How to get your website on Google: a step-by-step checklist (free)

If you already published your site and it doesn't show up, start with why isn't my website showing up on Google, which diagnoses the cause. This guide is the other direction: the checklist to follow so Google finds you in the first place.

Do you have to submit your website to Google?

No. According to Google's own guide, it automatically looks for sites to add to its index, and in general you only need to publish your site on the web. It adds that «it's inevitable that some sites will be missed», and that it can take a few weeks for Google to notice a new site. So the goal isn't a magic form: it's removing obstacles and giving Google reasons to find you. Any service that charges to «submit you to Google» is selling something you can do for free.

The checklist

1. 1Make sure Google is allowed in. The site must be public (not behind a login or a «coming soon» password), must not carry a `noindex` tag, and your `robots.txt` must not block it. Our free robots.txt tester reads your file and tells you what each robot can crawl.
2. 2Use real text. Google warns that content built with technologies other than HTML, or that lives only in images or video without text, is hard to process. The words you want to rank for should be written on the page.
3. 3Add your site to Google Search Console (free). Google says it can show errors that prevent it from understanding your site. You verify ownership with a DNS record, an HTML file or a meta tag.
4. 4Submit a sitemap. Google calls it «an important way for Google to discover URLs on your site», especially after launching a site. If you use WordPress or Blogger, the platform usually notifies search engines of new content for you, so check its help first.
5. 5Request indexing for your most important pages. In Search Console, paste the URL into URL Inspection and choose Request indexing. Google applies a quota, and asking several times for the same URL doesn't make it faster.
6. 6Get other sites to link to yours. Google lists «few or no inbound links» as a main reason sites don't show up. Real ones: your Google Business Profile, your social profiles, suppliers, local associations, directories your customers use. Google's guide advises against paying for links.
7. 7Wait, then check. Allow a few days to a few weeks. Search `site:yourdomain.com` for a rough check (Google says it doesn't necessarily list every indexed URL) and open the Page indexing report in Search Console for the real numbers.

For a local business: the fastest route is a map listing

If you serve customers in a place, your Google Business Profile can put you in front of people before your website ranks for anything. It's free, and verification takes up to 5 business days after you finish the steps. We cover it end to end in how to put your business on Google and Google Maps. The profile links to your site, which also gives Google another route to it.

Indexed isn't the same as found

Once Google has your pages, the question changes from «am I on Google?» to «for what?». Expect to start low: on our own new site, SEOClave, 11 days in, Google showed it about 150 times and sent 2 clicks, with everything between positions 50 and 90 (Search Console, November 9, 2026). New sites usually win first on narrow, specific searches (a service plus a city, a question) and later on the broad ones. Three things to do from day one:

• Pick one search per page and write the page for it. Two pages fighting for the same search confuse Google.
• Check the top 10 before you write. If the first results are giants, look for a narrower version; if they're weak pages, that's your opening.
• Watch Search Console Performance for the searches that already show your site, with their positions. The ones in positions 8 to 30 are your closest wins.

Finding the right searches takes data: how many people look for each, how hard the top 10 is, what they pay per click. That's what our keyword tool shows, for the U.S. and 15+ other countries.

How long until it works?