Why Your Website Is Not Showing Up on Google (And How to Fix It)

You spent time and money building a beautiful website.

But when you Google your business or your service… nothing. Crickets. Not on the first page. Not even on the third.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. One of the most common things I hear is, “Why am I not showing up on Google?”

The good news? There’s a reason for it and it’s fixable.

Let’s walk through the real reasons your site might be invisible, and what you can do to change that.

1.  Your site isn’t indexed

If your site isn’t showing up at all, it’s possible Google hasn’t even found it yet. To fix this:

• Go to Google Search Console
• Submit your sitemap (your developer should know how to create this if you don’t have one)
• Request indexing for your site pages

This is step one. If your site hasn’t been indexed, Google can’t crawl it, and you’ll stay hidden no matter how good your content is.

2.  You’re missing basic SEO setup

SEO isn’t just about keywords, it’s also about how your site is structured. At the very minimum, make sure your site has:

• Page titles and meta descriptions
• Alt text for images
• Proper H1, H2, and H3 heading hierarchy
• Clean URLs (not random numbers and symbols)
• Fast load speed
• Mobile responsiveness

If your site is missing these foundational pieces, Google will either penalize your rankings or ignore your pages entirely.

3.  You’re not using the right keywords

You might be writing great content, but if it’s not what people are searching for, you’re not going to rank.

Ask yourself:

• What would someone Google if they were looking for my service?
• Are those words actually on my site?
• Are they in my headlines, descriptions, and image tags?

You need to speak Google’s language and your audience’s, if you want to get found.

4.  Your competition is outranking you

If you’re in a competitive space, other businesses might just have stronger SEO. That doesn’t mean you can’t rank, it means you need to get smarter:

• Start creating blog content around long-tail keywords
• Optimize for local SEO (especially if you serve a specific area)
• Get quality backlinks from other reputable websites
• Regularly update your content so it stays fresh

SEO isn’t a one-time task. It’s an ongoing process, and momentum builds over time.

5.  Your content doesn’t match user intent

This one’s a little more advanced but super important.

Let’s say someone searches “how to brand my coaching business.”

If your blog post titled “Branding Tips” is just a general list with no real value, Google’s not going to push it up the ranks.

You need to match what people are actually looking for:

• Are they looking for a quick answer?
• A full guide?
• A local service?
• A product?

Create content that answers their question better than anyone else and Google will start to notice.

What We Do at SALT

At SALT, we don’t just build websites that look good. We build websites that get seen.

From SEO audits to keyword strategy, from content planning to technical fixes, we make sure your site is more than a portfolio, it becomes a growth engine that pulls in the right traffic.

Because visibility shouldn’t be a mystery. It should be a system.

Final Thoughts

If your site isn’t showing up on Google, it doesn’t mean you built the wrong thing. It just means you haven’t optimized it the right way yet.

Once you understand how search engines work and what they reward, you can adjust, improve, and finally get your brand in front of the people who are already searching for what you do.

Need help making that happen? You know where to find us.