“How do I get my website on Google?” is one of the questions I hear most from business owners with a new site. The good news is that getting a website into Google is free and takes about ten minutes. Getting it to rank for the searches your customers use is a separate job, and I cover both below.

Step 1: Check whether your website is already on Google

Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk (with your own domain). If pages appear, Google has already indexed your site. If nothing appears, Google has not found it yet, which is common for brand-new websites.

Step 2: Add your website to Google Search Console

Go to Google Search Console and sign in with a Google account.
Add your website as a property. The “Domain” option covers every version of your site and is verified with a DNS record at your domain provider. The “URL prefix” option can be verified by uploading a file or adding a tag to your homepage.
Complete the verification. Most website builders and SEO plugins have a simple field for this.

Step 3: Submit your sitemap

A sitemap lists the pages you want Google to find. Most website platforms and SEO plugins create one automatically, usually at an address such as yourdomain.co.uk/sitemap.xml or /sitemap_index.xml. In Search Console, open Sitemaps, enter the address and click Submit. If you ever need to take an old one out, here is how to remove a sitemap from Search Console.

Step 4: Request indexing for your homepage

Type your homepage address into the URL Inspection bar at the top of Search Console. Google checks the page, and if it is not yet indexed, click Request indexing. Do the same for your most important pages. New pages are often indexed within a few days, although Google does not guarantee it.

Step 5: Make sure nothing is blocking Google

In WordPress, check that Settings, Reading, “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unticked.
Make sure your robots.txt file does not block your pages.
Check your pages do not carry a “noindex” tag, which is common on sites copied from a staging version.

If Search Console later reports pages as “Discovered – currently not indexed”, my fix for discovered but not indexed pages explains what to do.

Getting your website to show for your keywords

Being indexed means your website shows when someone searches your exact business name or domain. It does not mean it will appear when people search for your services, such as “plumber in Leeds” or “wedding photographer Bristol”. That takes SEO:

A page for each service, written around the words customers actually search for.
Clear titles and headings that say what each page offers and where.
A Google Business Profile if you serve a local area, so you can appear in the map results.
Links and mentions from other trusted websites, such as local organisations, suppliers and industry directories.
A fast, mobile-friendly site that is easy to use.

My guide on how to get on Google’s first page goes through each of these in detail.

Do you need to pay someone to add your website to Google?

No. Adding a website to Google is free and the steps above are all you need, so be wary of anyone charging a fee just to “submit” your site. Where paid help is worth it is ranking for competitive searches, and if that is what you need, I offer a free review of where your site stands as an SEO consultant for small businesses.

If your site still is not showing after a few weeks, get in touch for a free check.