Why isn’t my business showing up on Google?

Is your website missing, or just hard to find?

Try your exact business name and website address, then a service search such as “electrician in Wollongong”. Write down what appears and whether you are looking at website results or the map listings. Finding your business by name does not mean it will rank for every service you offer.

Use Google Search Console’s URL Inspection tool on your home page and an important service page. It reports the indexed status and issues Google has found. The live test checks the current page; it does not prove that the page is already indexed. Requesting indexing after a fix is useful, but does not guarantee inclusion or a particular timeframe.

Further reading: Google: URL Inspection tool.

What can stop Google indexing a website?

A new site can still have a staging password, an accidental noindex setting, broken pages or an incorrect preferred URL. Ask your website provider to check the exact affected address, its response, indexing instructions and canonical URL. A domain redirect or recently changed page address can also explain why you are looking in the wrong place.

Give your provider a specific request: “Please check whether Google can access this page, whether it is allowed to index it, and whether it points to the correct canonical address.” This is more useful than requesting a general SEO upgrade before the underlying issue is understood.

Make important pages reachable through ordinary links from your navigation or related pages, and include relevant public pages in your sitemap. Google’s SEO guide explains how discovery and useful page content work together. A sitemap helps discovery; it is not a shortcut to ranking.

Further reading: Google: SEO Starter Guide.

Why am I missing from Google Maps?

Check that you control the correct Business Profile and that it is verified, eligible and not suspended. Review your category, contact details, hours and service information. If there is a profile problem, follow the guidance shown in your account rather than creating duplicates to work around it.

Google describes local results in terms of relevance, distance and prominence. An accurate profile helps explain your business, but you cannot make your real location closer to every searcher. Results can change with the person’s location, so one search on your own phone is not a complete picture.

Further reading: Google: improving local ranking.

What if the site is indexed but enquiries are quiet?

Look at the queries and pages receiving impressions in Search Console. If the site appears mainly for your business name, review whether each priority service has a useful page explaining what you do, who it suits, where you work and how to enquire.

For a local painter, “Our services” may be less helpful than a page explaining residential repainting, preparation, occupied-home considerations and the quoting process. Use real project information and areas you actually serve. Repeating the same page with a different suburb name adds little value for a customer.

Finally, separate visibility from conversion. If suitable visitors arrive but never contact you, examine the page and enquiry journey. More traffic will not fix a broken form or an offer people cannot understand. Track improvements against a baseline and allow enough time and data to judge them.