The short answer
Google says it often misses a site because the site is new, no other websites link to it, or something is blocking Google, such as a login page or a “discourage search engines” setting. Check whether Google has your site, remove anything blocking it, then help Google find your pages with its free Search Console tool. If your site is on Google but not showing for your service, that is ranking, not indexing.
Step 1: is your site on Google at all?
Google crawls a page (visits it), indexes it (stores it), then shows it in results.
Search Google for site:yourbusiness.co.uk (your domain, no space). Leave out https:// and www so the www version is included. If pages come up, Google has indexed at least those (Google says the list is not always complete). If nothing comes up, go to steps 2 and 3.
To check many pages at once, use our free Bulk Google Index Checker. Paste up to 500 page addresses, or your domain. It first tests each page for anything that stops Google indexing it, then searches Google for the pages that passed (up to 20 a day; after that, use the site: search). Each page lands in one group:
- Cannot be indexed: something blocks Google. See step 2.
- Not indexed yet: nothing blocks it, but Google does not have it. See step 3.
- Indexed: customers still cannot find it? See step 4.
- Not checked on Google yet: it can be indexed. Use the site: search.
Step 2: is something telling Google to stay away?
Open your site in a private (incognito) window, as Google suggests. If you see a password box, a login page or a “coming soon” page, Google cannot see past it either. Then check for:
- A noindex tag: a short instruction in a page’s code telling Google not to add the page to its results. Platforms set it with a “hide from search” setting.
- A robots.txt block: robots.txt is a small file at yourbusiness.co.uk/robots.txt that tells search engines which parts of a site they may crawl. A line reading Disallow: / can block the whole site. Google cannot see a noindex tag on a page that robots.txt blocks.
- A password or private mode: password-protected pages, private shops and members-only areas cannot be indexed.
- A trial or expired plan: Squarespace, for example, says search engines will not find trial, expired or cancelled sites.
Step 3: has Google found it yet?
Google says it “can take a few weeks for Google to notice a new site”, and crawling can take from a few days to a few weeks. It does not promise to crawl or index any page, or take payment to crawl more often. It finds pages through links and sitemaps, so link every important page from your homepage or menu. Sites with no links from other websites are easier to miss, but Google asks you not to pay for links.
- Set up Google Search Console, Google’s free tool for site owners. Add your site as a Domain property to cover every version of your address; this needs a DNS record (a line of text added where your domain name is managed). A URL prefix property covers one version only.
- Submit your sitemap, the list of your pages for search engines. In the Sitemaps report, paste its address into Add a new sitemap and click Submit. You want “Success”, not “Has errors” or “Couldn’t fetch”. Wix, Squarespace and Shopify make the sitemap for you.
- Inspect your key pages in URL Inspection. It shows Crawl allowed? and Indexing allowed?. “Page is not indexed: URL is unknown to Google” means Google has not seen the address before. If nothing is blocking the page, click Request indexing. Google says a request does not promise indexing, there is a daily limit, and asking again will not speed it up.
”Discovered - currently not indexed” in plain English
Google knows the page exists but has not visited it. Google says it typically wanted to, but expected that to overload your site, so it put the visit off. Check the page passes step 2, link to it from your homepage or menu, and give it time.
“Crawled - currently not indexed” comes next: Google visited but left the page out for now. Google says it may be indexed later and there is no need to resubmit. If the page matters, give it useful content of its own and link to it from your other pages.
Step 4: indexed but not showing for your service
Indexed means Google has stored your page. Google says even “URL is on Google” does not promise a place in the results. Where you appear when someone searches for your service and town is called ranking, a separate job.
Search for your exact business name. If you come up for your name but not your service, Google has your site. Check each main page names your service and area in its title and wording, then see how to check your Google ranking.
Got a Search Console email about pages not being indexed?
Search Console emails site owners about important events on their site. You can mute these emails in User settings > Email preferences. If yours says pages are not being indexed for a new reason, the details are in the Page indexing report.
