Why Your New Domain Isn't Showing Up in Search Results (And How to Fix It)

It's happened to every website owner at least once. You spend weeks building your site, finally launch it on a brand new domain, and then... crickets. Type your domain into Google and you get zero results. Panic sets in. Did you do something wrong? Is your site banned? Is your hosting broken?

Take a deep breath. In most cases, this is completely normal. New domains don't appear in search results immediately. But there are several reasons why this happens, and understanding them will help you fix the issue faster.

The Two Main Culprits

1. DNS Propagation Delays

When you register a new domain or change nameservers, the changes don't happen instantly worldwide. DNS (Domain Name System) records need to "propagate" across thousands of DNS servers globally. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours.

During this propagation period, some people can access your site while others can't. Google's crawlers might try to visit your domain and get an error because the DNS hasn't propagated to their location yet. When they can't reach your site, they certainly can't index it.

2. Google Indexing Delay

Even after DNS propagates perfectly, Google doesn't index sites instantly. Search engines need to discover your site, crawl it, and evaluate the content before adding it to search results. For a brand new domain with no backlinks, this discovery process can take days or even weeks.

Think of it like moving to a new neighborhood. Just because you've unpacked doesn't mean everyone knows you live there yet. Google needs to find out your site exists before it can show it in search results.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Step 1: Verify DNS Is Working

First, confirm your domain actually resolves to your server. Open a terminal and run:

You should see an IP address returned. If you get an error or no result, DNS isn't configured correctly yet.

Even better, use our DNS Propagation Checker to test from multiple locations worldwide. Just because it works for you doesn't mean it works everywhere—especially where Google's crawlers are located.

Step 2: Check If Your Site Loads

Type your domain into a browser (use incognito mode to avoid cache issues). Does your site load? If not, you have a DNS or hosting problem, not an indexing problem.

If you get SSL certificate errors, expired certificates, or "connection refused" errors, fix those first. Google won't index a site it can't access reliably.

Step 3: Verify Google Can Access Your Site

Even if your site loads for you, is it accessible to Google? Check for:

• Robots.txt blocking all crawlers
• Noindex meta tags in your HTML
• Password protection or authentication walls
• IP restrictions that block Google's crawlers

Test your robots.txt with our Robots.txt Validator to ensure you're not accidentally blocking search engines.

Step 4: Check Google Search Console

If you haven't already, add your site to Google Search Console. This free tool shows you exactly what Google sees when it crawls your site.

Look for crawl errors, indexing issues, or security problems. Search Console will tell you if Google can't access your site and why.

How to Speed Up Indexing

1. Submit Your Sitemap

Don't wait for Google to discover your pages organically. Create an XML sitemap and submit it through Google Search Console. This gives Google a complete list of all your pages and tells them exactly what content you want indexed.

2. Request Indexing

In Google Search Console, use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing for important pages. Google will prioritize crawling these URLs. You can request indexing for up to a few URLs per day.

3. Build Quality Backlinks

One of the fastest ways to get indexed is to get links from already-indexed sites. When Google crawls those sites and finds links to yours, it follows them and discovers your content.

Even a single link from a well-established site can dramatically speed up discovery. Try:

• Sharing your site on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit)
• Submitting to relevant directories
• Guest posting on established blogs in your niche
• Reaching out to industry publications or news sites

4. Create Fresh, Valuable Content

Google prioritizes sites with regular, high-quality content. Don't launch with just a homepage and "About" page. Have at least 10-15 pieces of substantial content ready at launch.

More content means more pages for Google to index, more keywords to rank for, and more reasons for people to link to your site.

5. Fix Technical Issues Fast

Technical problems slow or prevent indexing. Monitor your site continuously with tools like our Website Monitor. Get instant alerts if your site goes down, SSL certificates expire, or other issues arise.

Every hour your site is down or inaccessible is time Google can't crawl and index your content.

Common Mistakes That Delay Indexing

1. Incorrect Robots.txt Configuration

The most common mistake: accidentally blocking all search engines. Check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt.

Use our Robots.txt Validator to check if your configuration is correct and not accidentally blocking search engines.

2. Noindex Meta Tags

Sometimes developers add noindex tags during development and forget to remove them at launch. Check your HTML source:

This tells Google "don't index this page." Remove it or change to:

3. DNS Configuration Errors

Misconfigured DNS is surprisingly common. Your A record might point to the wrong IP, or you're missing necessary records like AAAA (IPv6) or CNAME records for www vs non-www.

Test thoroughly with our DNS Propagation Checker. It shows you exactly what DNS records are set and where they've propagated.

4. Not Setting Up HTTPS Properly

In 2025, Google heavily prioritizes HTTPS sites. If your site only works on HTTP or has SSL certificate issues, indexing will be significantly delayed.

Run your domain through our SSL Checker to verify your certificate is valid, properly configured, and not expiring soon.

How Long Does It Really Take?

Let's be realistic about timelines:

• DNS Propagation: 5 minutes to 48 hours (usually complete within 24 hours)
• Initial Discovery: 1-7 days after DNS propagates
• First Indexing: 3-14 days after discovery
• Ranking in Search: 2-6 months for competitive keywords

These are ballpark figures. High-quality sites with good backlinks get indexed faster. Sites with technical problems or thin content take longer.

What to Do Right Now

If your new domain isn't showing up in search results, follow this checklist:

1. Verify DNS propagation: Use our DNS checker to confirm your domain resolves worldwide
2. Check robots.txt: Make sure you're not blocking search engines with our validator tool
3. Verify SSL: Ensure HTTPS works properly with our SSL checker
4. Set up monitoring: Get instant alerts for downtime or issues with website monitoring
5. Submit to Google Search Console: Add your sitemap and request indexing
6. Create quality content: Give Google reasons to index and rank your pages
7. Build initial backlinks: Share your site to help Google discover it faster

Conclusion

New domains take time to appear in search results—that's just how it works. But you can dramatically speed up the process by ensuring DNS propagates correctly, fixing technical issues immediately, and giving Google clear signals about your content.

Most importantly, use the right tools to diagnose problems quickly. Our free DNS Propagation Checker, SSL Checker, and Robots.txt Validator help you catch issues before they delay indexing.