue.
Take action today
If your website isn't showing up on Google, don't assume it's permanent. In most cases, the fix is straightforward once you know what's wrong. Start by checking Google Search Console, submitting your sitemap, and making sure there are no technical blocks.
And once your site is visible, set up monitoring so you're the first to know if it ever disappears again. Your customers are searching for you. Make sure they can find you.