How to get your website to show up on Google
This is one of the most commonly asked questions in the website world and we wish there was an easy and surefire answer. While we are not SEO experts (and we will always recommending hiring one if you want to get really serious about it), we do know a few tips and tricks that can help you increase your chances of being found on search engines. Once you complete these steps, it will take time to see what’s effective and what’s not, so bring your optimism, patience and willingness to iterate along for the ride. If it were simple, everyone would be the number one result on Google… but that’s not how it works!
Follow the SEO tips from Squarespace
Squarespace has some really great resources that help walk you through different settings on your website to ensure you are set up for SEO success. When you work with us on a four week website or website in a day, we take care of a lot of the basics for you, but if you want to go even further then it’s a great idea to read through the two articles below.
Create a Google Search Console account and submit your sitemap to Google
Once you launch your new or refreshed website, you can either wait for Google to eventually find and index your site (meaning it will recognize it and populate it properly in search results) or you can speed up the process by submitting your site right to Google. You can do this by creating a Google Search Console account and then submitting your sitemap to Google. That may sound like a lot of gibberish, but here is a great video tutorial that walks you through the process.
Create a Google Business Profile
Have you ever wondered how some people get their business to show up on the right hand side of the Google search results with a map showing their location, reviews, hours and even photos? It’s actually really simple to do and is extra helpful for those who serve their local area and want to be found that way. All you have to do is head to this link and create a free Google business profile and add all of your details, including your website URL!
Hire an SEO Specialist
Once you’ve done all of these things, you should see some improved searchability after a few weeks or months! If you want to get even more support and see really specific improvements in organic traffic to your website, an SEO specialist will be able to help you with more customized strategies for your business, industry and competition. There are lots of options out there, one that we have worked with and recommend is Searchlight Digital!
Madie Lerue
Designer & Founder of Lerue Creative
