Why Is My Website Not Showing Up on Google? 6 Common Reasons and How to Fix Them

The most common reason a brand-new site doesn't appear is simply timing.

Google uses automated bots (often called "spiders") to crawl the web and find new content. Once they find your site, they add it to their massive index.
‍
This process is not instantaneous. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for Google to crawl and index a new site.
‍
The Solution: You don't have to just sit and wait. You can speed this process up by creating a Google Search Console account and submitting your "sitemap."

This effectively hands Google a map of your website and invites them to come take a look.
‍
If the idea of submitting a sitemap sounds technical and overwhelming, don't worry.

If you've already submitted your sitemap and you are asking, "Why is Google Search Console not showing data?" you've hit a common source of confusion.While GSC is the definitive source for how Google sees your site, it's essential to understand its delays:

‍Lag Time
‍GSC data is not real-time. It can take 24–48 hours (or sometimes longer) for new impressions, clicks, or crawl data to appear. A newly indexed page will not instantly show up in your performance report.

‍Data Thresholds
‍For the Performance Report to show a search query, it must have received a minimum number of impressions or clicks to protect user privacy. If your site is very new, your query data might appear blank or incomplete even if you are getting a handful of impressions.

‍Date Rang -
‍Always double-check that your date range in the GSC report is set correctly, especially if you are looking for recent changes.

If you see no data, start by checking your Indexing > Pages report. If Google is showing pages as "Indexed," but your Performance report is empty, the issue is likely simply a delay or low traffic volume.

Give it a few days before troubleshooting further.

This is a pretty common mistake, especially if you recently redesigned your website.

When developers are building a site, they often insert a piece of code called a "noindex" tag.

This tag tells Google: "Do not look at this site yet; it is under construction."

If this tag isn't removed when the site goes live, you are essentially telling search engines to ignore you. You could have the best content in the world, but if that tag is present, you won't show up.

The Solution: Check your site's source code or your content management system (like WordPress) settings to ensure the "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" box is unchecked.

‍Unsure if your code is blocking Google? Contact us today for a quick check-up to ensure your site is open for business.

Search engines have evolved.

In 2025, it isn't enough to just have a page that lists your services.

Google—and the new wave of AI search tools—prioritize content that provides genuine value.

If your "About" page is two sentences long or your service pages lack detail, Google considers this "thin content."

Search engines want to send users to the most authoritative source possible.

If your page doesn't answer the user's questions thoroughly, Google will skip you in favor of a competitor who goes into more detail.

‍The Solution: Review your website copy. Are you answering the questions your customers are actually asking? To rank well today, your content needs to be comprehensive and helpful.

This is also crucial for ranking in AI summaries (LLMs), which rely on structured, informative text to generate answers.

You might be ranking, but just not for the terms you think you are.

For example, if you sell "high-end athletic footwear," but everyone searches for "running shoes," you have a disconnect.

If you aren't using the specific words and phrases your customers use, Google won't connect your website to their searches.

‍The Solution: This requires keyword research. You need to find out exactly what your target audience is typing into the search bar.

‍Our team specializes in finding these "long-tail" opportunities—specific phrases that are easier to rank for and bring in highly motivated customers.

Google prioritizes user experience.

If your website takes 10 seconds to load or looks broken on a smartphone, Google will penalize you.

They do not want to send their users to a website that provides a frustrating experience.

With more people searching on mobile devices than desktops, having a responsive, fast-loading site is no longer optional—it is a requirement for visibility.

‍The Solution: Run your website through Google's "PageSpeed Insights" tool. It will give you a score and tell you exactly what is slowing you down, whether it's large images or clunky code.

If you have addressed all the issues above and are still wondering, "Why is my website not showing up on Google?", the answer might be authority.

Google views links from other reputable websites to your website as "votes of confidence."

If no other websites link to you, Google assumes you are not yet a trusted authority in your industry.

This makes it challenging to rank for competitive keywords.

‍The Solution: You need a strategy to earn backlinks.

This can be done by writing guest posts for industry blogs, getting featured in local news, or creating shareable resources (like infographics or guides) that others want to link to.

It is important to note that "showing up" looks different today than it did five years ago.

With the rise of AI-driven search (like Google's AI Overviews), the goal isn't just to be a blue link on a list.

The goal is to be the answer.

To do this, your content needs to be structured clearly using bullet points, clear headings, and direct answers so that Large Language Models (LLMs) can easily read and cite your information.

Troubleshooting visibility issues can feel like a mystery, but it is almost always a solvable problem.

Whether it is a technical glitch, a content gap, or a need for better keywords, you can fix it.

Don't let your website sit in the dark any longer.

‍Is your site struggling to get found? Click here to schedule your Free SEO Visibility Consultation with our team.

‍We will dig into the data, find out exactly why you aren't ranking, and build a plan to get you to the top of the page.