How to Get Your Website on Google (and Check It's There)

How do I get my website on Google?

Google finds most websites on its own. Its own guidance says you usually don't need to do anything except publish your site. To check and help it along, search site:yourdomain.co.uk and add the site to Google Search Console, which is free. Then submit your sitemap, and ask Google to crawl your most important pages with Request Indexing. If you serve a local area, set up a Google Business Profile too. Expect it to take anything from a few days to a few weeks. Google doesn't take payment to list or rank a website.

The rest of this guide takes each step in the order we'd do it, and explains why a site sometimes stays invisible.

Key takeaways

• Being on Google, called being indexed, isn't the same as being high up on Google, called ranking. This guide is about the first one.
• Start with a site: search. If your pages come back, Google already knows about you.
• A sitemap tells Google where your pages are. It doesn't make Google index them.
• Request Indexing has a daily limit, and asking twice for the same page doesn't speed it up.
• Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site. Some changes show within hours, others take months.

Is my website already on Google?

Search Google for site: followed by your domain, for example site:yourbusiness.co.uk. If pages come back, Google has indexed at least part of your site.

This is the first check in Google's own guide to getting on Google. It doesn't always list every page Google has indexed, so a short list isn't proof of a problem. It also tells you nothing about where you rank.

If nothing comes back at all, read on.

Why isn't my website showing on Google?

Usually because the site is new, because nothing else links to it, or because something on the site stops Google reading it.

Google lists the usual reasons it misses a site:

• It's new. Google says it can take a few weeks to notice a new site, or changes to an existing one.
• Nothing links to it. Google finds pages by following links, so a site no one links to is harder to find. Google is clear you shouldn't pay for links, as that can break its spam policies.
• Google can't read it. Words inside images or video, or unusual technology, can be hard for Google to crawl. Use real text.
• Google hit an error, such as a login page in the way, or the site blocking Google.
• Google simply missed it, which happens most with small sites.

Two more worth checking. A noindex tag is a line in a page's code that tells search engines not to index it, so one left on your pages keeps them off Google. A robots.txt file can block Google from crawling a page. If it does, Google can't read that page, so it can't see a noindex tag there either. Search Console's URL Inspection tool shows you both.

How do I set up Google Search Console?

Add your site to Google Search Console as a property, then prove you own it. It's free. You don't need it to appear on Google, but it's where Google shows you what it sees.

Google calls Search Console "a free service offered by Google", and says you don't have to sign up for it to be included in results. You'll be asked to pick one of two property types:

• A Domain property, such as yourbusiness.co.uk, covers every version of your site: with and without www, on http and https. You verify it by adding a DNS record, one line in your domain's settings, wherever your domain's DNS is managed (usually the company you bought it from).
• A URL-prefix property, such as https://www.yourbusiness.co.uk/, covers only addresses that start exactly that way. You can verify it in more ways, such as uploading a small HTML file or using a Google Analytics or Tag Manager tag already on the site.

If you can get into your domain's settings, a Domain property is the tidier choice. If someone else looks after your domain, ask them to add the record. Google says data takes a few days to start building up.

How do I submit a sitemap to Google?

Find your sitemap's address, which is often /sitemap.xml. Then open the Sitemaps report in Search Console, paste the address in and press Submit.

A sitemap is a file that lists the pages on your site. Google says most content management systems create one automatically, so check before you make one yourself. "Submitting" it only tells Google where the file is. Google says it should fetch the sitemap straight away, but crawling the pages in it can take time, and it may not crawl every page listed.

You don't need to resubmit it each time you edit a page. Google re-reads a sitemap on its own schedule. Resubmit after big changes, such as a rebuilt site or a new section.

What does Request Indexing do, and what doesn't it do?

Paste a page's address into the inspection bar at the top of Search Console, then choose Request indexing. This asks Google to crawl that one page. It's a request, not a guarantee.

Google's page on recrawling is worth reading, and three points stand out:

• Crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
• Asking for a crawl doesn't guarantee the page will show in results quickly, or at all.
• There's a quota for single requests, and asking for the same page more than once won't get it crawled any faster.

Our own experience matches. In our own Search Console, the daily allowance once ran out after seven requests. And on 18 October 2026, one of our own service pages that we'd asked Google to read on 11 and 13 October still showed Google's copy from July. So save Request Indexing for your handful of most important pages, such as your homepage and main service pages. Let the sitemap do the rest.

