Your new website is live. You’ve paid for the design, checked it on your phone and told customers about it. Then you search Google for the services you offer and can’t find the site anywhere. It’s frustrating, especially if you expected enquiries to begin as soon as the launch announcement went out.
A website being live doesn’t mean Google has indexed it, and being indexed doesn’t mean it will rank for competitive searches. Those are different stages, with different causes and solutions. I’d start by checking which problem you’re actually facing rather than buying an SEO package or rewriting everything immediately.
1. Live, indexed and ranking: what’s the difference?
A live website is available to visitors with its address. An indexed page has been added to a search engine’s index and may be eligible to appear in results. A ranking page appears for a particular search, possibly far beyond the first page of results.
Think about a new electrician’s website. It may load perfectly when someone types the address, appear when they search the exact business name and still be nowhere prominent for “electrician near me”. Those outcomes don’t contradict each other. They tell us which stage needs attention.
2. Check whether Google knows the page exists
Start with Google Search Console, ideally using an account controlled by your business. Its URL Inspection tool can show what Google knows about a specific address, including indexing information and some technical issues.
Searching for your site with a site: query can offer a rough indication, but Google doesn’t recommend treating that alone as a definitive indexing test. If you’re unsure, use Search Console. Google’s crawling troubleshooting guidance explains several reasons new pages aren’t discovered or processed as expected.
3. Could your website be blocking search engines?
Development websites are often configured to discourage indexing while they’re unfinished. Problems arise when a setting survives the move to the public site or when a page has an incorrect canonical address.
Ask whoever built the website to check robots instructions, page-level indexing settings, canonical URLs, response codes and whether important content is reachable through ordinary links. These checks are more useful than immediately changing the page copy. A blocked page can’t earn visibility simply because you’ve repeated a keyword another ten times.
4. Have you given Google enough information about your services?
A homepage that says “Welcome to our business” with three photographs doesn’t explain much. If you want to be found for commercial services, the site should clearly describe the work, who it’s suitable for and, where relevant, the locations you genuinely serve.
Don’t manufacture dozens of near-identical location pages. A useful service page answers specific customer questions, sets expectations and makes the next step obvious. You should write for the person considering the purchase, not just repeat a search phrase. That’s also the starting point for sound SEO work.
5. Why can you find the business name but not your services?
Your business name may be relatively distinctive. A search such as “bookkeeping services Guildford” can have many competitors, including companies with established websites, local visibility and stronger reputations.
Showing up for your name is a useful start, but it doesn’t mean you’ve earned competitive rankings. Ask which specific searches matter to the business and how strong the current pages are for those intentions. A new business may need to build relevant service content and trust over time rather than expect an instant first-page position.
6. What role does Google Business Profile play?
If you serve local customers and qualify for a Business Profile, your information on Google Search and Maps may help people find and contact you. Make sure the business name, address or service area, opening hours and categories are accurate.
Google’s local ranking guidance explains the importance of relevance, distance and prominence. A website and a Business Profile support different parts of discovery. Don’t assume a new website automatically fixes an incomplete listing, or that your listing replaces the need for useful service information.
7. How long should a new website take to appear on Google?
There isn’t a reliable promise of “within 24 hours” or “on page one next week”. Google’s systems must discover and evaluate pages, and competitive results take longer to build than a simple brand-name appearance. Some pages may not be indexed at all.
What you can control is making the site accessible, connecting appropriate search tools and ensuring the content deserves to be found. Monitor progress rather than repeatedly submitting unchanged pages or paying somebody who promises an instant result. A sensible supplier should give you expectations, not guarantees.
8. What should you check during the first few weeks?
Keep the checks manageable. I’d concentrate on:
- Whether the main pages are indexable and appearing in Search Console.
- Whether branded searches show the correct site.
- Whether important service pages attract impressions for relevant queries.
- Whether your contact form and enquiry tracking work.
- Whether customers can find and use the site on mobile.
A small number of relevant enquiries can be more valuable than a large number of visitors looking for something you don’t sell. Measure the business outcome as well as search visibility.
9. Should you change everything if rankings are disappointing?
No. Changing titles, URLs, navigation and content repeatedly can make it difficult to work out what helped or hurt. First identify the affected pages and searches. Then check for technical faults, weak content, local competition and misleading expectations.
If the website gets visits but nobody enquires, that’s a different problem again. My article on traffic without enquiries covers how to assess what happens after somebody arrives. Don’t pay for more visitors before confirming the existing journey works.
10. When is professional SEO help worth paying for?
If the main pages are indexable but visibility isn’t improving for commercially important searches, a specialist can investigate search demand, content quality, competition and relevant technical issues. That work should begin with a clearly defined problem and evidence of what needs attention.
Be cautious of suppliers who guarantee a position or start selling monthly activity before understanding your site. You should know what is being investigated, what will be delivered and how progress will be assessed. My SEO retainer guide explains the difference between meaningful work and busy-looking reports.
Find the cause before paying for the wrong fix
If your new website isn’t appearing in Google, start by separating indexing problems from ranking problems. Check what the tools show, whether the pages answer customers’ questions and whether your expectations match the competition. Then decide what actually needs fixing.
If your site is live but not being found for the searches that matter, book a call. Tell me the website address and what you’re trying to rank for. I’ll explain how I’d scope the investigation and what information would be needed before drawing conclusions.