Why isn't my website on Google? We checked 1,000 new websites

You launched your website, you search for it on Google, and nothing comes up. Is it normal for a new site? How long should you wait? And when it isn't normal, what is wrong?

We took 1,000 websites launched on Hacker News in 2026, 100 for each month from January to October, and searched Google for each one on November 5, 2026. Then we checked what each website tells Google: whether it answers, its tags, its robots.txt, its sitemap and its text. This is what we found:

• 92% of the new websites are on Google. 921 of the 1,000. Among the 887 that still answer, 97%.
• New does not mean missing. 83 of the 84 websites launched less than 30 days earlier were already on Google. The youngest was 5 days old.
• Most of the missing ones are down. 50 of the 79 websites that weren't on Google didn't answer at all: expired domains, stopped servers.
• Then come tags that send Google elsewhere. A canonical tag pointing to another domain, a redirect to another domain, a noindex tag: 9 websites. Text only with JavaScript kept 3 out.
• 16 had nothing visible. They answer, have no blocking tag, and still aren't on Google.
• Index checks can be wrong. The first service we used found 545 of 996 websites on Google. Another one, checked against a third on samples, found 921. The first missed 377 websites that were there.

How we checked#

• The websites. Hacker News lists 17,353 websites on their own domain posted as Show HN from January to October 2026. We took 100 at random from each month.
• On Google or not. For each one, we searched Google for site: followed by its address, from the United States, and counted the results from that website on the first page.
• The check. We requested each home page and noted its status, a noindex tag (in the page or in the HTTP headers), a canonical tag pointing to another domain, a redirect to another domain, a robots.txt that blocks Google, a sitemap, and the words of text without JavaScript. Pages with almost no text were loaded again in Chrome, to see if JavaScript added it.

Google itself says the site: search is not a complete list: "If a URL is indexed in Google, it can show up in search results for site: queries that are related to the URL, however it's not guaranteed." That is why we checked every answer twice; see index checks can be wrong. The only complete answer for your own site is in Search Console.

How long Google takes to find a new website#

Google gives a range: "It can take a few weeks for Google to notice a new site, or any changes in your existing site." In our sample, it was faster: 99% of the websites launched less than 30 days earlier were on Google, and the rate stayed between 95% and 99% for the websites that still answered, whatever their age.

These websites have one thing in common: they were posted on Hacker News, and a post there is copied by dozens of sites within days. In our study of the backlinks of 200 new websites, copies of the Hacker News post were 69% of the links found in the first week. Google finds new pages by following links. A website that nobody links to has nothing to be found from, and can wait the "few weeks" Google mentions, or longer.

Why 79 websites weren't on Google#

The website doesn't answer: 50#

Expired domains, servers that were stopped, free plans that ended, certificates that lapsed. Google drops pages that stop answering, but not at once: 62 of the 113 websites that no longer answered, or showed a parked page, were still in Google's results. The older the launch, the more of these: 12 of the 100 websites from January, none from October.

A tag sends Google elsewhere: 9#

• A canonical tag to another domain: 4. The canonical tag tells Google which address is the main one. 8 websites in our sample pointed it at another domain, and 4 of them weren't on Google.
• A redirect to another domain: 3. The website moved; Google indexes the new address.
• A noindex tag: 2. 3 websites had one, and 2 of them weren't on Google.

These are the easiest to fix, and the easiest to miss: the website looks fine in a browser.

Text only with JavaScript: 3#

70 websites showed no text without JavaScript. 67 of them were on Google anyway: Google runs JavaScript. Other crawlers don't, as we found in our study of JavaScript SEO.

What didn't keep websites out#

• robots.txt. 2 websites blocked Google in their robots.txt and both were on Google. Google says robots.txt "is not a mechanism for keeping a web page out of Google": use a noindex tag for that.
• No sitemap. 97% of the websites with a sitemap were on Google, against 95% of those without one, among websites that answer and are older than 30 days. A sitemap helps Google find your pages; it doesn't decide whether they are indexed.
• Votes on Hacker News. Websites whose post got fewer than 5 points were on Google about as often as the others: 97%.

Nothing visible: 16#

16 websites answered, had no blocking tag, and weren't on Google. 12 of them were launched more than three months earlier. For these, the reason is in Search Console: Google's Page indexing report lists, for each page, why it isn't indexed.

