AI visibility
Why is my website not showing up on Google?
Enter your address and this free checker finds what keeps Google out: robots.txt blocks, noindex rules, error codes, redirects and canonicals, with the fix for each.
Blockers first
robots.txt, noindex, error codes, redirects and canonicals, worst first.
The fix for each
Every check says what to change and links to Google's own page for the rule.
Address or paste
Enter the address, or paste the page source and it is read in your browser.
Past clients or mentioned on
Check what keeps your page off Google
Free, no sign-up. Enter a page's address and Convertica's server fetches it and its robots.txt once. Or paste the page source: that runs in your browser and is not sent anywhere. Below is the result for a made-up page.
Found what keeps Google out
2 blockers
2 things on this page stop Google from indexing it: a robots.txt block and a noindex rule. Fix them first: nothing else matters while they stand.
Example result, for a made-up shop at https://www.example.com/
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Stops Google
robots.txt
robots.txt blocks Googlebot at this path. Disallow: / on line 2, in the * group. Google does not crawl a disallowed page, so it cannot read what is on it.
Fix: Remove or narrow the Disallow rule. A leftover "Disallow: /" from a staging site is the classic cause.
Source: Google Search Central: How Google interprets the robots.txt specification
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Stops Google
noindex
noindex found in meta name="robots". Google drops a page with a noindex from Search results.
Fix: Remove the noindex from pages you want found. In WordPress, check Settings, Reading, "Discourage search engines from indexing this site", and your SEO plugin's setting for the page.
Source: Google Search Central: Block Search indexing with noindex
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Check this
Canonical link
The canonical link points to another address: https://staging.example.com/. Google treats that as a strong signal to index that address instead, so this one may not show up.
Fix: Point the canonical at this page's own address, unless the other page really is the one you want found.
Source: Google Search Central: How to specify a canonical URL
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Check this
Sitemap line
robots.txt names no sitemap. That is fine if you submitted one in Search Console; if not, Google has to find every page through links.
Fix: Submit your sitemap in Search Console, or add a Sitemap: line with its full address to robots.txt.
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Not in the way
Status code
The address answered with status 200, so Google gets a page to read.
Source: Google Search Central: How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers
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Not in the way
Redirects
The address follows 1 redirect to https://www.example.com/. Google indexes the final address, not the one typed.
Source: Google Search Central: How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers
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Not in the way
Content in the HTML
The HTML has 41 words of text before JavaScript runs.
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Not in the way
Title
Title: "Example Tea Co. | Loose leaf tea".
To see whether Google has the page, search Google for site:example.com, then inspect the address in Search Console's URL Inspection tool.
Why your website is not showing up on Google
A website is not showing up on Google for one of two reasons: Google does not have the page in its index, or it has the page but ranks it too low to find. The first is usually something the site tells Google, such as a robots.txt block or a noindex rule, or a site too new to have been crawled. The checker above finds the first kind.
The made-up example shows the classic case: a shop built on a staging server went live with the staging settings still in place. Its robots.txt says User-agent: * Disallow: /, its head carries <meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">, and its canonical link still points at the staging address. Any one of the first two would keep it out of Google.
| Reason | How to tell | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The site or page is new | A site: search finds nothing, and the checker finds no blocker | Submit a sitemap, request indexing for the homepage in Search Console, get a link from a site Google already knows, and give it time |
| robots.txt blocks Googlebot | The checker's robots.txt row says it stops Google, often from a leftover Disallow: / | Remove or narrow the rule |
| A noindex rule | The checker finds noindex in a robots or googlebot meta tag, or in the X-Robots-Tag header | Remove it from pages you want found, in the theme, the SEO plugin or the CMS setting that adds it |
| An error status or a login | The page answers with 4xx or 5xx, or asks for a password | Make public pages answer with 200; redirect old addresses with a 301 |
| A redirect or canonical points elsewhere | The checker shows the address redirecting to another domain, or a canonical link to another URL | Point both at the address you want found |
| Content only arrives by JavaScript | The HTML has almost no text and an empty app element | Render the main content on the server, or pre-render it |
| A manual action or security issue | Search Console's Manual actions or Security issues report lists one | Follow the report's steps, then request a review |
| Indexed, but ranks too low | A site: search finds the page, a search for your exact business name finds it, general searches do not | A ranking question, not an indexing one: see below |
How to get your website to show up on Google
To get your website showing up on Google, confirm it is really missing, remove anything that blocks Google, then tell Google about it through Search Console. This is the order Google's own help article on missing pages follows. Skipping the first step is common: many sites thought to be missing are indexed and only rank low.
