Clients always ask in the beginning why is my website not showing up on Google. Most people know the importance of showing up in the organic search results for their business. So you make an attempt to build a website.
You get a domain name from Godaddy, wicks, Squarespace, or whatever hosting company then purchase the hosting and follow their directions on building a website, and then nothing. You type in your name, business name, or keyword and you don’t show up. Sound Familiar? [1]
Why Is My Website Not Showing Up on Google
If you read this post all the way through and follow what I tell you to do your chances of being found on Google will increase so much you will be amazed at how simple it is to do. So let’s begin.
In order to rank on Google you need to examine all these elements:
- Targeting the right keyword
- Prepping your website for success
- Spying on the competition
- Content strategy
- Perfecting on-page SEO
- Creating backlinks
Keyword Research
If you want to be found on Google you need to tell Google what it is you want to rank for. In order to do that you need to know how people are going to find your website.
The way people search for things is called keywords. So if someone types in a search bar ” I need a plumber” Google goes out and finds the most relevant result it can find for the search quarry.
Google Is A Business
Remember Google is in the business of selling ads. So if Google showed people results to their quarries that didn’t help them then Google wouldn’t be the most popular search engine on the planet.
According to business insider, Google has 90% of the market share. Through Google’s own search engine and Youtube which Google owns, it processes over 3.5 billion searches a day. No wonder everyone wants to be found on Google. The trust factor is huge.
So instead of asking why is my website not showing up on Google ask yourself what can I do to get Google to show your website in the search results.
How To Find The Keywords People Search For To Find Your Business Or Service
So the first thing you need to do is know what people are typing in the search box to find your business or service. That is the easy part. First, go to my free SEO tools HERE.
Once there you will need to create a free account by clicking on the log-in button at the top right as seen in the image above.
You will then see a login prompt but if you don’t have your free account yet you can create one by clicking on the create an account button
After clicking the create button just put in your email address and a password then reenter your password and check the boxes to agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and register.
Once registered you will end up on this page asking you to put in a website URL. If you have a website just ad it if you don’t no worries just click on tools in the nave bar at the top of the page
Then scroll down till you find the research section
Then just type in the keyword that represents your business or service. I typed in “roofer” for this example then hit the submit button
Then you will get a list of results like in the image below. It is important to know a few things about this list. First, you can download it as a CSV or XLS file.
The CPC is the cost per click or what people are paying in Google Ads to show up for that keyword. The more they are paying the higher the difficulty of ranking for the keyword.
The volume is the number of monthly searches a month worldwide.
Keywords with the “near me” phrase in them are very difficult to rank for and will only show up in local searches. So it is best to target the keyword and if you rank for the keyword chances are Google will also rank you for the near me phrase.
Choose as many keyword variations as you like. Just remember that each keyword will need to have its own page. Never try and rank for multiple keywords on one page. It will never happen that way.
Other keyword variations could be:
- Roofer + city + state
- Roofer in + city + state
- City + State + Roofer
Preparing Your Website for Success
This is probably the most important part of ranking on Google. If your website isn’t technically sound you won’t have much of a chance to outrank your competitors.
Just know that most of your local competition fail the website preparation test unless they are managed by someone who knows what they are doing.
By preparing your website for success by following my examples you will be way ahead of the competition and they will be the ones asking ” Why Is My Website Not Showing Up On Google “
What Makes a Good Website Checklist:
- Make sure there are no technical errors
- Get a good hosting company
- Site load speed is fast
- On-Page SEO is great
- Connect to Google Search Console
- Connect to Google Analytics
Website Technical Errors
The first thing to do if you haven’t already when creating your website is to connect it to the Google search console. The search console is how you get indexed in Google as well as the content you write.
The search console can also give you information on technical issues with your website. If you haven’t connected to the search console below is a short video that explains how to do it.
For most people, you will want to follow the 3rd method in the video as the first 2 examples are a little technical. If you can’t figure it out contact me at https://milfordctmarketing.com/contact/
Getting a Good Hosting Company
If you have a cheap hosting company your website will be slow which will hurt you when it comes to ranking your website for your chosen keyword. Free websites are a no-no. You will never rank on a free website.
I myself use Hostgator. I have been using them for years and the customer support is amazing. The problem with hosting companies like Godaddy is that they charge you a la carte for everything whereas using a company like HostGator or Bluehost will bundle everything for one low payment of around $15 a month.
Website Load Speed
There are a lot of things that can slow a website down. The biggest culprits are images and videos. When uploading images make sure the files are jpeg, not PNG which are high-def files that eat up bandwidth.
Host videos on Youtube or Vimeo or similar sites. That way you can just embed the videos instead of hosting them.
Other things that can slow a site down are themes that have to load a lot of content before the site can render. There is a lot to site speed and I am just scraping the surface. You can check your site speed with my free SEO tool Speed Test.
On-Page SEO Has To Be Right
On-Page SEO is the first place any SEO is going to check first. Why because if your On-Page isn’t great it really doesn’t matter.
So What Does On-Page Consist Of?
- H1, H2, H3, and H4 Tags
- Meta Title
- Page Title
- Meta Description
- Interlinking
- Image Alt Tags
- Images Sizes
- Content Organization
- Custom 404 page
- Schema Mark up
Yes, I know it is a lot to juggle if you are trying to run a business and have to keep up with your online presence. That is why I offer affordable SEO options for local businesses. Just go to the home page by clicking the button below and check out our SEO products at the top of the page.
When people ask me why is my website not showing up on Google the first thing I do is check the on-page SEO. Most of the time it is always the titles, h1 tags, and descriptions that are messed up.
Below is an example of a correctly formatted website. Notice there is only one H1 tag. You want to tell Google exactly what it is you want to rank for. More than one H1 tag is a conflict.
