Why isn't my web site found on Google or other engines?

Although I submitted my new web site to Google directly and to a multi-engine publication site as well, weeks later it is still not found by Google or any of the other big search engines!

Also, I submitted another of my web sites to the search engines years ago, and it quickly reached the number one spot on Google for a common scholarly phrase, probably because it has hundreds if not thousands of other sites linking to it (under the rubric of the perhaps oxymoronic “scientific humor” category). It stayed at the top for all the many subsequent years until just a month or so ago, when it vanished from Google’s listings (well, at least the top 200 or so finds, if it’s there at all). Yet that same site is still number one on Yahoo and Alta Vista (while the new site is nowhere to be found at all at any level of depth).

What’s going on? What do you suggest I do, for both issues?

could be a whole range of things. Links to the sites in question might make it easier to work out why.

Could be that the publication site you submitted to is flaking or may have been flagged by google for using inappropriate methods for boosting site placement. My .02 worth, drop Google an email through the links under your ad management login.

They have always replied to me within 24 hours.

My site generally lives in the #2-#3 slot for a local service in a large metro area and I get probably a dozen jobs a month from google searches so I could see this as a very upsetting development.

“Multi-engine publication site” rings alarm bells. If they use unethical methods, Google might spank you.

I do this for a living (well, this is part of what I do). The rules change all the time.

Best things to do currently:

  1. Make sure your site is search-engine friendly. Meta description tags - different on each page - keyword tags (they’re mostly redundant, but what the hell), lots of relevant keywords in the Title tags, H1 title, and first few paragraphs.
  2. Get a Google Webmaster Tools account. Enable the account like it tells you.
  3. Set up your robots.txt file, and create a Google XML Sitemap.
  4. Get listed at DMOZ.ORG
  5. Keep checking back to Google Webmaster tools to find out a) when it last crawled the site, and b) what you might be doing wrong.
  6. Get other people to link to you, using relevant keywords.

Yes a google webmaster tools/analytics account will help a lot.

Google now ignores meta ‘keyword’ and meta ‘description’ tags.

Create a sitemaps file. This is a good tool to do it: http://gsitecrawler.com/

It will crawl your site like a google bot and let you know if you have unlinked or badly linked pages as it creates the sitemaps file.

Not according to Google Webmaster Tools - it was complaining today that mine don’t have enough variety in them.

Sure, I understand that. But I’d prefer to remain more or less anonymous here at the SDMB.

I’ll do that, thanks.

Oh, yes indeed. Not so much for my new site, but for the well-established, formerly number one google hit, it is quite upsetting.

First, thanks so much for your very helpful and valuable contribution. It is appreciated.

Good tip, thanks.

The multi-engine site seems very much on the up-and-up, though. WOT, for example, gives it a thumbs up. It made zero changes to anything on my site. It merely asked that I insert a link back to their site first and validation that I had done that before they’d accept my request.

Well, I’ve got all of that with the exception that my 7-8 pages all have identical meta tags and keywords. I’ll correct that, now, though.

I did all of that yesterday except for creating a robots.txt file. Is that really necessary? Neither Google nor Yahoo suggested I create one.

Now done, thanks.

Well, neither Google’s nor Yahoo’s webmaster tools say they’ve ever crawled my site (although they both agree there are zero errors or other problems with my site). It’s been 24 hours since I’ve done all that. Should that be long enough? If not, how long do you suggest I wait before worrying?

Another good tip.

Thanks again!

Check Google Webmaster Tools again. It’s under Tools > Analyze robots.txt