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madhu
10,223 PointsWordpress site not showing up in google search.
Hi,
I just migrated my first word press website from a local server to a live server.
I went to google webmaster tools and submitted my website URL. But, my website is still not showing up in google search.
I tried searching, site:www.example.com in google and got the following message.
Your search - site:www.example.com - did not match any documents.
I know I need to do more than submitting my URL to google search engine, but just not sure what those steps are.
Can you please tell me the necessary steps I should take after migrating a website to a live server, so that it shows up in google web search.
Thank you for your time. Madhu
3 Answers
Gareth Borcherds
9,372 PointsFirst of all, make sure that in your wordpress settings that you are allowing robots to index your site. Second, you'll need to wait till Google actually indexes your site. Once you submit your site via webmaster tools, you should be able to see how many pages Google has indexed. It typically can take a few days after adding it before your site will actually be indexed and start showing in results.
Kevin Korte
28,148 PointsHow long has the site been live for? A site I launched a few months ago took Google 4 days from when I submitted the sitemap before they actually indexed the pages. If you watch your Google Webmaster tools, it'll show when the pages get indexed.
madhu
10,223 PointsIts good to know that I haven't missed something obvious. I will make sure to submit the sitemap to google webmaster tools.
I launched the site yesterday. I just didn't realize that it would take a few days for google to index the site. I thought that if someone entered the complete site url in the google search bar, the site will show up in the search.
Its my first project and I have a long way to go, but its amazing how much I have learned from just one project!
This project was for a friend and she has a wordpress.com site with the same name (www.example.wordpress.com). Just wondering if that would change/affect the way google search engine indexes the current website.
Thank you for your answers. It was very helpful. Madhu.
Kevin Korte
28,148 PointsUntil its index, even typing it into the URL box won't work. You can see when that happens in your google webmasters account as it will show how many pages it indexed. You should see a big jump in indexed pages and than you'll know.
Being on wordpress.com shouldn't change anything. The process should more or less be the same.
madhu
10,223 PointsChecked this morning and the website blog page is being indexed by the google search engine!
Thank you again for your help. Madhu.
madhu
10,223 Pointsmadhu
10,223 PointsUnder Settings/Reading I have unchecked the box next to search engine visibility that says 'Discourage search engines from indexing this site'. Do I need to change any other wordpress settings besides this?
I was looking online and found a lot of information regarding this and find it a little confusing and unsure as to the appropriate steps to take.
So, It will be nice to know in general what steps or some of the must do things the experienced wordpress developers at treehouse take after launching a website. Something like a checklist you go through after the launch of a website regarding SEO and search engine visibility.
Thank you, Madhu
Gareth Borcherds
9,372 PointsGareth Borcherds
9,372 PointsWhat I outlined above is pretty much all I do. I just make sure that the box is unchecked and then I submit it to webmaster tools. Google just has to get around to indexing it. From there, you can practice some SEO things like trying to generate links to your site via various methods, but there is no real magic, it just takes some time and letting Google know what you are doing. I would also suggest submitting a sitemap to google webmaster tools as that way Google knows everything to index correctly.