What do "Discovered" and "Crawled - currently not indexed" mean?

Both mean Google knows the page exists but hasn't added it to its index yet. Neither one means you should keep resubmitting.

The Page indexing report in Search Console splits your pages into indexed and not indexed, with a reason for each. These are the ones you'll see most on a newer site:

Google also says not to expect every page on a site to be indexed, as long as your key pages are.

Do I need a Google Business Profile as well?

If your customers are local, yes. A Business Profile is how your business shows on Google Maps and in the map results on Search, and it's free.

Your website and your Business Profile are separate, and Google lists them as separate checks. A business can have a good website and still be missing from the map results if it has no profile. Our guide Google Business Profile Help: A Plain-English Guide takes you through set-up and verification step by step.

One useful link between the two: Google says it sometimes verifies a Business Profile instantly when you've already verified your website in Search Console.

How long does it take for a new website to appear on Google?

Usually a few days to a few weeks for pages to be found and indexed. Moving up the results takes longer.

Google says some changes take effect within a few hours and others take several months. It also says you'll usually want to wait a few weeks before judging whether a change has worked. Being indexed is only the start: where you rank depends on how well each page answers what people search for.

If you're still waiting on the website itself, How Long Does It Take to Build a Website? has honest timings for each route.

Can I pay Google to put my website on Google?

No. Google doesn't accept payment to crawl a site more often or to rank it higher.

That's from Google's own explanation of how Search works, which adds: "If anyone tells you otherwise, they're wrong." Google Ads are a separate, paid product: you pay for adverts, not for a place in the normal results.

A quick checklist

1. Search site:yourdomain.co.uk and note what comes back.
2. Open your site in a private browser window to check it loads without a login.
3. Add the site to Google Search Console and verify it.
4. Submit your sitemap in the Sitemaps report.
5. Inspect your homepage with URL Inspection, and request indexing if it isn't on Google.
6. Do the same for your two or three most important pages.
7. Look in the Page indexing report for "noindex" or robots.txt blocks.
8. Set up or claim your Google Business Profile if you serve local customers.
9. Ask a real supplier, partner or local directory to link to you.
10. Come back in a week and look again.

When to get help

If you've worked through the checklist and the site still isn't showing, something technical is usually in the way. Our free mini Website Audit is a quick, high-level review for when you want an expert opinion before committing to anything. For ongoing help, SEO Care is our monthly SEO service, from £95 a month. Every plan includes an indexing check and a whole-site on-page review each month.

If the website itself is the problem, a 7 Day Website includes on-page SEO and is delivered in seven working days. It costs from £1,200, plus WebsiteCare from £65 a month. Or our Free Website build comes with meta tags, a sitemap and structured data as standard, then from £30 a month for us to run it. That's a managed plan, so if you cancel, the site comes down.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to get my website on Google?

Yes. Google doesn't charge to crawl, index or rank a website, and both Google Search Console and a Google Business Profile are free. You pay for the website itself, and for any help or advertising you choose.

How can I see my website on Google?

Search Google for site: followed by your domain. To see which searches you appear for, use the Performance report in Google Search Console. It shows the searches, impressions, clicks and average position for your site.

Do I need Google Search Console for my website to appear on Google?

No. Google says you don't have to sign up for Search Console to be included in its results. It's still worth setting up, because it's where Google tells you which pages it has indexed and why others are left out.

How often should I submit my sitemap?

Once, and then again after big changes such as a rebuilt site or a new section. Google re-reads a sitemap you've submitted on its own schedule, so there's no need to resubmit it for every small edit.

Why does Google still show an old version of my page?

Google works from the copy it last crawled, and the URL Inspection tool in Search Console shows when that was. Request indexing, and Google will use the new version once it crawls and re-indexes the page, which can take days to weeks and isn't guaranteed.

The bottom line

Getting your website on Google is mostly a matter of letting Google find it and clearing anything that gets in the way. Check with site:, set up Search Console, submit your sitemap, request indexing for your key pages, and give it a few weeks. If you'd like a second pair of eyes, Start a Project or ask for the free mini audit, and we'll reply within one business day.

Related reading

• Google Business Profile Help: A Plain-English Guide
• How Long Does It Take to Build a Website?
• SEO for Small Businesses in the UK: Where to Start
• Website Migration SEO: How to Protect Your Rankings
• Complete Guide: Local SEO: The Complete Guide for UK Small Businesses