Why isn't my site showing in Google?
If you're site isn't showing in Google for a particular keyword or key phrase you've entered and you want to know why, please take a look at some of the most common reasons below.
First you should check if, when searching for your exact domain name (e.g. www.yourdomain.com), Google shows your site.
You've only just launched your site
If you've only just launched your site (within the past 4 weeks) then Google might not be showing your website in its search results yet. This is because it can take between 2 - 4 weeks before Google crawls your site and begins to display it.
You're searching for a keyword/keyphrase that Google doesn't think is relevant to your site
This is the most common reason you won't see your site in Google's results, even if you've got to page 100!
Google will only show your site if it thinks it will be relevant and useful to a user searching for a particular keyword. When it makes this assessment it does so by considering many thousands (possibly tens of thousands) of different factors.
Just because you are selling socks it doesn't mean that Google will rank you on the first few pages and show you to anybody who types in 'buy socks online' into their search engine. You have to earn your place in Google's results.
Earning your place in Google's results takes time, patience and sometimes money (depending on how competitive your sector is). Find out about search engine optimisation here.
You're searching for your company name and not your website address
If you're company is called, for example, Sandy's Shoes, it does necessarily mean that if somebody types 'Sandy's Shoes' into Google, that your site will appear in position one. There might be another company called Sandy's Bakery that's been around for a while and that Google will prefer to show.
Similarly, if somebody has searched for Sandy's Shoes then Google will also want to show them results from shoe shops or articles about shoes. It's unlikely that your company name will be so unique that Google won't have any other sites it can show.
If your site is new it will take time before Google takes it seriously (see below).
If your site is new
Unfortunately its a sad fact of life and business that most website's don't last the year. So if your domain name has only recently been registered, it will take a while (i.e. over a year) before Google starts to take it seriously.
Most domain names aren't renewed after the first year, so Google (and other search engines) actively penalise website's where the domain name has been registered for less than a year.