Monday, January 28, 2013

Why isn't my brand new website on Google?


Launching a new website is a very exciting endeavor. Once it's "live" for the world to see we want everyone to find it! However it comes as a surprise to some that their website doesn't appear on Google right away. What's going on?!?!

I'm glad we launched our brand new website yesterday, but I can't find it on Google?

The answer is that Google just hasn't found it...yet. They're looking for it. It can actually take search engines up to 3 months to find a brand new website.

Why does it take so long?

It doesn't always take that long. Google sends out "crawlers" on a schedule. Let's say they send them out on Jan 1, April 1, July 1, etc. If your website gets launched on Jan 8, then you have to wait until April 1. But if you launch your website on March 25, you only have a few days to wait until April 1.

Is there anything I can do to make my website get found sooner?

If your website has inbound links (links from other websites leading to your website) than Google is likely to find it sooner. What happens is the crawlers follow that link and it leads them to your website which they index.

Do I need to submit my website to the search engines?

No. A lot of people say that you need to do this, but it is unnecessary. The search engines find everything on their own.

Why is it that I can find my website if I search for the name of my company, but not if I search for my services?

Even though Google has found you, they rank your website below that of your competitors. Why is that? There are a few reasons:
  • Your competitors domain name (www.whatever.com) may be older, and more trustworthy because it's been around longer.
  • Your competitors website may have more inbound links than your brand new website. Inbound links have a strong influence on your Google ranking. It may take some time for you to build up inbound links.
  • It's possible your competitors have put more time into their ranking. Showing up on the first page of Google takes a lot of work and a lot of time. It doesn't happen overnight.
We invite you to read our Easy SEO Checklist to learn some tips on how to improve the ranking of your website.

We also have a SEO service that is very popular with our clients. Please visit our website or call us at 757-646-7908 to find out how we can help you.