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Check whether it is really missing
Turn off SafeSearch and search Google for
site:followed by your domain, for examplesite:example.com. For one page, add its path. If results appear, Google has the site and your question is about ranking, not indexing. -
Run the checker on your homepage
Enter your homepage's address above. Then check the page you expected to find, because a template or plugin can block one kind of page and not another.
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Fix every blocker
Fix anything marked "Stops Google" first: an error status, a robots.txt block, a noindex. While one of those stands, nothing else helps. Then look at the rows marked "Check this".
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Add the site to Google Search Console
Verify your domain in Google Search Console. It is free and it is the only place Google tells you which of your pages it has indexed, and why it left others out.
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Submit a sitemap
Most site builders and SEO plugins create one at an address such as
/sitemap.xml. Submit it in Search Console under Sitemaps, and name it in robots.txt with aSitemap:line. -
Inspect the page and request indexing
Paste the page's address into the URL Inspection tool. It says whether the URL is indexed and, if not, why. Run the live test, then press Request indexing. Google says a request is not a guarantee.
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Link to the page and wait
Google finds new sites through links from sites it already knows, and new pages through links from your own pages. Link to the page from your homepage or menu, and give Google time before you change anything else.
What does the checker look at?
The checker looks at what one page and its site tell Google before Google decides to index it: the status code, the redirects, the robots.txt rules for Googlebot, any noindex rule, the canonical link, the text in the HTML, the title and the sitemap line. Each result is one of four states, written in words: Stops Google, Check this, Not checked, or Not in the way.
| Check | What Google says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Status code and redirects | URLs that return a 4xx status (except 429) are not indexed, and indexed ones are removed. 5xx and 429 slow crawling; indexed URLs are kept for a while but eventually dropped. A 2xx does not guarantee indexing. Google's crawlers follow up to 10 redirect hops. | HTTP status codes |
| robots.txt | If robots.txt cannot be fetched because of a server error, Google stops crawling the site for the first 12 hours, then uses the last good version for 30 days. A 4xx robots.txt means no crawl restrictions. The checker applies the file to the page's path for Googlebot. | robots.txt |
| noindex | When Googlebot finds a noindex tag or header, Google drops the page from Search results. A noindex only works if the page is not blocked by robots.txt. The checker reads robots and googlebot meta tags and the X-Robots-Tag header. | noindex |
| Canonical link | Redirects and rel="canonical" links are strong signals that the target URL should be the canonical one; search results point to the canonical page. | Canonical URLs |
| Content in the HTML | Google renders JavaScript after it crawls, and a page can wait in the render queue for seconds or longer. The checker flags a page with fewer than 50 words in the HTML only when it also finds a sign that JavaScript adds the content. | JavaScript SEO basics |
| Sitemap line | A sitemap tells Google which pages you want crawled. Submit it in Search Console or name it in robots.txt. | Sitemaps |
For the full picture of what a page's HTML gives a crawler, including headings, links and structured data, use the crawlability test. It reads the same fetch in more detail.
How to check if Google has indexed your website
To check if Google has indexed your website, search Google for site:yourdomain.com with SafeSearch off: results mean Google has pages from the site. A site: search is a rough count, not a full list. For a definite answer about one page, inspect its address in Search Console's URL Inspection tool, which says whether that exact URL is on Google.
How long a new website takes to show up on Google
A new website can take from a day or two to a few weeks to show up on Google, according to Google's own help: it has to find the site, crawl it, then index it. Nothing in the checker will show as a blocker for a site that is simply new. Submitting a sitemap and requesting indexing for the homepage in Search Console tells Google the site exists.
Google finds new sites mostly through links from sites it already knows. A listing on your business profile, a supplier, a directory you belong to or a social profile that links to the site gives Google a way in.
Indexed but not showing up for your keywords
A page that is indexed but not showing up for your keywords has a ranking problem, not an indexing one. Google has the page and shows other pages first. Search for your exact business name: if the site appears for that but not for what you sell, Google can find it, and the work is in the page's content and in earning links.
- Match the search. Look at what ranks for the phrase. If the results are guides and your page is a product page, or the reverse, Google reads the search as wanting something else.
- Say it on the page. Put the words people search for in the title, the main heading and the first paragraph, in plain language.
- Earn links. A new domain with no links from other sites has little to go on. Links from real businesses you work with count for more than any directory list.
- Check Search Console's Performance report. It shows the searches your pages already appear for, and at what average position.
