You launched your website. You're excited. You type your business name into Google, ready to see it appear…and nothing. Nada. Your site might as well not exist.
First, take a breath. This is incredibly common—especially for new websites. And in most cases, it's fixable.
Let me walk you through what's actually happening and what you can do about it.
First: Are You Actually Indexed?
Before we panic, let's check whether Google knows your website exists at all. Here's a simple test:
Type this into Google: site:yourwebsite.com (replace yourwebsite.com with your actual domain)
If you see a list of your pages, congrats—Google has indexed you. The problem is likely your rankings (we'll get to that).
If you see no results, Google hasn't indexed your site yet. That's the issue we need to solve first.
Reason #1: Your Site Is Too New
This is the most common culprit. You built a website yesterday, and today you're frustrated it's not on page one. I get it—but here's the reality:
Google doesn't work instantly. For most websites, indexing takes 1-3 days. For brand-new domains, it can take weeks or even months for Google to fully discover and index your content.
Here's what's happening behind the scenes: Google uses automated programs called "crawlers" that discover new websites and add them to their index. Think of it like a librarian cataloging new books—until the book is cataloged, nobody can find it.
And here's the frustrating part: good rankings take even longer. A study of search results found that top 10 results are on average older than 2 years, and only about 20% of first-page results are less than a year old.
The fix: If your site is less than a month old, patience is part of the solution. But you can speed things up by submitting your sitemap to Google Search Console and requesting manual indexing.
Reason #2: Something Is Blocking Google
If your site has been live for more than a few weeks and still isn't indexed, there might be a technical issue preventing Google from crawling it. Common culprits:
A robots.txt file that's blocking crawlers. This is a small file on your website that tells search engines which pages they can and can't access. If it's misconfigured, you might have accidentally told Google to go away.
A "noindex" tag. This is a setting on individual pages that tells Google "don't list this page in search results." Sometimes DIY platforms or CMS settings leave this enabled by accident.
Password protection. If your site is behind a login or password, Google can't see it.
The fix: Check your website platform settings for anything that says "discourage search engines" or "no index." Make sure it's turned off. If you're not comfortable checking this yourself, any web developer can spot these issues in minutes.
Reason #3: Your Site Is Too Slow
Speed matters. A lot. Here's a stat that might surprise you:
The average website takes 3.21 seconds to load. But websites on Google's first page? They load in just 1.65 seconds on average.
Google has explicitly stated that site speed is a ranking factor. If your site crawls, Google takes notice. And here's the business impact: the probability of someone bouncing (leaving immediately) increases 32% when load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds. Sites that load in 1 second have a 7% bounce rate, while sites loading in 5 seconds see a 38% bounce rate. (We explain what makes a website fast in more detail.)
The fix: Run your site through Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool. It'll tell you exactly what's slowing you down and give you specific recommendations. For a full DIY website audit, see our 15-minute website checkup guide. Common fixes include compressing images, using faster hosting, and removing unnecessary plugins.
Reason #4: You Have No Backlinks
Here's something many business owners don't realize: Google treats links from other websites to yours as "peer reviews". When another reputable site links to you, it signals to Google that your site is trustworthy and worth showing to searchers.
If no one links to your website, Google has fewer signals that your content is valuable. This is especially true for brand-new sites with no established authority.
The fix: You don't need hundreds of links. Start simple:
- Get listed in local business directories (Chamber of Commerce, local business associations)
- Ask partners or vendors if they can link to you from their website
- Submit your site to relevant industry directories
- Create content that other local sites would want to reference
Focus on quality over quantity. One link from a reputable local source is worth more than dozens from low-quality sites.
Reason #5: Your Content Is Too Thin
Google doesn't want to show half-baked pages to searchers. If your website has just a sentence or two on each page, or if your content is duplicated from elsewhere, Google might choose not to index it at all.
I see this often with DIY websites: a homepage with a generic stock photo, three bullet points, and a phone number. That's not enough for Google to understand what you do or why you're relevant to any particular search.
The fix: Each page on your site should have substantive, original content that actually helps the reader. Explain your services in detail. Answer common questions customers ask. Include your location, the areas you serve, what makes you different. Give Google something to work with.
The Hardest Truth: SEO Takes Time
Here's the thing nobody wants to hear: even if you do everything right, showing up prominently in Google results takes time. Remember that stat about top results being 2+ years old? That wasn't a typo.
The good news is you don't need to rank #1 for broad terms to get value from your website. A local plumber in San Luis Obispo doesn't need to rank for "plumber" nationally. They need to rank for "plumber in Arroyo Grande" or "emergency plumber Pismo Beach." And those local, specific searches are much easier to win. (We cover local SEO strategies for SLO businesses in more detail.)
Set realistic expectations. Focus on being the best result for your specific location and services. Be patient. Keep your site current, fast, and helpful. The results will come.
What YouGrow Does Differently
Here's the honest truth: a website is never "done." Google regularly updates its algorithm. Competitors improve their sites. Content that worked last year might not work this year. And if your site slows down, breaks, or becomes outdated, your rankings can slip.
Most web designers build your site and disappear. That's why so many business owners end up with websites that worked great in 2020 but are invisible today.
We do things differently. YouGrow builds your professional website for $79/month, and then we handle everything—forever. Updates, security, performance monitoring, keeping your content fresh. We make sure your site stays fast, indexed, and working for your business.
You don't log into a dashboard. You don't read SEO tutorials. You just email or call us when you need something, and we handle it.
We're based in Arroyo Grande, serving businesses across San Luis Obispo County. When you call 805-439-6288, you talk to a real person who can actually help.
Month-to-month, cancel anytime. No setup fee for founding members.