How to Get Your Website to Show Up on Google: A Step-by-Step Guide for Small Businesses
There are few things as exciting as launching a new website. I've been on the outside watching clients go through a launch, on the inside (small business owning fam over here!), and a bystander seeing friends and acquaintances announce their new digital home base.
Whether you paid thousands of dollars or spent thousands of your own hours, you've poured your heart and soul into creating a site.
But then—dun dun dun—
You Google your business.
Or search a keyword you'd love to rank for.
And that beautiful site is nowhere to be seen. Whew. All the emotions.
This is not only frustrating, it's also incredibly common. There are many reasons sites don't show up in search, but much like going to the doctor, you need a diagnosis before you can remedy the issue. This guide will help you figure out if your site is falling prey to some common problems—and how to fix them.
Does Google Know Your Site Exists?
First things first: Does Google even know about you? The first step to showing up in search results is being indexed. This means Google crawls your site, reads the content, and adds it to its database of web pages. Think of it like putting your business card in Google's rolodex. (Are rolodexes still a thing? Did I just age myself?)
If your site isn't indexed, it doesn't exist to Google. Period.
I've audited sites for frustrated, exhausted business owners only to discover the reason they weren't getting traffic was simple: their site wasn't indexed. It's an easy fix—but not something everyone knows to check.
Quick test: Type site:yourdomain.com into Google (replace "yourdomain.com" with your actual domain).
If nothing shows up → Your site is not indexed.
If some pages show up → You have a partial indexing issue.
Now remember, this is just the first piece of the puzzle. You might be indexed and still not showing up in search. That's a different problem with different solutions—keep reading.
Make Sure Google Can Actually Find Your Website
Okay, so you've confirmed your site is indexed (or at least partially indexed). Good start. But if Google's still not finding all your pages—or if nothing showed up in that site: search—there might be barriers blocking Google from crawling your site in the first place.
Let's check the usual suspects.
Submit Your Site to Google Search Console (If You Haven't Already)
Google Search Console is free, and it's basically mission control for how Google sees your website. If you're not using it, you're flying blind.
Here's why it matters: Search Console lets you manually request indexing for specific pages, shows you which pages Google has found (and which it hasn't), and flags technical errors that could be keeping you out of search results.
Setting it up takes about 10 minutes. Google has a step-by-step guide if you need it, but the gist is: verify ownership of your site, submit your sitemap (we'll get to that later), and start monitoring what Google sees.
Once you're in, you can request indexing for key pages—your homepage, service pages, important blog posts. It won't guarantee instant results, but it tells Google, "Hey, this page exists. Come check it out."
Check Your Robots.txt File
Your robots.txt file is like a bouncer at the door of your website. It tells search engines which pages they can crawl and which ones are off-limits.
The problem? Sometimes that bouncer is a little too good at their job and accidentally blocks Google from your entire site.
To check yours, go to yourdomain.com/robots.txt (yes, just type that into your browser). You'll see a plain text file with instructions for search engines.
Red flags to look for:
Disallow: / This blocks everything. If you see this without specific exceptions below it, that's your problem.
References to pages or sections you actually want indexed (like /blog/ or /services/)
If your robots.txt file looks suspicious or you're not sure what you're looking at, it might be time to call in a pro. A misplaced line here can tank your entire site's visibility.
Check for "Noindex" Tags
A "noindex" tag is a small piece of code in your website's header that tells Google, "Don't index this page." It's useful for things like thank-you pages or admin dashboards—but catastrophic if it's on pages you actually want people to find.
This happens more often than you'd think. Maybe your site was in "staging mode" during development and someone forgot to flip the switch. Maybe a plugin added it without you realizing.
How to check:
Go to one of your key pages (homepage, a service page, etc.)
Right-click and select "View Page Source"
Search (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) for "noindex"
If you find it, and it's on a page that should absolutely be showing up in search... well, there's your problem.
Here's the thing: Fixing a noindex issue isn't always straightforward, especially if you're not comfortable digging into your site's code or settings. If you find one and you're not sure how it got there or how to remove it safely, this is one of those situations where it's worth bringing in someone who knows what they're doing. One wrong move and you could accidentally noindex your entire site.
Fix Technical Issues That Keep You Hidden
Alright, so Google knows your site exists and can actually access it. Progress! But if you're still not showing up in search results, there's a good chance some technical issues are working against you.
Think of it this way: Google wants to send people to websites that work well. If your site is slow, broken, or impossible to use on a phone, Google's not going to recommend it—no matter how great your content is.
Let's tackle the most common technical roadblocks.
Site Speed Matters (More Than You Think)
If your website takes forever to load, Google notices. And so do your visitors—most of whom will bounce before they ever see your carefully crafted homepage.
Google has outright said that page speed is a ranking factor. Slow sites get deprioritized. It's not personal; it's just how the algorithm works.
Quick test: Head to Google PageSpeed Insights, plug in your URL, and see what comes back. You'll get a score for both mobile and desktop, plus a list of issues slowing you down.
