How to check where your site shows up

Why a single search misleads you

Searching for your own business name and finding it at the top feels reassuring, but it proves little. Results change by location, device, search history and the moment you look.

Two people in two towns see different pages for the same words. If you search for your own name, you are also likely to see yourself. Our page on website ranking explains why a position is a snapshot, not a fixed fact.

The same is true of rank-checking tools that report one number per phrase. They search from one place at one moment, so the figure describes that moment. Use them, if you like, as a rough guide, and keep Google's own data as the reference.

Set up Search Console

Search Console is Google's own tool for site owners. You prove you own the site, usually by adding a short verification token in one field, and Google then shows you data about how your pages appeared.

It takes a while for data to appear after you connect, so set it up early. Our page on Search Console basics walks through the steps and what each screen means.

If your site was built with Website Builder Studio, you can paste the verification token into one field and the in-app assistant can walk you through the rest. Whatever builder you use, keep the verification in place, since removing it can cut off the data.

Read the Performance report

Open Performance and look at the queries table. It lists the searches that showed your pages, how many times, how many clicks and the average position for each. Filter by page to see one URL.

Average position is an average across many searches, so a figure of eight does not mean you sit at eight everywhere. Look at trends over weeks, not one day. Our page on the Performance report goes deeper.

Compare two date ranges to see movement, and look at the click and impression columns beside position. A page can sit lower on the list and still bring more visitors, because the searches it appears for matter more than a single position number.

A careful manual check

A manual search still helps for a quick look. Use a private window to reduce the effect of your history, search the words a customer would use, and note the town you are in.

• Search the service plus the town, as a customer would
• Use a private window so past visits count for less
• Try it on your phone as well as your computer
• Note the date and what appeared, as a dated record
• Check the map results too if you serve a local area
• Compare the same words again a few weeks later

If your page is not there at all

If a page never appears, first check whether Google has it. Paste the address into the URL inspection tool in Search Console, which says whether the page is indexed and why not if it is missing.

Our pages on why a page is not indexed and requesting indexing cover the common causes. A page Google has not stored cannot appear anywhere.

Do not request indexing again and again. One request for an important page is enough. Google says asking repeatedly for the same URL to be recrawled does not make it crawl faster, and there is a quota. Spend the time instead on whatever the inspection report named, such as a blocked page or a thin one.

Check the site itself as well

Position is only part of the picture. The page also has to be readable, quick and structured so a search engine can understand it. Our site check reports those structural problems across your pages.

It does not show where you appear in results, and it makes no promise about that. Use it to find and fix problems, and use Search Console to see what Google reports.

Pick the three searches that matter most to your business and try them from a phone each month. Note whether the right page appears and whether its title and description read well. A page that appears with a muddled title is a quick fix.