The pages displayed in Google’s search results are automatically gathered by Google bot’s crawling, meaning usually there’s no need for web administrators to intervene. However, it’s possible for Google’s crawler to overlook a site or page, and web administrators can make it easier for their site to be indexed.

Being registered in Google’s database is the first step in SEO; without registration, your site won’t appear in search results. To get registered, it’s necessary to take measures to make it easier for Google to crawl your site.

For Displaying in Google Search Results

Google automatically discovers websites and their pages. The discovered sites are evaluated for registration in Google’s database and ranked accordingly. Thus, first, you need to make your site easy to crawl.

If your site doesn’t appear in Google’s search results, check the following points.

Why a Website Might Not Appear in Search Results

Even though Google crawls billions of pages, some sites may not be crawled and hence not appear in search results. Reasons for Google bot missing a site include

• The site has no links from other sites
• It’s a new site that hasn’t been crawled yet
• Site configuration issues prevent proper crawling
• Errors occur during crawling
• Google simply overlooked it

For new sites, it can take some time for Google bot to discover them. However, links from other sites can help Google find new sites sooner.

Issues like Single Page Applications (SPAs) needing rendering to be correctly crawled, pages requiring login, or other crawling errors can also prevent a site from being indexed.

For small sites, not being crawled is a possibility. Waiting for indexing over time, making efforts to get linked from other sites, and continuing to distribute content are possible strategies.

Ensuring Content Quality

Google prioritizes user-first, aiming to guide users to pages that efficiently fulfill their search intent. If a page is judged to have low content quality or fails to meet user needs, it might not appear in search results.

To provide an excellent search experience for users, strategies to enhance the uniqueness, value, and appeal of your site’s content are necessary.

Local Businesses Appearing on Google 

Google Business Profiles allow displaying map information, store addresses, and phone numbers in search results. While the absence of a Business Profile isn’t a reason for not appearing in search results, registering is advisable for storefront businesses from both an SEO and MEO perspective.

Accessing from Mobile

With the significant proliferation of mobile devices, some sites report over 80% of their traffic comes from mobile users. Optimizing the content of a website ensures accessibility and proper display across all devices, adjusting for various screen sizes.

Reasons a Website Might Not Appear in Search Results

There are several reasons why a website might not show up in search results, which can be broadly classified into three categories:

• The site is designed in a way that makes it difficult for search engines to understand.
• It’s configured to prevent crawling by search engines.
• The content quality is low.

Difficulty for Search Engines to Understand

While website design is at the discretion of each site, essential elements must be present for search engines to comprehend it. Titles and descriptions must be unique across pages, and internal links, anchor texts, and breadcrumb lists should connect the pages properly.

A site without any internal links is rare, but if there are standalone pages not internally linked, it might take longer for search engines to crawl them or they might not be crawled at all.

Configured to Prevent Crawling

If a site is set to block access through noindex or robots.txt, search engines won’t be able to find the site or its pages, preventing them from appearing in search results. While it’s uncommon to control the entire site with noindex or robots.txt, it’s not unusual for test sites set up this way during site opening or renewal to go live without changing these settings.

Especially during renewals, it’s possible to overlook that old pages remain noindexed until their indexing is dropped, so it’s crucial to check for significant changes in search results after a site renewal.

Low Content Quality

Google has been known not to index even if it crawls content of low quality. Around 2021, there was a noticeable shift towards indexing with a focus on quality, and there have been reports of pages disappearing from search results.

Unlike traditional content SEO that relies on mass production, the emphasis is now on maintaining high quality for each article. It’s advisable to review content against Google’s search evaluation guidelines, focusing on experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Steps to Display Pages in Search Results

Normally, publishing high-quality content should suffice for Google’s crawling and appearing in search results. However, if your pages still don’t show up or are slow to appear, consider the following strategies

• Inspection through Google Search Console
• Creation of an XML sitemap
• Strengthening of internal links

Using Google Search Console for URL Inspection

While Google typically crawls without intervention, the URL inspection tool in Google Search Console can help expedite indexing.

This tool is meant for reindexing already indexed pages after updates or when content has been corrected and you wish for a reindexing to happen promptly. It’s not intended for daily use.

However, it can be useful for promoting the initial indexing of a newly opened site or when content doesn’t seem to get indexed, helping it appear in search results.

Creating an XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap is not necessary for a small site. Even for medium-sized sites, Google can adequately crawl without a sitemap. However, for large sites with frequent updates, having a sitemap can indeed make a difference in how quickly pages are indexed.

When creating an XML sitemap, it’s essential to include all URLs you want indexed. Missing specific page information could result in desired pages not being indexed, so caution is advised when creating a sitemap manually.

For those using a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, plugins are available that can automatically create an XML sitemap. While WordPress does have a default XML sitemap, it may not always be the best solution, so it’s recommended to decide on your site structure in advance.

Strengthening Internal Links

Google views pages with many internal links as important. Therefore, when publishing important pages, gather internal links to encourage crawling. For less critical pages, extensive internal linking might not be necessary, but ensuring proper navigation from lists and links from other pages is essential.

A page completely isolated by internal links might be overlooked by search engines, potentially leading to its absence from search results.

Checking If Your URL Is Registered with Google

Several methods can verify if your URL is registered with Google, with the following two being the simplest and most reliable

• Google Search Console
• Site search

Google Search Console

Google Search Console allows you to see the actual registered URLs under “Indexing” -> “Pages.” If a URL isn’t listed, it’s not registered with Google. Note that only up to 1000 individual URLs can be checked, so alternative methods may be needed for larger sites.

Also, using the URL Inspection tool, you can enter a URL to check if it’s registered with Google individually. If registered, a report similar to the one shown above will appear, and if not, you can request registration from the report.

Site: Search

Site search involves entering “site:” followed by the URL in Google Search. For example, to check if the Tokyo SEO Maker’s article list page is indexed, you would search for “site:https://www.switchitmaker2.com/article/.” If search results appear, it indicates the page is registered with Google.

Summary

Google’s bot crawls a vast number of websites, and in most cases, content will be registered with Google. However, situations arise where content does not appear in search results despite seemingly no issues with quality. In such cases, it’s crucial to review and adjust site settings as needed. Utilizing Google Search Console can provide insight into a site’s current status, but sometimes a review and improvement of the site structure and content quality are necessary, keeping user experience in mind.