You Launched a New Website, But Is It on Google Yet? How to Check (and Fix It)
Launching a new website is the equivalent of moving into a new apartment or house in Boone. You're super excited, the feeling is fresh, and then you realize no one knows you live there yet. The same exact thing happens all the time with websites. You can build a perfect website top to bottom, have the perfect home page, add all of your brand visuals, and hit publish, but if Google hasn’t indexed it, it is pretty much considered invisible.
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No matter what the website it is that you’re publishing is, it is always important to make sure Google can find your site so it can start to get real traffic. Down below is going to be a simple breakdown of how to check if your site is on Google and what to do if it's not.
1. Use the Site: Search Operator to See What Google Already Knows
Before you begin anything related with tools and dashboards, start with the easiest and less time consuming method that Google provides!
Go to Google and type: site:yourwebsite.com. This will tell Google to show you every page you’ve indexed from this domain/link.
If nothing shows up from this there is no need to panic. This doesn’t necessarily mean your site is broken, it might just mean Google hasn’t been able to find your website yet. This commonly occurs with anyone who just created a fresh website, especially ones without backlinks or traffic signals. Think of this almost like trying to get across town in Boone when the bus routes have changed, you just might have to wait for things to catch up.
2. Connect Your Site to Google Search Console
This is an important step because this pretty much tells Google, “Hey, I’ve built a website and it exists, so please take a look at it.”
Google Search Console is also free which is a plus and say your handling SEO or even just marketing for a local Boone business for example. It is essential that you put the website through GSC to help direct traffic.
Inside GSC, you can:
Track how your new website performs on the search engines
Be able to check if pages are indexed
Make sure Google is able to recognize your domain
See errors made and coverage issues
To be able to connect to your domain should only take about a few minutes or so. It gives you the ability to have more control over how Google and its search engines interact with your website.
3. Submit Your Sitemap
Your sitemap is like a map version of your site. It’s able to tell Google:
What pages actually exist
Which ones matter the most
How the pages are supposed to be structured
Most sites automatically generate a sitemap on its own. Submitting these sitemaps actually helps Google index your pages a lot faster. Think of it like giving Google directions instead of rolling the dice and hoping for it to land on your website.
4. Troubleshooting: Why Your Site Might Not Be Indexed Yet
If your site is still not popping up on Google, don’t stress about it. It’s usually one of these common issues:
The domain isn’t actually connected yet: Most of the time the DNS is not pointing in the right direction, and Google has a “Where am I going” moment when trying to navigate to your website.
You just launched your website: Google doesn’t index instantly when your site is posted. It can take up to 24 - 48 hours before Google is even able to notice that your website exists. It’s almost like waiting for traffic at 5 p.m. In Boone, it takes a while but eventually with time you’ll get there.
A “noindex” setting is still turned on: A lot of website builders tend to flip this certain setting on when constructing a new website and when they're finished they usually forget to switch it back. If it is set to noindex, Google will literally skip right over it.
So make sure to go through every route to ensure that none of these issues is affecting Google finding your site.
5. Why This Matters, Especially for Local Businesses
If your goal is to reach people in Boone/locally for example, or just any tourist in person or through the internet. Showing up in search results is everything in modern times for success. Indexing is the first step towards:
Building steady traffic and credibility through customers
Ranking for local keywords
Google displaying you on “near me” searches
Even launching paid ads or SEO campaigns
No matter what your website is meant for, one thing is for certain and that is to make sure Google will always be able to find your site. Without it there is no website so it’s non-negotiable.
Finals Thoughts
Being able to get a website online in general is one thing, but making it visible is a whole other ball park. With a quick few steps, you can easily make sure you’re visible to Google, which will then help your website start to get traffic. Use the site search operator, hook up Google Search Console, make sure to submit your sitemap, and troubleshoot any basic issues that could potentially be holding things back.
Once everything is indexed, that’s when you are going to see growth on your website and traffic, just like how a lot of the businesses on King Street thrive once students and tourists know they exist on the strip.
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