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How to Get Your Website on Google: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide

Your new site doesn't show up on Google. How to check whether it's indexed, set up Google Search Console, verify your domain, submit a sitemap, request indexing, fix the common blockers, and what to realistically expect in the first weeks.

You launched your site, searched for it on Google, and… nothing. That's normal for a brand-new site. Google has to discover it, crawl it, and decide to index it before it can appear in results. You can speed that up and make sure nothing is blocking it.

Step 1: Check whether Google knows about you

Search Google for:

site:yourdomain.com
  • Results appear: you're indexed. Not ranking for your keywords yet is a different (slower) problem — see the last section.
  • No results: Google hasn't indexed you yet. Keep going.

Step 2: Set up Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool that shows how Google sees your site: what's indexed, what's broken, and what people search to find you. It's the single most useful SEO tool for a new site.

  1. Go to Search Console and add a property.
  2. Choose the type:
    • Domain property (recommended) — covers every version of your site: https://, http://, www and subdomains. Verified with a DNS record.
    • URL-prefix property — covers one exact address. Can be verified by uploading a file or adding a meta tag.

Verifying a domain property

Search Console gives you a TXT record to add at wherever your domain's DNS is managed (your registrar or DNS provider):

Type Name Value
TXT @ google-site-verification=abc123...

Save it, wait a few minutes (sometimes longer — see DNS propagation explained), and click Verify. (DNS records explained covers TXT records.) Leave the record in place permanently; removing it un-verifies you.

Step 3: Submit your sitemap

A sitemap lists the pages you want found. Most frameworks can generate one at /sitemap.xml. In Search Console, open Sitemaps, enter the URL, and submit. See robots.txt and sitemap.xml explained.

Step 4: Request indexing for key pages

Use the URL Inspection tool at the top of Search Console. Paste your home page URL. It tells you whether the page is indexed and, if not, why. Click Request indexing. Do the same for your few most important pages — not hundreds; there's a daily limit, and the sitemap handles the rest.

Step 5: Fix what's blocking you

URL Inspection and the Pages report will flag problems. The common ones:

  • Blocked by robots.txt — often a leftover Disallow: / from staging.
  • "Excluded by noindex tag" — a <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> left in your template.
  • Page with redirect / duplicate — Google picked a different version of the URL as the main one. Choose one canonical version (https, www or not) and redirect the rest. See www vs non-www.
  • Content not visible to Google — some single-page apps render nothing until JavaScript runs. Google can run JavaScript, but server-rendered or static HTML is faster and more reliable to index. (SEO basics for your app.)
  • Server errors (5xx) — your site was down or slow when Google visited.
  • "Discovered – currently not indexed" — Google knows the page but hasn't prioritised it. Usually resolves with time, better content and more links.

Step 6: Help Google find you

Google mostly discovers sites through links. A brand-new domain with no links pointing at it is hard to find. Useful early links:

  • your social profiles and launch posts,
  • directories and communities relevant to what you built,
  • a GitHub README, a Product Hunt or Hacker News post,
  • guest posts or mentions from people in your field.

Links from relevant, real sites matter far more than lots of links from spammy ones. Never buy links.

What to expect

  • Indexing: often a few days to a few weeks for a new site.
  • Ranking for competitive searches: months, and only with genuinely useful content.
  • Branded searches (your product's name) usually work first.

Search Console's Performance report shows which searches you appear for, your clicks, and your average position. Check it monthly; it's the best guide to what to write or improve next.

Also: Bing

Bing Webmaster Tools works similarly and can import your settings from Google Search Console. Bing's index also feeds other search engines and some AI assistants, so it's worth five minutes.

The summary

  • site:yourdomain.com shows whether you're indexed.
  • Set up Google Search Console with a domain property (verified by a DNS TXT record).
  • Submit your sitemap, request indexing for key pages, and fix anything flagged.
  • Early links help discovery. Indexing takes days to weeks; ranking takes longer.

EasySpawn tells you exactly which DNS records to add when you connect your own domain and serves your app over HTTPS automatically — a clean, single canonical site for Google to crawl. See how it works or join the waitlist.

Related: What Is a Domain Name? · Core Web Vitals Explained · Social Preview Images · How to Launch Your First App · Google Search Console for Beginners

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