How do I get my website on Google?

01Does Google find websites on its own?

Usually, yes. Google's guide to getting your site on Google says it automatically looks for sites to add to its index, and that publishing a site is often all you need to do. It also admits that sometimes sites get missed, especially small, new sites with no links pointing at them.

The reason is how discovery works. Google's SEO starter guide says it primarily finds pages through links from pages it has already crawled, and that the vast majority of new pages it finds every day are found that way. A brand-new domain with no links is an island, and submitting it directly is how you build the first bridge.

02The steps, in order

None of these steps costs money, and the whole sequence takes under an hour once the site is live.

1. 1Publish on a real, public URLUse your own domain if you can. Check the site loads in a private browser window with no login, because Google cannot index pages behind a password.
2. 2Add the site to Search ConsoleCreate a property and verify you own it. How to submit a website to Google Search Console walks through domain and URL-prefix properties.
3. 3Submit your sitemapMost builders and frameworks generate one at /sitemap.xml. Paste its address into the Sitemaps report so Google gets a list of every page.
4. 4Request indexing for the home pagePaste your home page URL into URL Inspection and click Request indexing. Do this for a few key pages, not hundreds.
5. 5Get a few real linksList the site on your social profiles, your Google Business Profile, directories in your field and anywhere you are already a member. How to get backlinks for a new website has more ideas.
6. 6Wait, then checkLook at the Page indexing report after a week or two rather than resubmitting daily.

03Make each page worth indexing

Google indexes pages it can read and understand. Put real text on the page rather than text baked into images, give every page a unique title and description, use one clear heading that says what the page is about, and link your pages to each other so Google can move through the site. Google's guide also notes that sites built on unusual technology can be harder to crawl, so plain HTML output, which most modern builders and frameworks produce, is the safe choice.

If you built the site with an AI tool, check that the text is in the page source and not loaded only after JavaScript runs; are AI websites good for SEO? explains what to look for.

• A unique title tag and meta description on every page.
• Text in HTML, with images described by alt text.
• Internal links between related pages.
• HTTPS and a page that works on a phone.
• No noindex tag left over from a staging site.

04How to check whether you are on Google

Search for site:yourdomain.com. If pages appear, you are indexed. Google warns that this operator does not always show every indexed URL, so for an exact answer use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console, which tells you whether a specific URL is on Google and, if not, why.

If your site has been live for weeks and still is not showing, the cause is usually one of a handful of fixable problems; why is my website not showing on Google? goes through them.

05Indexed is not the same as ranking

Being on Google means a page can appear. Where it appears depends on how well it answers the search compared with every other page. A new site usually ranks first for its own name, then for long, specific searches, and only later for broad, competitive ones. How long does SEO take? sets expectations, and SEO for a new website covers what to do in the first months.