Search basics
Your website is live, but it is not appearing in search
Check access settings, URL Inspection, navigation links, and the sitemap when a newly published page does not appear in search.
Start with one page
A website opening in a browser and being indexed for search are different things. If someone reports that the site cannot be found, choose one affected treatment information URL to investigate before redesigning the entire homepage.
Record which URL they tried to find and which query they used. Not appearing for the clinic's name and not appearing for a particular treatment question should be treated as separate problems.
Check for settings left over from development
Ask the developer whether a page intended for public access still requires login or retains a setting that excludes it from search. In particular, noindex instructs search engines not to index a page, while a robots.txt block prevents crawling.
Blocking crawling through robots.txt alone cannot reliably remove an already indexed URL. Google must be allowed to crawl the page to read its noindex instruction. Check public access problems separately from settings that exclude pages from search.[2]
Separate the possible findings
The following is a hypothetical checking scenario, not findings from an actual clinic. Inspect the URL in Search Console, then make the request to the responsible person specific to the condition found.
| What you find | What to ask the responsible person |
|---|---|
| The content opens only after login | Check access settings for the public information page |
| A search exclusion setting remains | Confirm the page is intended to be public and adjust the setting |
| The URL opens but is absent from navigation | Specify where to link it from the patient guide index |
Use the same URL in navigation and the sitemap
Click the new article in the patient guide index to check that it does not still link to an old address. Comparing the URL supplied by the person responsible with the destination in the menu can reveal handover mistakes.
Include the preferred URLs you want shown in search in the sitemap. Submitting a sitemap informs Google about URLs; it does not guarantee crawling or indexing.[3]
Recheck the corrected URL first
Once a cause is identified on one page, inspect other guides built with the same template. Check for a shared settings problem before publishing every article again.
- Confirm that the corrected page opens without login
- Check that its content and navigation link are as intended
- Request indexing for relevant URLs or submit the sitemap as needed
Distinguish a submitted request from a processed change
Google says repeated recrawl requests for the same URL do not speed up crawling, and a request does not guarantee inclusion in search.[1] Record the request date and check the URL Inspection result again.
Keep the affected URL, changes made, check date, and unresolved issues in your checklist. Resolving a technical access problem and appearing for the desired query must be verified separately.