In its “Why pages aren’t indexed” table, Google says you can generally only fix reasons whose Source is “Website”. After a fix, click Validate fix: Google says this typically takes up to about two weeks, sometimes much longer.
Google says “not indexed” is not necessarily bad, and a site under 500 pages probably does not need this report. Here is each reason in Google’s wording; “Usually fine” rows need action only if an important page is listed. A canonical tag is a line in a page’s code naming the main version when copies exist.
| Reason in Search Console | Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Server error (5xx) | Fix this | Your server failed when Google asked. Tell your host. |
| Redirect error | Fix this | A redirect loops, has too many steps or leads to a bad address. |
| URL blocked by robots.txt | Usually fine | robots.txt stops Google crawling it. Remove the block if the page should be on Google. |
| URL marked ‘noindex’ | Usually fine | The page asks Google to leave it out. Remove the noindex if it should be on Google. |
| Soft 404 | Fix this | Looks empty or “not found”, but your server says it is fine. Add content, or return a real 404. |
| Blocked due to unauthorized request (401) | Usually fine | Needs a login. Remove the login if the page should be public. |
| Not found (404) | Usually fine | The page is gone. If it moved, add a 301 (permanent) redirect. |
| Blocked due to access forbidden (403) | Fix this | Your server turns Google away. Ask your host to fix it. |
| URL blocked due to other 4xx issue | Fix this | Another error code starting with 4. Check it in URL Inspection. |
| Crawled - currently not indexed | Usually fine | Visited, left out for now. No need to resubmit. |
| Discovered - currently not indexed | Usually fine | Known, not yet visited. See step 3. |
| Alternate page with proper canonical tag | Usually fine | Another version (such as a mobile page) pointing to the indexed main one. Nothing to do. |
| Duplicate without user-selected canonical | Usually fine | A copy with no main version named. Google picked one. |
| Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user | Fix this | Google picked a different main version from yours. Check the pages really are copies. |
| Page with redirect | Usually fine | This address redirects. The page it leads to can be indexed. |
| Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt | Fix this | robots.txt stops Google reading it. Remove the block; use noindex to keep it off Google. |
| Page indexed without content | Fix this | Google could not read the content. Check it in URL Inspection. |
Platform checks for WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Shopify and GoDaddy
WordPress
- In Settings > Reading, under Search engine visibility, untick Discourage search engines from indexing this site and click Save Changes. While it is ticked, WordPress adds a noindex tag and the Dashboard shows “Search engines discouraged”.
- Yoast SEO: in the page editor, open the Yoast SEO sidebar or box, then its Advanced tab. Allow search engines to show this content in search results should not be set to No. Whole content types are under Yoast SEO > Settings.
- Rank Math: in the page’s Rank Math SEO settings, open the Advanced tab (switch on Advanced Mode if you cannot see it). No Index, under Robots Meta, should be unticked. Site-wide: Rank Math SEO > Titles & Meta.
Wix
- Whole site: in your dashboard, go to SEO & GEO > Tools and settings > SEO Settings. Let search engines index your site should be on.
- One page: in the Wix Editor, open Pages & Menu, click the page’s More Actions icon, then SEO basics. Let search engines index this page should be on. Then Publish. (Studio and Harmony editors: same toggle, under More Actions.)
- Completing the SEO Setup Checklist, including its Connect to Google step, connects your site to Search Console and submits your sitemap. It needs a Premium plan and a connected domain.
Squarespace
- You need a paid subscription, a published site, and Site Availability set to Public.
- In Settings > Crawlers, untick Block Search engine crawlers (it adds Disallow: / to robots.txt).
- For one page, open the Pages panel, hover over the page, click the gear icon, then the SEO tab. Turn off Hide page from search results (homepages have no such toggle). On the General tab, check Enable is ticked and there is no page password. Remove any noindex code from the Advanced tab.
Shopify
- New stores start in private mode, hidden from visitors and search engines. Go to Online Store, click Private, select Public, then Update (the first time, it says Launch store). Shopify may ask you to finish some setup steps first, such as adding a business address.
