WHY DOESN’T my WEBSITE SHOW UP ON GOOGLE?
You have a website. You know your business is good. So then why, when you Google your services, doesn’t your site show up?
There's always a specific reason — and it's usually fixable. Here are the most common ones:
no seo
Very simply — seo means the words on the page. All the word (or copywriting) on the pages are your baseline, or ‘on-page’ seo.
This is the biggest one. A lot of websites are built to look good and that's it. The designer wasn't thinking about how Google would read the page, what keywords to use, or how to structure the content so it ranks.
SEO isn't something you bolt on afterward. It has to be built in from the start — in the way pages are structured, the words that are chosen, the titles and descriptions that appear in search results. If your site was built without it, you're essentially invisible.
no indexing on google
Sometimes the problem is even simpler: Google hasn't found your site yet, or something is telling it not to. This happens more often than you'd think, especially with new sites or ones that were recently redesigned.
The last step in any website launch is connecting it to your Google Search Console. This forces the website into Google’s archives immediately, versus waiting for Google to find it organically.
Your Content Doesn't Match What People Search
Your website says "we provide exterior maintenance solutions" when your customer is typing "landscaping company Barrie" into Google. Those don’t match
Google matches search queries to content. If the words on your site aren't the words your customers use, you won't rank for what they're searching. Your content needs to use the actual language your customers use — not corporate-sounding descriptions of what you do.
slow load time
Google measures page speed. A slow site that takes more than2-3 seconds to load gets ranked lower than a fast one, especially on mobile. This is a technical issue but it's entirely fixable with proper hosting and optimization.
no backlinks or directories
A backlink is when another website links to yours. Google uses these as a signal of credibility — the more reputable sites that link to you, the more Google trusts that your site is worth showing people.
A brand new site with no backlinks is competing against businesses that have been building their link profile for years. This takes time, but it starts with getting listed in local directories (Yelp, Yellow Pages, HomeStars, local chamber of commerce) and being active in your community.
Ready to MAKE YOUR WEBSITE?
McGrawesome Design has been building websites for Orillia and Simcoe County businesses for over six years. We're not going to oversell you something you don't need — and we're not going to hand you a template and call it custom.
