My page isn't showing up in Google: here's how to figure out why
Your website or a new page is online, but you can't find it in Google. There can be many reasons for this: Google hasn't visited the page yet, something on your site is blocking Google, or Google has decided not to include the page (yet). In this article you'll learn how to figure out step by step what's going on. We use example.com as an example.
First, something to keep in mind: inclusion in Google is never guaranteed, and it's normal that not every page of a site is in Google. What matters are your important pages. A new site can take days to weeks.
Step 1: search with site:
Type site:example.com into Google. You'll then see pages from your domain that Google knows about. With site:example.com/contact you search for a single page or a section of your site. The number is an estimate and not always complete. If you see nothing, or your page is missing, go to step 2.
Step 2: check Google Search Console
Search Console is Google's free service that shows you how Google sees your site. If you haven't added your site yet, first read Verifying Google Search Console with a TXT record: how to avoid mistakes.
In the menu, open Indexing, Pages. This report is called Page indexing. You'll see how many pages are and aren't indexed, and for each reason how many pages are not included. Click a reason to see example URLs. The most important reasons:
| Reason in the report | What it means | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Excluded by 'noindex' tag | The page itself asks not to be included. | Remove the noindex if it's there by accident (see below). |
| Blocked by robots.txt | Google isn't allowed to fetch the page. | Adjust robots.txt if the page belongs in Google. |
| Not found (404) | The page doesn't exist (anymore). | Usually fine. If links point to it, redirect the old address. |
| Soft 404 | The page returns "found", but looks like an error page or is almost empty. | Make the page useful, or have it return a real 404. |
| Server error (5xx) | Your server returned an error when Google visited. | If it persists, check your site's error messages or contact us. |
| Page with redirect; Alternate page with proper canonical tag | The address points to another address. | Normal: the destination address gets included. |
| Discovered - currently not indexed | Google knows the address, but hasn't fetched the page yet. | Normal for a new site. Make sure your other pages link to it and you have a sitemap. |
| Crawled - currently not indexed | Google read the page, but didn't include it (yet). | Not a technical error. Check whether the page really adds something unique and useful. |
Have you fixed something? Then click Validate fix. Google will then check the addresses again; according to Google this usually takes up to about two weeks. Don't keep clicking it again.
Step 3: investigate a single page with URL inspection
Paste the full address of the page into the search bar at the top of Search Console. You'll see whether the URL is in Google, when Google last fetched the page, whether robots.txt and a noindex allow it, and which address Google has chosen as the "real" (canonical) address. This is the state of things at Google, not a measurement of right now.
With Test live URL, Google fetches the page right now. This way you can immediately see whether a fix works. After that you can click Request indexing. Note:
- There's a daily limit per property. For many pages at once, use a sitemap, see Checking your sitemap.
- Requesting the same page more often doesn't make it faster.
- It's not a guarantee: fetching can take days to weeks, and after that Google still decides whether the page gets included.
Detailed explanation with screenshots: Checking a single page with URL inspection and Reading the Performance and Page indexing reports in the Getting found online guide.
The most common cause
A site that was hidden from search engines while it was being built, where that setting was never switched off:
- WordPress: go to Settings, Reading. The checkbox Discourage search engines from indexing this site must be unchecked.
- AI Builder: open the SEO section. Under Findability, Site visible in Google must be switched on, and for each page under More for this page the switch This page visible in Google. Then publish again.
- Other website builders: look for a setting like "hide from search engines".
You can read about the difference between robots.txt and noindex in Keeping a page out of Google: robots.txt or noindex?
The other way around: a deleted page is still in Google
A page you've deleted will disappear from Google on its own if the address returns a real 404 (not found) or 410 (gone). This only happens once Google visits the page again. If it needs to be faster, for example because personal data was on it by accident, use Removals in Search Console. This hides the page temporarily, for about six months. So in addition, always make sure there's a 404 or 410, a password or a noindex.
Further reading
- Google: Page indexing report
- Google: URL Inspection tool
- Google: Removals tool
- Submitting your website to search engines (Google and Bing)
Want to learn more? Take the free Getting found online course, lesson 2.4 The Page indexing report and URL inspection.