Why doesn't my website show up in Google?

Google's Search Console help says to turn off safe search, since it can hide results, and then search for site: followed by your domain. If you see results, the page is indexed. For one page, search for site: followed by the full address.³

The URL Inspection tool in Search Console shows whether a page is on Google, the last time Google crawled it, and the canonical address Google chose. "URL is on Google" does not promise that the page will show in results, and "URL is not on Google" means it cannot.⁴

A site that Google finds when you search for its name, but not when you search for what you sell, is a ranking question and not an indexing one. We cover that at the end.

Google's crawling and indexing FAQ says crawling and indexing take some time, that a site missing from results is usually there because it is just too new, and that Google cannot make predictions or guarantees about when or if a URL is crawled or indexed.¹ Search Console help gives anywhere from a day or two to a few weeks, and says to allow at least a week after a sitemap or an indexing request before deciding something is wrong.³

Google's recrawl page gives a few days to a few weeks, and says that requesting a recrawl several times for the same URL won't get it crawled any faster. It adds that there is a quota for submitting individual URLs.² The URL Inspection tool also has a daily limit on indexing requests.⁴

• A robots.txt rule. Search Console's Page indexing report lists "URL blocked by robots.txt" for a page that your robots.txt file stops Google from fetching.⁵

• A noindex directive. Google says a noindex rule, set as a meta tag or a header, makes Google drop the page entirely from results once it reads it. The report calls this "URL marked noindex".^{6, 5}

• A password or login. Search Console help lists password protection among the things that block a page, and the report has statuses for pages blocked by a request for authorization (401) or access forbidden (403).^{3, 5}

• A server or redirect error. The report lists server errors (5xx) and redirect errors, such as a chain that runs too long or loops, as reasons a page was not indexed.⁵

• Found but not crawled, or crawled but not indexed. "Discovered - currently not indexed" means Google found the page but has not crawled it yet. "Crawled - currently not indexed" means Google fetched it but has not indexed it, and the report says there is no need to resubmit it for crawling.⁵

• Another version won. Google picks one canonical version of a duplicate page and points results to it.³ The report has a status for a page you declared canonical when Google thinks another address is the better canonical.⁵ Google calls a rel=canonical link a strong signal that the address it names should become canonical.⁷

• A manual action or a security issue. Search Console help says a manual action can lower a page's ranking or remove it entirely, and that a security issue can lower it or show warnings.³ For Chrome's "Not secure" label, see why does my website say not secure.

• A move. Search Console help says mistakes in a restructure, a new domain or a move to https can hurt rankings, and to use 301 redirects so people and crawlers reach the new addresses.³

A kit ships with a placeholder web address in the files that tell Google which address is yours. Every one of our 206 Classic kits has a canonical tag on its home page, a robots.txt file and a sitemap.xml. The canonical tag and the sitemap line in robots.txt point at https://example.com until you replace them. The robots.txt file allows all crawling, and no home page carries a noindex tag.⁸

In 183 of the 206 guides, a go-live step names example.com and tells you to replace it with your real address.⁸ If you skip that, your canonical tags tell Google that example.com is the address that matters. Replace the placeholders in the canonical tags, robots.txt and sitemap.xml, upload the files again, and then ask Google to look at the site.

1. Add your site to Search Console and confirm you own it. Google says only Search Console owners or full users can request indexing in the URL Inspection tool.²

2. Submit a sitemap so Google knows which pages to crawl. Google says a sitemap helps it find pages but does not guarantee that all the items in it will be crawled and indexed.⁹

3. Inspect your home page and click Request indexing. Google says this does not guarantee the page will appear, and that indexing typically takes a day or so and can take up to a week or two.⁴

4. Make sure every page can be reached by links from the home page, and avoid links that need a click or a form to appear.³

5. Wait at least a week, and do not request the same page again and again.^{3, 2}

6. If the report still says the page is not indexed, read its status. Each one says what Google found and what to fix.⁵

Search Console help separates a page that is not indexed from one that is indexed but hard to find. For the second, it says the page may simply sit low in the results, and to review Google's guidelines for websites.³ It also points to the SEO Starter Guide.³

Our free website check tests the SEO Starter Guide basics. When we ran it on 11 web design sites in October 2026, 7 missed at least one of them.¹⁰ No site is named. For a business profile that is not showing on Maps, see why isn't my business showing up on Google. If people find the site and nobody calls, see why isn't my website getting calls or leads. A few kits to look at: Plumber, Electrician and Hair salon. The whole list is at website kits.

Every Google statement comes from the Google page named in the sources, read on October 21, 2026. The Google pages that show a date show December 10, 2025 or later, and the Search Console Help pages show none. The kit facts come from a count of our own kit files the same day, and the check result is from our own run, with no site named. We sell website kits and help businesses with their sites, so we have a stake in this question.