Being on Google is not being found#

Being indexed is the first step, not the result. Of the 921 websites on Google:

• 159 showed a single page in the site: search,
• 272 showed 2 to 9 pages,
• 490 filled the first page of results.

And being indexed doesn't mean ranking for the searches your buyers make. That depends on the pages you publish and the links you get, which our guide to SEO for a new website covers in order.

Index checks can be wrong#

We first ran our 1,000 site: searches through one scraping service. It found 545 of 996 websites on Google, and the result looked like a story: almost no website under three months old was indexed. We checked six of its "not on Google" answers with a second service: all six were on Google. We ran the 1,000 searches again with a third service, and checked eight of its "not on Google" answers with the second one: all eight were right. That check found 921 websites on Google.

Many online "Google index checkers" work the same way, with site: searches. If one tells you your site isn't indexed, check before you change anything:

1. Search Google yourself for site: followed by your address, logged out.
2. In Search Console, use the URL Inspection tool on your home page. It says whether the page is on Google, and if not, why. This is the answer that counts.

How to get your website on Google#

1. Check that it answers. Open your home page from another network, without being logged in. A 404, a 500, an expired certificate or a parked domain keeps you out.
2. Check the tags in your HTML. View the page source and look for noindex and for rel="canonical". The canonical must point to your own address.
3. Check robots.txt. Open /robots.txt on your domain. A Disallow: / for all crawlers blocks Google from reading your pages.
4. Add your site to Search Console and submit your sitemap. It doesn't guarantee indexing, but the reports tell you what Google found and why some pages are left out.
5. Get a few links. Google finds new websites through links. A launch, a few directories and a mention in a newsletter are enough for Google to find you. Our article on directory submission lists the directories that give a link, and our list of 72 launch platforms the launch sites.
6. Request indexing once, then wait. URL Inspection has a "Request indexing" button. Google says: "Crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks", and that a request "does not guarantee that inclusion in search results will happen instantly or even at all."
7. Skip "instant indexing" tools. Most use Google's Indexing API, which Google reserves for job postings and livestreams: it "can only be used to crawl pages with either JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject."

Where Submitium fits#

Links are how Google finds a new website, and directories are among the first links you can get. We submit your product by hand to directories and launch platforms that give a free dofollow link, keep their badges in one badge wall on your site, and check the link on each live listing six times over 90 days.

A directory costs $0.99, less from the 51st, and a first order starts at 30 directories. See the pricing and the full list of directories.

Questions#

Why is my website not showing up on Google?#

In our study of 1,000 new websites, the most common reason was that the website didn't answer: 50 of the 79 that weren't on Google. Then come tags that send Google elsewhere (a canonical tag or a redirect to another domain, a noindex tag), and text that only appears with JavaScript. For the rest, Search Console's Page indexing report gives the reason for each page.

How long does it take Google to index a new website?#

Google says it can take a few weeks. In our sample, 83 of the 84 websites launched less than 30 days earlier were already on Google, the youngest after 5 days. They had all been posted on Hacker News, which brings links within days. A website that nobody links to can take longer.

How do I check if my website is indexed by Google?#

Search Google for site: followed by your address, then confirm with the URL Inspection tool in Search Console. Don't rely on a single online index checker: in our study, one service missed 377 of 921 websites that were on Google.

How do I submit my website to Google?#

Add it to Search Console, submit your sitemap, and use URL Inspection on your home page to request indexing once. Google finds most new sites through links, so a few links from launch sites and directories help as much as the request.

Does a sitemap help my website get indexed?#

It helps Google find your pages, especially on a larger site. In our sample, websites with a sitemap were on Google 97% of the time, and those without one 95%.

What does "Crawled - currently not indexed" mean?#

Google's Page indexing report uses it for a page that Google has crawled but not added to its index. It may be added later, or not. Improve the page, and link to it from your other pages.

What does "Discovered - currently not indexed" mean?#

Google knows the address but hasn't crawled it yet. It is common on new sites: Google says it can take "up to a few weeks" before it crawls some or all of a site.

Do instant indexing tools work?#

Most use Google's Indexing API, which Google limits to job postings and livestream pages. Submit a sitemap and request indexing in Search Console instead.