Why a WordPress site is not showing up on Google
A WordPress site that is not showing up on Google is very often still set to hide from search engines. In the dashboard, open Settings, then Reading, and look at "Discourage search engines from indexing this site". When it is ticked, WordPress adds a noindex to every page. Untick it and save. Then check your SEO plugin's indexing setting for the page and its robots.txt editor.
What this checker cannot tell you
This checker reads what your page and site tell Google. It cannot see inside Google, so a clean result means nothing on the page blocks Google, not that the page is indexed or will rank.
- Whether Google has the page. Only a site: search or the URL Inspection tool in Search Console can say that.
- Manual actions and security issues. Google reports these in Search Console only.
- Removal requests. A URL removal someone requested in Search Console hides a page whatever the page says.
- Rules aimed at Googlebot. It fetches under Convertica's own name, from Cloudflare's network, so a firewall or bot protection rule that refuses Googlebot by name or IP address, and lets other visitors in, is invisible to it. The live test in the URL Inspection tool uses Google's own fetch.
- Rendering. It reads the HTML before JavaScript runs and renders nothing. Google renders JavaScript later.
- Its own limits. It follows up to five redirects, waits 8 seconds per fetch and 20 in all, and allows 10 checks per 10 minutes per IP address, shared with the crawlability test.
After your website shows up on Google
Showing up on Google brings visitors; it does not make them buy. Once the blockers are gone and pages start to appear, the page that people land on decides whether a visit turns into a lead or a sale.
- Check the result people see. The meta tag checker shows the title and description Google may use for the page.
- Check what crawlers read. The crawlability test lists the text, links, headings and structured data in the HTML.
- Check the page converts. The free CRO audit scores the page on eight checks, from the first screen to trust and speed.
See all free tools and how they fit together.
Short answer
A website usually does not show up on Google because it is too new to be crawled, robots.txt blocks Googlebot, a noindex rule tells Google to leave it out, the page returns an error or redirects elsewhere, or it is indexed but ranks too low. Check for blockers first, then confirm with a site: search and Search Console.
- Check that the page is really missing first: search Google for site: and your domain, with SafeSearch off.
- Google names robots.txt blocks, noindex rules and password protection as the most common reasons a page is not indexed.
- Google says a new page can take from a day or two to a few weeks to be indexed.
- Indexed is not the same as ranking: a page Google has can still sit too low to find for general searches.
- Fix blockers before you request indexing in Search Console: a request cannot get past a noindex or a robots.txt block.
Website not showing up on Google: FAQ
Why is my website not showing up on Google?
Usually one of five things: the site is too new for Google to have crawled it, robots.txt blocks Googlebot, a noindex tag or header tells Google to leave the page out, the page answers with an error or redirects elsewhere, or the page is indexed but ranks too low to find. Google's own help names robots.txt, noindex and password protection as the most common blocks.
How do I check if my website is on Google?
Search Google for site: followed by your domain, for example site:example.com, with SafeSearch off. Results mean Google has at least some of your pages. For one page, search site: with its full address, or open the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console, which says whether that exact URL is indexed.
How long does it take for a new website to show up on Google?
Google says the time from publishing a new page to indexing can be anywhere from a day or two to a few weeks, depending on many factors. You can help by submitting a sitemap in Search Console, requesting indexing for your homepage, and getting a link from a site Google already knows.
Why is my website indexed but not showing up when I search for it?
Being indexed only means Google has the page; where it ranks for a search is a separate decision. A new site often appears for its exact brand name or a site: search but not for general terms, because other pages answer them better or have more links. Search your exact business name first to tell the two apart.
Why is my WordPress site not showing up on Google?
Check Settings, then Reading: the box "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" adds a noindex to every page and is often left on after a site is built. Then check your SEO plugin's indexing setting for the page and the site's robots.txt. This checker shows a noindex or a robots.txt block whatever caused it.
Can I force Google to index my website?
No, but you can ask. In Search Console, inspect the URL and press Request indexing, and submit your sitemap. Google says a request is not a guarantee and repeated requests for the same URL do not speed it up. Fixing anything that blocks the page comes first, because a request cannot get past a noindex or a robots.txt block.
Does this checker tell me whether Google has indexed my page?
No. Only Google can say that, through a site: search or the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. This checker reads what your page and site tell Google: the status code, redirects, robots.txt, noindex rules, the canonical link and the content in the HTML. If it finds a blocker, that explains why the page is missing.
Is the checker free, and what happens to the address I enter?
It is free, with no sign-up. The address is sent to Convertica's server, which fetches the page and its robots.txt once and returns what it found. The address, the page and the result are not stored. To limit abuse, it allows 10 checks per 10 minutes per IP address. Pasted source is read in your browser and not sent anywhere.
