As of 2021, Google’s market share was approximately 85.55 percent, whereas Bing accounted for more than 7% of the worldwide search market. Meanwhile, Yahoo had a 2.85 percent stake in the market share.
There is no denying that any business today has an online presence that is critical to its success. But just having a website is not enough. To ensure that your target audience sees your business, ranking high on search engine results pages (SERPs) is essential. And for that, you need to make sure your site appears on Google.
Everyone wants to rank on the first page of Google, but very few achieve it. Why is that? The answer could be any of the following five reasons:
1. Your Website Hasn’t Been Indexed
One of the top reasons your website is not showing up on Google is that it hasn’t been indexed yet. Unfortunately, when you create a new website or blog, there’s no guarantee that Google will index it immediately. Instead, the search engine can take weeks or even months to discover your site.
However, there are other reasons why your website hasn’t been indexed. For instance, if you’ve recently changed your site or moved to a new domain, it can take some time to reflect those changes in Google’s index.
It’s a New Site
If your website is brand new, it’s likely that Google hasn’t had a chance to index it yet. This process can take weeks or even months.
One way to speed up the process is to submit your website to Google Search Console. This free tool allows you to submit your sitemap and individual URLs for indexing. Doing this gives Google a heads-up about your site and its content, which will help them index it faster.
You’ve Included “No Index” Tags
If you’re unfamiliar with HTML tags, they instruct web browsers on handling specific content on a webpage.
One type of tag, in particular, that can prevent your site from appearing in Google search results – is the “no index” tag. This tag tells search engines not to index the content on a particular page. So, if you’ve included this tag on any of your pages (perhaps by accident), those pages will not appear in Google searches.
Google Penalized Your Site
Another reason your website might not appear in Google searches is that it has been penalized by the search engine. This usually happens if Google believes you’re breaking one of their webmaster guidelines.
For example, your site will likely be penalized if you engage in spammy practices like keyword stuffing or link buying. As a result, it will be much harder for people to find your site when they search for relevant keywords.
If you think your site has been penalized, the first step is to check Google Search Console. If there’s a manual penalty against your site, you should receive a message from Google detailing the reason for the penalty. From there, you can take steps to fix the issue and submit a reconsideration request.
Your Website Went Through Restructuring Recently
Changing your website’s structure, such as changing your permalink settings or moving to a new domain, can take Google some time to adjust. As a result, your pages might not appear in searches for a while.
To speed up the process, you can submit a sitemap to Google Search Console. This will help the search engine crawl and index your pages more quickly.
Google Can’t Crawl Your Site
For your website to appear in Google searches, the search engine needs to be able to crawl it. Crawling is the process by which Google discovers new websites and web pages.
Several factors can prevent Google from being able to crawl your site. For instance, if your site is behind a firewall or uses an outdated CMS, Google might have difficulty accessing it.
You can use Google Search Console to see if any errors prevent Google from crawling your site. If you spot any errors, take steps to fix them as soon as possible.
2. Your Website isn’t Optimized for Search Engines
If you want your website to show up on Google, it needs to be optimized for the search engine. Your site should be designed to make it easy for Google to understand what it’s about.
Several factors contribute to a website’s search engine optimization (SEO). For instance, your site should include relevant keywords, have fast loading times, and be mobile-friendly.
You can use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to see how well your site performs in speed and mobile-friendliness. If your website scores poorly, take steps to improve its performance.
Keyword Research
Keyword research can help optimize your website for Google. Use tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Google Trends to see which keywords are most popular among searchers. Then, include these keywords in your website’s content to make it more relevant to Google.
On-Page SEO
In addition to keywords, several other on-page SEO factors can influence your website’s ranking on Google. These include things like title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags.
You can use a tool like Yoast SEO to help optimize your website for on-page SEO. The plugin will give you suggestions on how to improve your website’s content to make it more relevant to Google.
Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to the factors that Google considers when determining your website’s ranking but that are not on your website. These include things like inbound links and social media signals.
To improve your off-page SEO, focus on building high-quality inbound links from relevant websites. You can also share your website’s content on social media to get more people to link to it.
3. Your GMB Listing is Incomplete
If you want your business to appear on Google Maps, you must have a complete and accurate listing in Google My Business.
To create or edit your listing, go to https://www.google.com/business/. Then, sign in with your Google account and follow the instructions to add or claim your business listing.
Once you’ve claimed your listing, take some time to fill out all of the information. Be sure to include things like your business hours, address, and contact information. You should also add photos of your business and products/services.
4. Location Authority is Missing
You need location authority if you want your business to appear in local searches. This measures how well Google trusts your business to be located where you say it is.
Several factors contribute to location authority. For instance, if your listing in Google My Business is complete and accurate, this will help boost your authority. In addition, having inbound links from websites with high domain authority can improve your authority.
5. You’re Not Creating Content Regularly
If you want your website to show up on Google, you need to create new content regularly. This could be anything from blog posts and infographics to videos and ebooks.
Not only does creating new content help improve your SEO, but it also shows Google that your website is active and relevant. As a result, you’re more likely to rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Try setting up a content calendar to ensure you’re creating new content regularly. This can help you plan and track your content creation so that you always have new material to publish.
Final Words
If your business is not showing up on Google, it’s likely due to one of the above reasons. However, by improving your SEO and regularly creating new content, you can increase your chances of appearing on the search engine results pages.
We hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.
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