You’ve put in the effort to create a great website — but is Google even showing it? A new study reveals that more than 60% of websites remain invisible to Google Search users. This means potential customers can’t find you, and your business misses out on valuable traffic.
Test whether your recent blog post or new website is already visible on Google.
IndexCheckr analyzed 16 million websites and found that only 37% of them are fully indexed by Google. This is a worrying trend, especially considering that the web is now the primary channel for reaching customers.
What is indexing?
Indexing is the process in which Google’s crawlers scan and analyze web pages in order to include them in its search results. If your page is not indexed, it will not appear in search results — even when someone searches directly for your business name or the services you offer.
Why do pages remain unindexed?
The study highlights several reasons why web pages remain unindexed:
- Technical errors: Issues in the website’s code can prevent Google’s crawlers from scanning the page properly.
- Poor content: Google prioritizes high‑quality, original content. If your page contains duplicated or low‑value content, it may hinder indexing.
- Too many links: If your page contains an excessive number of external links, it can confuse Google’s crawlers and prevent them from indexing the page properly.
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Is your website at risk?
In addition to unindexed pages, it’s important to know that Google can also deindex pages that were previously indexed. This means the page is removed from search results. The study showed that as many as 21% of pages end up being deindexed.
Why does Google deindex pages?
There can be several reasons:
- Page removal: If a page has been removed from the web or its URL has been changed, Google will remove it from its index.
- Content changes: If the content of a page has been significantly altered and no longer matches relevant search queries, Google may deindex it.
- Technical issues: If a page has technical problems that prevent Google’s crawlers from scanning it, this can also contribute to deindexing.
- Duplicate content: If similar subpages are detected within the site structure, Google may choose one of them and potentially deindex the one that is actually the most important.
- Penalties: If Google detects that a page violates its guidelines (for example, by distributing spam or using prohibited SEO tactics), it may deindex the page.
Therefore, it’s essential to monitor your website regularly and make adjustments when needed to ensure it remains in Google’s index and stays visible to potential customers.
What should you do?
If you want your website to be visible on Google, you need to ensure that it is technically sound, contains high‑quality content, and is easy for Google’s crawlers to scan. It’s also important to submit your website to Google and regularly monitor its indexing status. For this, you may want to consider an SEO monitoring service, where one key component is tracking your site’s indexing status.
Don’t let your website lose visibility! Get in touch with an SEO specialist to ensure your site remains visible on Google and continues to bring you new customers.
Link to the study: https://indexcheckr.com/resources/google-indexing