Why is my business not showing up on Google?
What are the top issues that may keep my business from showing up on Google? From Googlebots to inconsistent business information to lack of location authority, what are the various reasons that could explain these issues that may prevent a business from showing up on Google? What can be done to resolve that problem so that a business can show up on Google?
Here are 10 answers for why your business is not showing up on Google:
- Googlebots May Be Interfering With Recognition
- You Have Disallowed Your Website from Being Indexed
- Your Google My Business Listing isn’t Verified
- Inconsistent Business Information
- Your Website is Not Content-Rich
- Your New Business Not Yet Identified as a Trusted Source
- Your Website Not Optimized for Search Engines
- Your Business Doesn’t Have Enough Google Reviews
- Lack of Paid Search Or Organic SEO
- Your Business Lacks Location Authority
Answer 1: Googlebots May be Interfering With Recognition
If you have applied necessary strategies and your website is still not showing up on Google search results, this could be an indication of problems with Googlebots. Even if you are not implementing any strategies at all, generally, Google will get around to crawling and indexing your website but, if that is not working, it could indicate another issue.
Google has red flag algorithms that will prevent it from indexing a website, and if it believes that Googlebots are overloading your server and slowing it down, it may prevent its crawl function altogether.
If you think this may be the case, running a diagnostic test will confirm if this is the problem and will determine if you need to limit content or the size of your URL. If your website is still not showing up in Google search results, there is a good chance it’s time to scan for Googlebots.
Greg Gillman, MuteSix
Answer 2: You Have Disallowed Your Website from Being Indexed
Your website isn’t indexable. This means that search engines can’t find your website. Make sure that you don’t have the noindex tag in your robots.txt file. You can find this by going to your website domain with /robots.txt on the end, ex: https://www.website.com/robots.txt. If you see “Disallow: /” then that means you have a noindex tag on your site telling search engines not to index it. Simply remove the no index tag or remove the disallow from the robots.txt. If you are using Google Search Console (which is highly recommended), submit your site to be indexed. You should see your site in the search engine results pages soon!
Sylvia Kang, Mira
Answer 3: Your Google My Business Listing isn’t Verified
One of the most unrecognized reasons that businesses don’t find themselves on Google is quite simple to fix. Simply check that your Google My Business (GMB) listing is verified. To complete the verification process, you will need to ensure that your profile is completely filled out and updated with current details, ensuring nothing is missing or inaccurate. From there, Google will have you complete the GMB verification process that will allow your business to be listed in relevant local search results.
Marilyn Zubak, Snif
Answer 4: Inconsistent Business Information
Google doesn’t like to be wrong. If your business isn’t showing up on google, or was showing up but now suddenly isn’t, it could be that your business information is inconsistent. It could be as simple as an unrecorded change in your company name, a move of your physical location or a chance in your contact information. any one of these things isn’t likely to get you tossed immediately out of google’s search algorithm, but get too many of these points wrong at once and your business will go poof. Keep your business listing clean and up to date, and that means all of them. Check your listings on multiple search engines, correct any information that is currently incorrect and make sure to send that information along to data aggregators like Infogroup, Localeze and Foursquare. Consistent, verifiable business information is a must for google, keep yours up to date to avoid any issues.
Alex Chavarry, Cool Links
Answer 5: Your Website is Not Content-Rich
Google will always prioritize websites that dish out content that is truly informative and useful to their users. This is one of the primary reasons why many businesses don’t show up on the early pages on Google. To investigate whether this could be the reason, you should conduct an in-depth audit of your business website to see whether your content is specific and focused on the user’s intent. Some other things to look out for include the information about your product or service and how it ties into providing a concrete solution if it has relevant images, and customer reviews. This is likely to help your business show up on Google.
Igal Rubinshtein, Home Essentials Direct
Answer 6: Your New Business Not Yet Identified as a Trusted Source
New businesses can have a doozy of a time showing up on google. Google likes to make sure what it’s telling people is correct, so if you have a business on the newer side of things you may not have enough information out there to verify that you’re a real entity. There isn’t a quick fix to this scenario, but there are some things you can do to speed things along.
Create a strong social presence. This should include any third party listing or registry where you can register your business. You can also keep up an active social media presence on any or all social media platforms.
As more sources of information about your business become active, google will have an easier time identifying your business as a trusted source. If you’re new and you aren’t showing up, build as much presence as you can to help yourself show up quicker.
Caleb Ulffers, Haven Athletic
Answer 7: Website Not Optimized for Search Engines
One potential reason your business is not appearing on Google could be that your website is not optimized for search engines. This means that your site is not using the correct keywords and phrases, and it is not structured in a way that Google can easily read and index. Without optimization, even the best website will struggle to rank high in search results. Fortunately, there are a number of resources available to help you learn how to optimize your site for better visibility. Once you have made these changes, be sure to submit your site to Google for indexing. By taking these steps, you can help ensure that your business appears prominently in search results.
Luke Lee, Ever Wallpaper
Answer 8: Your Business Doesn’t Have Enough Google Reviews
Google tends to show results for businesses that have a higher quantity of reviews, as it shows trust in a brand and authenticity. You may optimize your website for all of the best keywords, but your competitors will always show up first if they are slaying the review game. Don’t be afraid to ask your customers for reviews. You believe in your business and services and so do your customers. Build strong relationships and personalize services when you can. Your customers would be happy to leave you a review, all you have to do is ask for it.
Megan Lowdon, Robert Lowdon Photography
Answer 9: Lack of Paid Search Or Organic SEO
One reason your business is not showing up on Google is due to the lack of either Paid Search or Organic SEO. The use of Organic SEO is a more cost effective approach than paid search, and will help grow your businesses website authority by mentioning your business on different sites. This will in turn increase your standing on Google and move your business closer to the front page. With paid search, your business will show up on Google as an ad. Where that ad is placed is solely dependent on how much your business is willing to pay. Either way, utilizing one or two of these methods should help ensure your business will show up on Google.
Scott Annan, MyCube
Answer 10: Your Business Lacks Location Authority
The major reason that your business isn’t showing on Google Maps is that it lacks location authority. If your GMB isn’t verified, your business won’t appear on Google Maps. This is because Google won’t verify anything that isn’t backed by data from the relevant authority. Location differentiates your company from the next; simultaneously, it gives your business the power to rank higher on Google. It also increases the radius in which your business gets found on Google’s local search.
When your GMB isn’t optimized for location, your page would be all over the place. In order to achieve the location authority, you need to enter your company’s address and define the radius and market.
This measure would help Google Maps narrow down your business’s location. You can also include Google Maps citations to highlight the key elements of your company, such as postal code and phone number. When such features are implemented, your venture would start showing up on Google.
Will Donnelly, Lottie
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