Is Your Small Business Website Visible on Google? | StoryTime SEO

Many small business owners are just setting up their first website, and learning to create and manage it effectively is more difficult than it sounds - you probably don’t need me to tell you that. Many of us create our first websites using hosting services like Wix, SquareSpace or Bluehost, and they make it easy! But does pressing “publish” on your website editor actually mean your page is available on Google Search? No - it does not.

While many website hosting platforms advertise how easy it is to get found online, it’s up to the small business owner to make sure their website and any blog articles they’ve worked hard on, are visible on Google Search. You may find that your main page is visible on Google, but your other pages are not. This means you are very unlikely to have customers find your business on Google. This is a problem.

The first tip to remember; When one page (i.e. the main page) is visible on Google, it does not mean the rest of your site is visible on Google Search. Each page needs to be indexed on Google individually before it can be found by potential customers online.

How do I know if my web-pages are indexed on Google?

• Log in to your Google Search Console account.

• Select your website from the list of properties.

• Click on the “Indexing” tab on the left-hand menu.

• Select “Pages” in the Index section. This will clearly show the status of all your webpages.

You will need the following elements to complete the process of being indexed by Google:

1. URL of every webpage you would like to be indexed on Google

2. Your website must be linked to Google Search Console & Google Analytics

   1. If you have not connected these tools to your website, do it now.

Below is a guide for checking to see if your website or pages are available on Google. If you’ve already created your Google Search Console & Google Analytics accounts, skip to step 3.

Create a Google Search Console Account & Google Analytics

This is how Google tracks your web page performance. Once this is connected you will be able to see which pages are attracting the most attention, and which need to be SEO optimized.

Get Started - Link Website to Google Search Console

How you do this depends on your hosting platform. This info should be available on your hosts website.

1. Open Google Search Console

2. Click “URL Inspection”

3. Paste URL into Search Bar

This can be found on the top of the page..

4. Click “Request Indexing”

Google will analyze the URL you entered to ensure it is eligible to be indexed. Many things might happen at this point.

• Google will submit an indexing request - good! Now we wait…

• Google will tell you that you have reached your indexing quota - some people can index a maximum of 15 pages per day. Large enterprises can index as many as 200 pages per day. Now we wait…

• Google will tell you that the page is not eligible for indexing. If this happens, it might be an issue with the page. Go back to editing, seek the issue, and try again.

If the screen below comes up, it means this page is not visible on Google and you need to index it. Click "REQUEST INDEXING" to get that process started!

How Fast Does Google Index New Pages?

Once your page has been submitted to Google for indexing, everything is on Google’s time. There is little you can do now to speed up the process. Typically, the length of time it takes for Google to index pages is relatively consistent:

• 3–4 weeks for websites with >500 pages.

• 2–3 months for websites with between 500 - 25,000 pages.

• 4–12 months for websites with <25,000 pages.

Make Sure Your Website is Visible on Google | StoryTime SEO

If your small business website is not visible on Google Search, it’s simply not good enough. Your website could potentially be working harder for you - or it could be doing nothing - it’s up to you! If you still have questions about getting your website indexed on Google, or about SEO optimization of your small business website, reach out for an SEO consultation today with a StoryTime SEO consultant.