You’ve built a website for your business.
You search for your company on Google.
And… nothing.
Or perhaps your website appears, but it’s buried so far down the results that potential customers are unlikely to find it.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Simply having a website doesn’t guarantee that it will appear prominently in Google search results.
Search engines need to discover, understand, and evaluate your website before determining where pages should appear for different searches.
Here are some common reasons your business website may not be showing up the way you expect.
- Your Website Is New
If your website was recently launched, search engines may not have fully discovered and indexed all of its pages yet.
Search visibility can take time to develop.
A new website should have a clear structure and make it easy for search engines to discover its important pages.
- Your Website Isn’t Properly Indexed
Before a page can appear in search results, Google generally needs to be able to crawl and index it.
Technical problems can prevent this from happening.
Potential issues include:
- Incorrect robots directives
- Noindex settings
- Technical errors
- Poor internal linking
- Crawl accessibility problems
A technical SEO review can help identify these issues.
- Your Website Doesn’t Clearly Target Relevant Searches
Search engines need to understand what each page is about.
If your homepage simply says:
“Welcome to our website.”
it doesn’t provide much useful information about what your business actually offers.
Your pages should clearly communicate your services, products, locations, and relevant topics.
- Your Website Has Very Little Useful Content
A website with only a homepage and a few generic sentences may not provide enough information to answer the questions potential customers are searching for.
Consider creating useful pages around your major services and customer questions.
For example, a web development company might create separate pages for:
- Business website development
- E-commerce development
- Website redesign
- Web applications
- Website maintenance
- Your Website Is Difficult for Search Engines to Understand
Website structure matters.
Clear headings, descriptive URLs, internal links, meaningful page titles, and well-organized content can help search engines understand the relationship between your pages.
- Your Website Has Performance Problems
Website performance is an important part of the user experience.
Large images, excessive scripts, inefficient code, poor hosting, and other technical issues can contribute to slow pages.
Performance should be evaluated as part of a broader technical SEO strategy.
- Your Business Has Little Local Search Presence
If you’re a local business, appearing in local search can be especially important.
Make sure your business information is accurate and consistent across relevant online profiles and directories.
Your website should also clearly communicate where you serve customers.
- Your Website Hasn’t Built Much Authority Yet
Search engines consider many signals when determining which pages to display prominently.
A new website may have less established authority than competing websites that have been publishing useful content and earning relevant links for years.
Building useful content and establishing your online presence takes time.
- You’re Targeting Extremely Competitive Searches
Some search terms are highly competitive.
For example, ranking for a broad phrase like:
“web design”
can be much more difficult than targeting a more specific search such as:
“web development for small businesses in Utah”
A strong SEO strategy considers relevance, competition, location, and customer intent.
- You’re Not Tracking Your Search Performance
If you’re not monitoring your website, you may not know what Google sees.
Tools such as Google Search Console can provide valuable information about:
- Search queries
- Impressions
- Clicks
- Indexed pages
- Technical issues
- Search performance
Data can help you determine where improvements are needed.
SEO Isn’t a One-Time Project
One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that you optimize a website once and you’re finished.
SEO is better viewed as an ongoing process.
As your business grows, you can:
- Publish new content
- Improve existing pages
- Target additional searches
- Improve performance
- Build relevant authority
- Monitor search trends
- Update outdated information
Start With the Fundamentals
Before worrying about advanced SEO tactics, make sure your website has a strong foundation.
That means:
- Clear content
- Logical structure
- Mobile-friendly design
- Good performance
- Accessible pages
- Relevant information
- Clear business details
Need Help Getting Your Website Found?
At Iguana Technologies, we build websites with both users and search engines in mind.
If your website isn’t getting the visibility or traffic you expect, we can help identify potential technical, content, design, and SEO opportunities.
Is Your Website Invisible on Google?
Contact Iguana Technologies to discuss your website and learn what may be preventing it from reaching more potential customers.
A website only helps your business when potential customers can find it.
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