First, a quick diagnosis. Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk — with the site: bit and no space. If pages come back, Google has your site and this is a ranking problem. If nothing comes back, Google does not have your site at all and this is an indexing problem. Those are two different fixes, so start there.
If nothing comes back: indexing problems
1. The site is too new. Google needs a few days to two weeks to find and index a new site. Speed it up by verifying the site in Google Search Console, submitting your sitemap, and using the URL Inspection tool to request indexing on your homepage.
2. A noindex tag is still switched on. This is the most common cause by a mile. Developers block search engines during a build and forget to unblock at launch. Check your page source for a meta robots tag containing "noindex", and check robots.txt at yourdomain.co.uk/robots.txt for a blanket Disallow: / line. On WordPress, check Settings → Reading for "Discourage search engines".
3. Nothing links to you and you have no sitemap. Google finds pages by following links. A brand new site with no sitemap submitted and no inbound links can sit undiscovered for weeks. Submit the sitemap, claim your Google Business Profile, and get listed in one or two real directories.
4. Your content only exists in JavaScript. If a page renders entirely client-side and serves an empty shell to crawlers, it can be indexed slowly, partially, or not at all — and most AI search crawlers do not run JavaScript at all. View source (not inspect element) and check your actual text is in the HTML.
View source on your homepage. If you cannot find your own headline in the raw HTML, neither can half the crawlers looking at it.
If pages come back but you cannot find yourself: ranking problems
5. You are checking a search you will never win. Searching "plumber" and expecting to appear is not a fair test — you are up against the whole country. Search what a customer would actually type: "emergency plumber Sevenoaks". Also search in an incognito window, because Google personalises results based on your own history.
6. Your pages never mention where you work. If no page says the town, Google has nothing to match against a "near me" search. Put your service area in page titles, headings and body text — the groundwork covered in local SEO for small businesses.
7. No Google Business Profile. The map pack at the top of local results is drawn from Business Profiles, not websites. If you have not claimed and completed yours, you cannot appear there at all — and that block takes most of the clicks on local searches.
8. The content is thin or duplicated. A single page listing eight services in one line each gives Google almost nothing to rank. Neither do five town pages that are identical apart from the place name — that pattern gets filtered out. Each page needs a real reason to exist.
9. The site is slow or awkward on mobile. Page experience is a ranking factor, and more importantly people bounce. If your site takes six seconds on 4G, it will struggle regardless of what the content says.
The ten-minute check
- Run site:yourdomain.co.uk to confirm whether you are indexed at all.
- Open yourdomain.co.uk/robots.txt and look for Disallow: /.
- View page source and search it for "noindex".
- Verify the site in Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.
- Search a realistic query — service plus town — in an incognito window.
- Check your Google Business Profile is claimed, complete and verified.
- Load the site on your phone off wifi and count the seconds.
How long until it is fixed?
Removing a noindex tag or submitting a sitemap can get you indexed within a few days. Ranking is slower: expect one to three months of the basics being consistently right before you see steady local traffic, and longer in a competitive city. Anyone promising page one in a fortnight is either buying ads or making it up.
One thing worth saying plainly: this is all doable yourself. The checks above are free and the fixes are mostly configuration. Paying an agency several hundred a month to do them is the most common waste of money in small business marketing — see the wider point in local SEO for small businesses.
Common questions
Why is my website not showing up on Google?
Either Google has not indexed it — usually because the site is new, a noindex tag or robots.txt rule is blocking crawlers, or nothing links to it — or it is indexed but ranking below what you are checking. Search site:yourdomain.co.uk to tell which of the two you are dealing with.
How do I check if my website is indexed by Google?
Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk with no space after the colon. Any results mean your site is indexed. No results mean it is not, and you should verify the site in Google Search Console and submit a sitemap.
How long does it take for a new website to appear on Google?
Usually a few days to two weeks to be indexed once a sitemap is submitted in Google Search Console. Ranking for competitive local searches typically takes one to three months.
Why does my business not appear on Google Maps?
Google Maps and the local map pack are powered by Google Business Profile, not your website. If your profile is unclaimed, unverified or incomplete, you will not appear there no matter how good your website is.