Your quick checklist
Is my page missing from Google's list, or does it appear below other results?
Use this to keep your place while reading. Ticking a box does not send or change anything.
Words explained
- Indexed
- Google has added the page to its searchable list.
- Ranking
- Where a page appears for a particular search.
- Search Console
- Google's free tool for checking how your website appears in search.
Before you start
Google first needs to find the page and add it to its searchable list. This is called indexing. Its position in the search results is its ranking. A page can be in that list and still appear too far down for customers to notice.
Start by finding out which problem you have. You can do the first search yourself. The later checks use a free Google tool, or you can ask the person who manages your website to help.
Check what is missing
Search for your business name and look for a result linking to your own website. A Google Business Profile is the separate business listing that can appear on Maps and in search. Seeing that listing, or your social-media page, does not tell you whether Google has added your website page to its list.
You can also type site:your-domain.co.uk into Google. Replace your-domain.co.uk with your website address, and keep the site: part. This asks Google for results from that website.
Finding a page is useful evidence, but getting no result does not prove the page is missing. Google says these searches do not necessarily list every indexed page. Use the next check for a clearer answer about one page.
Check the page in Google's free website tool
Google Search Console is a free tool for checking how your website appears in Google Search. You need access to your website in that tool. If it has not been set up, Google needs you to confirm that you control the website before showing its private reports. Your website developer can help with that.
If you already have access:
- Open Google Search Console and choose your website. Google calls the website entry a property.
- Copy the full page address from the address bar at the top of the app you use to visit websites, such as Chrome or Safari. That app is your web browser.
- Paste it into URL Inspection. URL means a web address; this feature checks one address at a time.
If somebody else manages the account, ask them to send you the result and the date they checked it. You can use that information without changing settings yourself.
The first result shows what Google already knows about the page. Open the indexing details and record:
- Whether the page was indexed.
- When Google last read it. Google calls these visits crawling.
- Whether Google was allowed to read it and add it to its list.
- Which address Google chose as the main version, if shown.
Keep the date with the result. Information from an earlier visit may describe a problem that has since been fixed. Google's single-page troubleshooting guide explains the report in more detail.
If Google says the page is indexed, it has added it to its searchable list. That does not guarantee it will appear for the words your customers use. The section below on searches explains what to check next.
Stored result
What Google saved when it last read the page.
Live test
Whether Google can reach and read it now.
A passing live test does not prove the page has been added to Google's searchable list.
Follow the reason before changing settings
If Google has not indexed the page, read the stated reason. These are useful checks to discuss with whoever maintains your website:
| What you find | What to check next |
|---|---|
| Google has not discovered the address | Can a visitor reach it by following a link from another page? Is it in the sitemap, a file listing the pages you want search engines to find? |
| Google cannot open the page | Does the address open for someone who is not signed in? Does it show the right page? Ask your developer about errors or an address sending visitors to the wrong place. |
| Indexing has been blocked | Was a setting used to keep the page private while it was being built left on? Confirm the page should be public before changing it. |
| Google chose another version | Compare the two addresses. The same page can sometimes be reached through more than one address, and Google may choose one to show. That can be correct. |
| Google found or read the page but did not add it to its list | Check what the page helps a customer do and whether another page already covers the same thing. Google can read a page without choosing to include it. |
Google's technical requirements explain the basic conditions: Google must be able to open the page, the website must return it without an error, and it must contain material Google can use. Meeting these conditions does not guarantee inclusion.
Avoid switching every search setting on or off. A booking confirmation, private document or test site may have a good reason to stay out of results. Ask which setting caused the problem and which pages the proposed change affects.
Test the live page after a fix
URL Inspection also has a live test. This asks Google to try opening the page now, rather than relying on the information it saved earlier. Use it after a fix to see whether Google can now reach and read the page.
A passing live test does not mean Google has added the page to its searchable list. It also cannot tell you which address Google will choose to show if several contain the same page, or check every reason a page might be excluded. Google's URL Inspection help explains these limits.
Once the issue is fixed, use Request indexing where that option is available. This asks Google to revisit the page. For several new pages, ask your developer to check the sitemap too. Google says revisiting can take days or weeks, and a request does not guarantee inclusion. Repeating the same request will not speed it up.
If it is indexed, look at the searches
In Search Console, open the Performance report. This shows how often pages appeared in search results and how often people clicked them. Choose the period you want to check, then use the page filter to show the address you are investigating. A filter narrows the report to the information you choose.
The report calls searches queries and appearances impressions. Check the Queries list for the words people searched. Do those words match the service on your page? If the controls are unfamiliar, ask your developer to show you this view for one page.
An appearance in results and a click through to your website are different measurements. A page may appear for a broad subject while rarely appearing for the specific service and area you expected. Search results also vary with context, so a search on your own phone is only one observation. Google's performance-report guidance explains the report and its filters.
Read the page as a customer. Does it explain the actual service, who it suits, where you provide it and how to enquire? Could someone reach it from your other relevant pages? Add useful missing information before making more pages with slightly different place names.
If a recent rebuild changed addresses, the website replacement guide covers planning the old links. For unclear service wording, start with the content preparation guide.
Keep a short record of the fix
Save the page address, inspection result, change made and date. Recheck that page after Google has had time to revisit it. If the problem affects the whole site, compare another important page rather than assuming every address has the same cause.
How I can help
I can investigate why an important page is missing or attracting the wrong searches, then explain what needs attention. Depending on what the evidence shows, that could mean fixing access or indexing settings, sorting out old addresses after a rebuild, improving service-page content or linking useful pages together.
You can come to me for search engine optimisation, usually shortened to SEO. That means work to help search engines find and understand your pages, so they can appear for relevant searches. You can buy this work on its own without having a new website built.
I check how your existing website was built and what I can change, then agree the work and price with you. I can make the agreed fixes where I have suitable access. If another developer needs to handle something, I’ll explain the task. Google decides which pages to include and where to show them.
Send the website link, the search you expected and any inspection result you have. You can ask for a free website check or describe the problem through the contact form. Investigation and fixes beyond the free check are agreed separately.