Common culprits:
Massive, uncompressed images (your 5MB header photo is killing you)
Cheap or overloaded hosting (you get what you pay for)
Too many plugins or scripts running in the background
You don't need a perfect 100 score, but if you're in the red (below 50), that's a problem. Start with image compression and consider upgrading your hosting if you're on a bargain-basement plan.
Mobile-Friendliness Is Non-Negotiable
Here's the deal: Google uses mobile-first indexing. That means Google looks at the mobile version of your site first when deciding how to rank you—even for desktop searches.
If your site looks terrible or doesn't function on a phone, you're not ranking. Period.
Quick test: If you already ran PageSpeed Insights in the speed section above, good news—it also checks mobile usability. Scroll through those results and look for mobile-specific issues like text that's too small, buttons too close together, or content wider than the screen.
If you didn't run it yet, head to Google PageSpeed Insights now. You'll get both speed and mobile performance in one shot.
Fix Broken Links and Errors
Broken links (those dreaded 404 errors) are bad for user experience and bad for SEO. When Google crawls your site and keeps hitting dead ends, it signals that your site isn't well-maintained—and that hurts your credibility.
How to find them:
Check Google Search Console under "Coverage" or "Pages" for crawl errors
Use a free tool like Screaming Frog (up to 500 URLs) to crawl your site and spot broken links
Manually click through your most important pages (not scalable, but a decent spot check)
Once you find broken links, fix them. Redirect old URLs to relevant pages, update internal links, and remove links to external sites that no longer exist.
Make Sure You Have an XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap is basically a roadmap of your website that you hand to Google and say, "Here's everything I want you to know about."
Most modern website platforms (WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow) generate one automatically. But not always. And sometimes they're not submitted to Google, which means Google might not even know it exists.
How to check if you have one: Go to yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. If a sitemap pops up (it'll look like a structured list of URLs), great. You have one.
How to submit it to Google: Log into Google Search Console, go to "Sitemaps" in the left sidebar, and paste in the URL of your sitemap (usually just sitemap.xml). Hit submit. Done.
If you don't have a sitemap, you'll need to create one. Most CMS platforms have plugins or built-in settings to generate one. If you're on a custom-built site and this sounds like gibberish, it's time to talk to your developer—or someone who can help.
Create Content Google Actually Wants to Show
Okay, real talk: You can have the most technically perfect website in the world, but if there's nothing on it worth showing people, Google's not going to rank you.
I see this all the time.
A beautiful homepage.
A contact page.
Maybe an "About Us" if we're lucky.
And then... crickets. That's not enough. Google needs substance to work with—and so do your potential customers.
You Need More Than a Homepage and Contact Page
Thin sites don't rank. If your entire website is five pages with a paragraph each, Google doesn't have much to go on. There's no depth, no expertise being demonstrated, no reason to send searchers your way when your competitors have robust, helpful content.
So what does "enough content" actually mean? There's no magic number, but think about it this way:
Does your site answer the questions your customers are asking?
Does it demonstrate that you know what you're talking about?
Can someone spend more than 30 seconds reading and actually learn something useful?
If the answer is no, you need more content. Blog posts, detailed service pages, FAQs, case studies, guides—whatever makes sense for your business.
Use Keywords People Are Actually Searching For
Here's where a lot of small business owners go wrong: they write in industry jargon or corporate speak that sounds impressive but isn't what real people are typing into Google.
Your customers aren't searching for "comprehensive digital transformation solutions." They're searching for "how to update my outdated website" or "why isn't my website getting traffic."
You need to use the language your customers actually use—not the language you think sounds professional.
Where to find these keywords:
Start typing your service or topic into Google and see what autocompletes
Check out the "People also ask" section in search results
Use free tools like Ubersuggest, AnswerThePublic, or Google Keyword Planner
Pay attention to the questions clients and customers actually ask you
Once you know what people are searching for, weave those keywords naturally into your content. Write like a human, not a robot. No one wants to read a blog post that says "SEO services" seventeen times in three paragraphs. Google's smarter than that, and your readers will click away immediately.
Answer Questions Your Customers Are Asking
This is where content strategy actually pays off. Every question a potential customer asks is an opportunity for a piece of content.
"How much does X cost?" → Blog post or FAQ
"What's the difference between X and Y?" → Comparison guide
"How do I know if I need X?" → Checklist or self-assessment post
The more helpful, relevant content you create, the more chances you have to show up in search results. And the more you demonstrate your expertise, the more Google (and potential customers) will trust you.
This is also where Google's E-E-A-T comes into play: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Google wants to rank content from people who actually know what they're talking about. So if you're a business owner with real experience solving real problems, show that in your content. Share examples, tell stories, give actionable advice based on what you've learned.
Generic, surface-level content written by someone who Googled the topic five minutes ago? Not going to cut it anymore.
The Caveat: More Words Does Not Mean Better Content
Now, before you go stuffing every page with paragraphs upon paragraphs because you heard "Google likes long content," let me stop you right there.
I'm talking about homepages that read like my teenager's English essay when they're trying to hit a word count. You know the ones—where a simple sentence gets stretched into three because someone thinks more words automatically mean better SEO.
Spoiler alert: They don't.
No one wants to wade through walls of text on your homepage.
