Why doesn't my site appear in Google searches?

Fix common problems that cause sites or specific pages to not appear in search results.

Last updated January 17, 2025

Your site may not appear in Google search results if it's too new, its pages are hidden, or its content doesn't match the keywords visitors are using.

Follow this guide to learn how to fix common problems when a site or specific pages in it isn't appearing in search.

Tip

If you recently switched to Squarespace from another platform, visit Maintaining your SEO ranking after moving or redesigning your site.

Check if Google indexed your site

First, search Google for site: followed by your site's exact URL or domain name with no other words. This checks if Google already sees your site and will show results with every page Google has indexed.

Custom domain example:

site:yourdomain.com

Built-in domain example:

site:yourdomain.squarespace.com

Then, follow these links for next steps based on what you see in the results:

Keep in mind, changes may not appear in search results immediately after you act. Google needs time to process any requests, then crawl and index the page. Google relies on a complex algorithm to update site information, so we can’t guarantee if and when Google will index all your changes.

If no pages appear in results

If no pages appear when you search for your domain:

  1. Ensure you've upgraded. Search engines don't see trial sites. Sign up for paid service and publish your site to make it visible to search engines.
  2. Remove passwords. To check if your site has a password, open the site in a private browser window. If your site has a site-wide password or a page password on the homepage, remove the password.
  3. Check noindex tags. If your site supports code injection, remove any noindex code from site-wide code injection, and from code injection for your homepage.
  4. Verify your site with Google Search Console, if you haven't already.
  5. Request Google index your site to help your site appear in search results sooner.
  6. You may also want to verify with Bing Webmaster Tools.

If some pages appear in results

If specific pages don't appear when you search for your domain, check the following for each page that isn't appearing:

  1. Open page settings.
  2. In the General tab, ensure Enable is checked to confirm the page isn't disabled.
  3. In the General tab, check for a page password. Remove it if there is one.
  4. In the SEO tab, ensure Hide this page from search results isn't checked.
  5. In the Advanced tab, remove any noindex code (if your site supports Premium features).

After you've checked the pages:

  1. Verify your site with Google Search Console, if you haven't already.
  2. Request Google index your site to help any changes appear in search results sooner.
  3. You may also want to verify with Bing Webmaster Tools.

If your site doesn't appear for specific keywords

If your site appears in search results for your domain but doesn't appear for keywords you expect visitors to use to find you, that means it's not ranking for those keywords.

There are some things you can do to understand your visitors' search patterns and make it easier for Google to find you:

If images from your site don't appear in Google Images

If you're not seeing all or any of your images in Google Images:

Keep in mind, we can't dictate which images Google chooses to index. For example, if your site displays a set of similar images, Google may not index all of them. To learn more about best practices for Google Images, visit Google's documentation.

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Why doesn't my site appear in Google searches?