Searching for your own business and not finding it is unsettling. The good news is that the reasons are few, and most can be checked in a few minutes. This lesson goes through them in order, from the most common to the least.
Step 1: is the site in Google at all?
Type site:yourdomain.com into Google, using your real domain. The results are the pages Google has indexed from your site.
- No results at all. Google has not indexed the site. On a brand-new site that can simply mean waiting a few days to a few weeks. Open the site in Google Search Console, use URL Inspection on the homepage and click Request indexing.
- Some pages, but not the homepage. Something is keeping the homepage out. Go to step 2.
- The homepage is there. The site is indexed, but it does not rank for your name. Go to step 3.
If indexing is new to you, crawling and indexing, explained simply explains what happens between publishing and appearing.
Step 2: is something blocking it?
Three settings keep a page out of Google, and site builders sometimes switch them on while a site is being built:
- A noindex tag on the homepage. In WordPress, look for "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" under Settings, Reading.
- A rule in robots.txt that blocks the whole site, such as
Disallow: /. - A password or "coming soon" page that search engines see instead of the real site.
URL Inspection in Search Console tells you which one applies. The free audit checks the homepage for all three.
Step 3: does your homepage say its own name?
Google can only connect a name to your site if the site uses it clearly. Check three places:
- The title tag. Your homepage title tag should start or end with the name, exactly as people would type it.
- The headline and text. The name should appear on the page itself, in the H1 or the first lines, not only inside the logo image.
- The site name. Add structured data of the type WebSite with your name, and an alternate name if people also use a short form or the domain. Google uses this to show your name above the result.
The full on-page checklist we use on every page, free by email.
Step 4: is the name shared with something bigger?
If your business shares its name with a common word, a famous brand or a place, Google may show those first, because most people searching that phrase want them. You cannot remove the bigger results, but you can make yourself the obvious answer for a slightly longer search: your name plus your town, or your name plus what you do.
Make that pairing consistent everywhere: your homepage, your social profiles, and a Google Business Profile if you serve customers locally.
Step 5: do other sites mention you?
Google also learns who you are from other sites. Links and mentions from your social profiles, directories, partners and local press all connect the name to your domain. A backlink from a well-known site in your field helps most. Make sure your social profiles link back to your homepage and use the same name.
A quick checklist
Work through these in order and stop at the first one that fails:
site:yourdomain.comshows your homepage.- URL Inspection says the homepage is indexed and allowed.
- No noindex tag on the homepage, and no
Disallow: /in robots.txt. - The title tag contains your name exactly as people type it.
- The name appears in the page's text, not only in the logo.
- The WebSite structured data names the site.
- Your social profiles and directory listings use the same name and link to the homepage.
Most sites find their problem in the first three lines. If all seven pass and you still do not appear, the name is probably shared with something bigger, and step 4 applies.
How long it takes
After fixing a block, a homepage usually appears for its own name within days to a couple of weeks. Building recognition for a common or shared name takes longer, and grows with every mention.
If you recently moved your site or renamed pages, check the old addresses still lead somewhere: how to change a URL without losing traffic covers that.
This is lesson 7 of the Technical SEO series.
