Why doesn't my business show up on Google? Eight reasons, and the fixes
Customers are searching for what you do right now. If they are finding your competitors instead, one of these is usually why.
- Start with a diagnosis, not a guess. A thirty-second site: search and a search for your own business name tell you which problem you actually have.
- The Maps local pack takes 44% of clicks in local searches, so a missing or unverified Google Business Profile is the most expensive gap a local business can have.
- Google can only rank you for words that appear on your website. If your pages never say the trade and the town, you will not appear for either.
- Most fixes are free and take under an hour: verify the profile, submit a sitemap, tidy your name, address and phone everywhere they appear.
- A brand-new site or profile takes weeks, not days, to settle. Newness is only a problem when it is used as an excuse to change nothing.
"We are not on Google" is the single most common thing a local business owner says to me, and it almost never has a mysterious cause. In nearly every case it comes down to one of eight problems, and every one of them is fixable. This guide walks through them in the order you should check, with the fix for each.
First, diagnose it in thirty seconds
Before fixing anything, find out which problem you have. Open Google and search for site:yourwebsite.co.uk (with your own domain). If Google shows your pages, your site is indexed and your problem is ranking, not visibility. If it shows nothing, your problem is indexing, which is reason one below.
Then search for your business name plus your town. If your Google Business Profile does not appear on the right-hand side or in Maps, that is reason two, and it is the one to fix first.
1. Google has not indexed your website
Google cannot rank pages it has never seen. New sites, sites that moved domain, and sites built with a stray "noindex" setting left on are all invisible, no matter how good they look. The fix is Google Search Console, Google's own free tool. Verify your site, submit your sitemap, and use the URL inspection tool on your homepage. It will tell you plainly whether the page is indexed and, if not, why.
Every site I build ships with a clean sitemap, sensible page titles and Search Console set up on day one, because none of the rest of this guide matters if Google has not read the site.
2. You have no Google Business Profile, or it is unverified
For a local trade or shop, the map listings at the top of the results page are where the customers actually are. If you have never claimed your free Google Business Profile, or you started and never finished verification, you are not in that box and a competitor is. Claiming, verifying and properly filling in the profile is the highest-value hour a local business can spend on marketing. The full walkthrough is in my guide to getting on Google Maps and ranking higher.
3. Your website never says what you do or where
This one is everywhere. The homepage says "Quality you can trust" and "Family run for 20 years", and not once does it say "electrician" or "Sutton". Google ranks pages for the words on them. If the trade and the town are not written on the page, in the page title, in headings and in normal sentences, you will not appear when someone searches for them.
The fix is plain writing. Say what you do, where you do it, and what someone should do next, on every page. It is not stuffing keywords, it is making sure the obvious words are actually present. My guide to what pages a website needs covers how to structure this without padding.
4. Your business details do not match across the web
If your website says JD Plumbing Ltd, your Business Profile says J.D. Plumbing and an old directory says JD Plumbing & Heating with a previous phone number, Google is less confident all three are the same business, and confidence is what rankings are built on. Pick one exact name, address and phone number, then make every listing match: website footer, Business Profile, Facebook, and the directories you may have forgotten you are on.
5. You have no reviews, or the profile looks abandoned
Reviews are a ranking factor and, more importantly, the reason a human picks you over the listing next to you. A profile with no reviews and a photo from 2019 reads as closed. A steady trickle of genuine reviews, each with a short reply, reads as busy and trusted. There is a practical system for this in my guide to getting more Google reviews, and none of it involves buying anything.
6. The site is too slow, or broken on phones
Most local searches happen on a phone, and Google ranks with mobile performance in mind. A site that takes six seconds to appear, jumps around while loading, or needs pinching to read is fighting its own rankings. You can see exactly how Google measures this on my live speed demo, which scores a page against Google's own thresholds in your browser.
7. You are trying to rank for the wrong words
"Plumber" on its own is a national fight you do not need to win. "Emergency plumber Purley" is a local one you can. Look at your pages: are they aimed at the searches your customers actually type, which nearly always include a place or a specific job? One honest page per service, per area you genuinely cover, beats a single vague homepage every time.
8. Everything is right, it is just new
A brand-new website and a fresh Business Profile do not rank on day three. Indexing takes days, settling takes weeks, and competitive local terms can take a few months of steady signals: reviews arriving, the profile posted to, pages being added. New is only a problem when it becomes a reason to stop. Keep the basics ticking and the graph moves in one direction.
Symptom to cause, at a glance
| What you see | Most likely cause | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| site: search shows nothing | Site not indexed | Search Console, submit sitemap, check for noindex |
| No map listing for your own name | No or unverified Business Profile | Claim and verify the free profile, fill it in fully |
| Indexed but nowhere for "trade + town" | Pages never say the trade or town | Rewrite titles, headings and copy in plain words |
| Rankings feel stuck below competitors | Few reviews, thin pages, slow site | Review system, one page per service and area, fix speed |
| Different details on old directories | Inconsistent name, address, phone | Pick one exact version, correct every listing |
| Site is three weeks old | It is new | Keep adding signals, give it weeks, not days |
The honest summary
None of this is magic, and almost none of it costs money. It is a checklist: indexed site, verified profile, plain words, consistent details, steady reviews, fast pages, sensible targets, and patience. If you would rather hand the whole list to someone who does it every week, that is exactly what I do, including as part of every build.
Common questions.
How do I check if my website is on Google?
Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk, replacing yourdomain with your actual address. If your pages are listed, you are indexed. If nothing appears, set up Google Search Console, submit your sitemap and inspect your homepage URL to see what is blocking it.
How long does it take for a new website to show up on Google?
Indexing usually happens within days once a sitemap is submitted. Ranking is slower: expect weeks to settle, and a few months to compete for busier local terms. A verified Google Business Profile usually appears for your own business name much faster.
Why does my competitor show up and I don't?
Usually some combination of a more complete Google Business Profile, more and fresher reviews, pages that name the service and the town plainly, and a faster site. All four are checkable, and all four are fixable.
Do I have to pay Google to show up?
No. The Business Profile is free and the organic results are free. Ads are optional and separate. For most local trades, the free work in this guide moves the needle more than a small ad budget does.
Will a new website fix my Google visibility on its own?
Only if the website was the problem. A fast site with plain wording fixes reasons three and six. It does not claim your Business Profile, gather reviews or tidy old directory listings, which is why every build I do includes local search setup, not just design.