I’m going to say that one more time: no one wants to wade through walls of text on your homepage. Your visitors are busy, distracted, and scrolling fast. They want the essential information without the fluff.
What actually works:
Clear, concise writing.
Important keywords used naturally (not shoehorned in).
Bullet points and lists (your absolute besties in web content).
Scannable sections that get to the point.
Write enough to be helpful and show your expertise—but respect people's time. Google rewards content that answers questions well, not content that just takes up space. And your readers? They'll actually stick around if you're not making them work for it.
Build Credibility with Google (and Humans)
So you've got your technical foundation solid and you're creating helpful content. Great. But there's another piece to this puzzle: credibility.
Google doesn't just want to know your site exists—it wants to know your site is trustworthy and worth recommending to searchers. And one of the biggest ways Google measures that? By looking at who else is linking to you and how visible you are beyond your own website.
Get Other Sites to Link to You
Backlinks—links from other websites pointing to yours—are like votes of confidence in Google's eyes. The more quality sites that link to you, the more Google sees your site as authoritative and relevant.
Notice I said quality sites. A hundred spammy directory links won't do you any favors. But a link from a respected industry publication, a local news site, or a well-regarded business in your niche? That moves the needle.
Where to start:
Local directories and citations: Get listed on Google Business Profile, Yelp, Chamber of Commerce, industry-specific directories
Industry associations or organizations: Many have member directories with links
Guest posts or collaborations: Write for other blogs or partner with complementary businesses
Local media or press: Got a story? Pitch it. Local news sites often link back to businesses they feature
Supplier or partner websites: If you work with other businesses, ask if they'll link to you from their site
The key here is to be strategic and patient. Don't buy links (Google will penalize you). Don't spam people asking for links. Focus on building real relationships and creating content other people actually want to link to.
Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile
If you're a local business—anything with a physical location or serving a specific geographic area—your Google Business Profile is massive for visibility.
This is what shows up in Google Maps, in the local pack (those three businesses that appear at the top of local searches), and in Knowledge Panels. If you haven't claimed yours, you're leaving a huge opportunity on the table.
What to do:
Claim your profile at business.google.com
Fill out everything: business name, address, phone number, website, hours, services, photos
Choose the right categories for your business
Encourage happy customers to leave reviews (and respond to them—yes, even the bad ones)
Post updates regularly (yes, Google Business Profile has a mini social feed—use it)
A complete, active Google Business Profile can dramatically improve your local search visibility. An incomplete or neglected one? You're basically invisible.
Be Patient (But Strategic)
Here's the part no one likes to hear: SEO takes time. Like, weeks to months kind of time. Sometimes longer, depending on your competition and how much work your site needs.
Google doesn't flip a switch and suddenly rank you on page one. It crawls your site, evaluates changes, watches how users interact with your pages, and gradually adjusts your rankings.
But "be patient" doesn't mean "sit back and do nothing." It means:
Keep creating helpful, optimized content
Keep fixing technical issues as they pop up
Keep building those backlinks and relationships
Track your progress in Google Search Console so you can see what's working
You're not going to wake up tomorrow with a flood of organic traffic. But if you're consistent and strategic, you will see movement. And that's what matters.
When to Call in the SEO Experts
Look, I get it. You're a business owner. You wear 47 hats on any given day, and "SEO expert" probably wasn't on your list of career aspirations when you started this thing.
If you've made it through this guide, tried the fixes, and you're still not seeing results—or if you took one look at Section 3 and thought "absolutely not"—it might be time to bring in someone who does this for a living.
Signs You Need a Professional SEO Audit
You've done everything in this guide and your site still isn't showing up
Your site is indexed, but your rankings are terrible (or nonexistent)
Google Search Console is flagging technical errors you don't understand
You're seeing traffic, but it's not converting into actual leads or sales
You simply don't have the time (or desire) to DIY this
There's no shame in outsourcing. You didn't start your business to become an SEO specialist—you started it to do the thing you're actually good at.
What a Technical SEO Audit Actually Does
A professional SEO audit isn't just someone poking around your site and saying "looks fine to me." It's a comprehensive deep-dive that uncovers everything that's working against you.
Here's what a solid audit includes:
A complete crawl of your site to identify technical errors, broken links, indexing issues, and site health problems
Analysis of your title tags, meta descriptions, headers, internal linking, and on-page optimization
Assessment of your site speed, mobile-friendliness, and user experience
Keyword ranking analysis and content gap identification to see where you're missing opportunities
Review of your backlink profile and any toxic links dragging you down
Competitor analysis to see what's working for others in your space (and where you can outrank them)
A prioritized list of fixes based on what will actually move the needle for your business
And here's the best part: you get a clear roadmap. No guessing, no "try this and see what happens." Just actionable steps you (or someone you hire) can implement to actually improve your search visibility.
At Vistas Virtual Solutions, I offer multiple levels of SEO audits and ongoing services depending on how deep you need to go. Both come with follow-up support, because handing you a 40-page report and disappearing isn't helpful to anyone.
If you're tired of wondering why your site isn't performing—or you just want someone to tell you exactly what's broken and how to fix it—let's talk.