- Your sitemap is at yourstore.com/sitemap.xml, but Google cannot read it while the store is private.
- To verify in Search Console, Shopify’s help uses a URL prefix property and the HTML tag method.
GoDaddy
- WordPress on GoDaddy: use the WordPress steps above.
- Websites + Marketing (GoDaddy’s website builder): a “Coming Soon” page may mean the site is unpublished. Select Publish in the builder; new edits only go live when you do. Check no important page is set to private (invited members only).
Google Maps is separate
Showing in Google Maps depends on your Google Business Profile (your business listing on Google), not only on your website. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and how well known a business is, so a site on Google can still be missing from Maps.
When to get help
Get help if you cannot make the fix yourself (server errors, redirects, a robots.txt file you cannot edit), if key pages are still missing after your fixes and some time, or if pages vanished after a redesign (see our redesign guide).
For a quick self-check, try our free SEO audit tool. If you would rather we went through it with you, our SEO Audit is £295, with no VAT added: a full technical and on-page review, a prioritised fix list and a 30-minute walkthrough call. Buy it on our pricing page, see our SEO services, or book a free 15-minute call. Nobody can make Google index a page on demand, us included.
A note from our own site
We added our web design and SEO service pages, and three pages for the types of business we build for, in early October 2026. On 25 October, URL Inspection still showed all five as “URL is unknown to Google”, although their sitemap entries, canonical tags and robots tags were correct. The same day, About, Pricing and our portfolio page (added with the service pages) showed “URL is on Google”. A correct setup does not make Google come sooner. It means nothing is in the way when it does.
Sources
All opened on 25 October 2026.
- Search Console Help, About Search Console: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9128668
- Search Console Help, Page indexing report: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7440203
- Search Console Help, URL Inspection tool: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289
- Search Console Help, Sitemaps report: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7451001
- Search Console Help, Add a website property: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/34592
- Search Console Help, Why did I get an email from Search Console?: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9130064
- Search Console Help, Has Google found all your pages?: support.google.com/webmasters/answer/10264824
- Google Search Central, Get your website on Google: developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/get-on-google
- Google Search Central, site: search operator: developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/search-operators/all-search-site
- Google Search Central, How Google Search works: developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works
- Google Search Central, Ask Google to recrawl your URLs: developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/ask-google-to-recrawl
- Google Search Central, Block Search indexing with noindex: developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing
- Google Search Central, Introduction to robots.txt: developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google: support.google.com/business/answer/7091
- WordPress.org, Settings Reading screen: wordpress.org/documentation/article/settings-reading-screen
- WordPress source code, the “Search engines discouraged” notice in wp-admin/includes/dashboard.php: github.com/WordPress/WordPress
- Yoast, How to noindex URLs: yoast.com/help/how-do-i-noindex-urls
- Rank Math, How to noindex URLs: rankmath.com/kb/how-to-noindex-urls
- Wix Help, Site or pages not appearing in search engine results: support.wix.com
- Wix Help, Preventing search engines from indexing your page: support.wix.com
- Wix Help, Connecting your site to Google in the SEO Setup Checklist: support.wix.com
- Squarespace Help, Why doesn’t my site appear in Google search results?: support.squarespace.com
- Squarespace Help, Hiding your site from search results: support.squarespace.com
- Squarespace Help, Controlling who can access your site’s pages: support.squarespace.com
- Shopify Help, Restrict access to your online store: help.shopify.com
- Shopify Help, Finding and submitting your sitemap: help.shopify.com
- GoDaddy Help, Allow search engines to index my WordPress site: godaddy.com
- GoDaddy Help, Publish my Websites + Marketing site: godaddy.com
- GoDaddy Help, Unpublish my Websites + Marketing site: godaddy.com
- GoDaddy Help, Manage private website pages: godaddy.com
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SEO First Web
A London web design and SEO agency, founded by Yusuf Ibrahim (pictured) in 2020.
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