How do I get my website on Google?

What does "getting on Google" actually mean?

There are two separate things here, and they're often confused.

Indexing means Google knows your site exists. It's been crawled, read, and stored in Google's database. This is the baseline. If your site isn't indexed, it won't appear for any search — not even your business name.

Ranking means your site appears on page one (or at least page two) for the terms your customers are searching. This is the bit that brings in business. Being indexed is the minimum. Ranking is the goal.

Most people asking "how do I get on Google" actually want both. So let's cover both.

Step 1: Set up Google Search Console

Google Search Console is free. It's Google's own tool for website owners, and it's where you tell Google your site exists.

• Go to search.google.com/search-console
• Add your website as a property
• Verify you own it (your web designer can do this in two minutes)
• Submit your sitemap — this is a file that lists every page on your site

Once your sitemap is submitted, Google will start crawling your pages. For a small business site with 5-10 pages, this usually takes a few days.

Step 2: Make sure your site is built properly

Google's crawlers read your site's code, not its design. A beautiful website that's badly coded won't rank. Here's what needs to be right under the bonnet:

• Title tags and meta descriptions — every page needs a unique title and description that tells Google what the page is about
• Heading structure — one H1 per page, then H2s and H3s in logical order
• Clean URLs — /services/family-law is better than /page?id=47382
• Mobile-friendly — Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it looks at the mobile version of your site first
• Fast loading — if your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, Google downgrades it and visitors leave
• SSL certificate — your site needs to start with https, not http

If you're a solicitor in Manchester with a WordPress site that loads in 8 seconds and has no meta descriptions, you're invisible to Google. It doesn't matter how good your legal advice is.

Step 3: Set up your Google Business Profile

If you serve local customers — and most small businesses do — your Google Business Profile is just as important as your website. This is what powers the map pack, those three business listings that appear at the top of local searches.

• Claim your profile at business.google.com
• Fill in every field — name, address, phone, hours, services, description
• Add real photos of your premises, team, or work
• Ask happy customers for reviews
• Link it to your website

A cafe in Bolton with 40 Google reviews and a proper Business Profile will outrank a cafe with a better website but no profile. The two work together.

Step 4: Create content people are searching for

Google ranks pages, not websites. Each page needs to target something specific that your potential customers are actually typing into Google.

For a restaurant, that might be "best Sunday roast in Bury." For an accountant, it might be "self-assessment tax return help Manchester." For a retailer, it might be "independent gift shops near me."

Write content that answers those questions directly. Not waffle. Not marketing speak. Just clear, useful information.

This is what a blog is for. Not for company news nobody reads. For answering the questions your customers are Googling. Every blog post is another page Google can index and rank.

Step 5: Get links and citations

Google trusts websites that other websites link to. For a local business, the most valuable links come from:

• Local directories — Yell, Thomson Local, Yelp, industry-specific directories
• Your local council or chamber of commerce
• Suppliers or partners who link to you from their site
• Local press — if you sponsor something or get mentioned in the local paper

Make sure your name, address, and phone number are consistent everywhere they appear. Google cross-references these. Inconsistencies hurt your ranking.

How long until I see results?

Honest answer: it depends. Indexing happens within days. Ranking takes longer.

For a new website targeting low-competition local terms ("family solicitor Rochdale"), you might see page-one results within 4-8 weeks. For competitive terms ("best restaurant Manchester"), it could take 6-12 months of consistent effort.

Anyone promising page one in a week is either lying or talking about Google Ads, which is paid placement — not organic ranking.