A recent Brightedge study showed that 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
Yet, many businesses fail to show up on Google in Canada despite their best efforts.
This article will outline the five most common reasons why your business doesn’t appear on Google in Canada and suggest solutions for each.
Through understanding these causes and taking the necessary steps to fix them, you can ensure your website appears at the top of relevant search engine results, helping increase traffic and conversions from Canadian customers.
What is Google Search?
Google Search is a web search engine owned and operated by Google, the most used search engine across all platforms.
It can be accessed through its website or mobile applications for Android and iOS devices. It was first released in 1998, making it one of the internet’s longest-running and most popular search engines.
Google Search allows users to quickly access information from a wide range of sources, including websites, images, videos, news updates, local businesses, and more.
Its advanced algorithm ensures that users get accurate and up-to-date results when searching for what they need.
And it works by users entering keywords or phrases into the search bar of Google Search to obtain relevant results for their query in seconds—whether it’s about local businesses in Canada or international topics of interest.
Related: 7 Reasons To Start A Website in Canada: It’s Cheaper Than You Think
Explanation of Google Search Process
a. Overview of How Google Search Works
Google search uses a complex algorithm to determine which websites appear in the search results.
This algorithm evaluates various factors such as keywords, content quality, and website authority to determine which sites are most relevant for a given query.
When someone types in a keyword or phrase into the Google search bar, the search engine runs through its index of millions of web pages and looks for matches based on the criteria set forth by its algorithm.
If it finds several websites that match this criteria, it ranks them according to relevance and authority.
Websites with more relevance and authority will be displayed higher up on the list of results while those without as much relevance or authority will be lower down on the list.
b. Understanding Keywords and SEO
Keywords are specific words or phrases people use to search for information on search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
In the context of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), keywords are the words or phrases that website owners use to optimize their website content for search engines so that their site appears higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for those keywords.
On the other hand, SEO is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility and ranking in search engines.
SEO aims to increase the quantity and quality of traffic to a website by improving its relevance and authority to specific search queries.
And the main components of SEO include keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and content creation.
For example, if you have a website that sells handmade jewelry in Canada, you might choose keywords like “handmade jewelry in Canada,” “unique jewelry in Canada,” or “artisan jewelry in Canada” to optimize your website content.
You would then use those keywords strategically in your website content, including in page titles, meta descriptions, image alt text, and throughout your website copy.
Optimizing your website for those keywords increases the likelihood that your website will appear higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for those specific terms.
This, in turn, can drive more traffic to your website and ultimately lead to more sales or conversions.
Related: 7 Best Platforms to Host Your Website for Free in Canada
Reasons Why Your Business Is Not Showing Up on Google Search in Canada
So, if you get the keywords right, is it enough to rank?
The answer is no.
Some other factors may hinder your site from showing up on Google search in Canada.
a. Misspellings in Your Website
Misspellings can make your website hard to read, difficult to find, and may even give off a negative impression of your business.
For example, if you mispelled your domain name, people will end up searching for the wrong name on Google.
To ensure accuracy in spelling, utilize a spellchecker or copy editor when writing content for the site.
Additionally, have more than one person edit web text so any typos or errors can be caught before they go live.
This process should also include double checking names, addresses and other pertinent information that must match with exactly what is listed on other platforms like social media sites or review sites.
b. Inadequate Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a must for any business to show up on Google in Canada.
It is an effective way of getting your business noticed by potential customers, but unfortunately, inadequate SEO can lead to a lack of visibility.
Without proper SEO tactics, it may be nearly impossible for users to find your website when they are searching for related products or services.
Inadequate SEO means that not only will your website not appear in search results, but important content won’t be indexed or linked properly within the search engine’s algorithms.
This could mean that you’re missing out on valuable traffic and potential customers who would otherwise be able to find you via their online searches.
Furthermore, it might mean that your content doesn’t rank well against competing websites and businesses with better-optimized pages, resulting in poor rankings and an overall loss of visibility.
c. Lack of Quality Backlinks
Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links from other websites that point to your website.
They are an important factor in SEO because they signal to search engines that other websites consider your content to be valuable and relevant.
As such, lack of quality backlinks is one of the most common reasons why businesses are not showing up on Google in Canada.
When a website links to your site, it is essentially casting a vote of confidence in your content.
The more high-quality, relevant backlinks you have pointing to your website, the more search engines like Google will see your website as a trustworthy and authoritative source of information.
This can lead to higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) for the keywords and topics related to your content.
However, not all backlinks are created equal.
Search engines also consider the quality and relevance of the websites linking to your site.
Backlinks from high-authority, reputable websites that are relevant to your content are generally more valuable than backlinks from low-quality, irrelevant websites.
So the reason why your business is not showing on Google search might be because you don’t have enough quality links coming to your site.
d. Your Website Is Not Indexed
The fifth reason your business may not appear on Google in Canada is because it is not indexed.
Indexing allows a website to be found by search engines, and without indexing, your website may not appear to users when they type in relevant keywords.
In order for your site to be visible on Google, it must first be indexed successfully by the search engine’s crawlers.
If your website has been live for some time and you still don’t show up on Google, it likely means that the crawlers have not been able to detect it.
To ensure that your website can be found online, start by submitting a sitemap of all the pages on your site directly to Google Search Console.
Sitemaps provide details about each page of your site, such as the URL and how often it changes, so search engines can index them easily.
e. Your Website Is Blocked by Search Engines
If search engines have blocked your website, it means that it isn’t being indexed and therefore can’t be found in search results.
The most common causes of websites being blocked by search engines include online content regulations, technical issues with indexing or crawling, duplicate or low-quality content, poor keyword optimization, or an algorithmic penalty from Google due to a violation of its Webmaster Guidelines.
If any of these cause your website to be blocked in Canada, you should take steps to rectify the problem immediately.
You can use the following steps to make sure your website is not blocklisted by Google.
Being blocklisted will affect your SEO ranking. For more information, see safebrowsing.google.com.
- Visit the Google Transparency Report.
- Enter your website URL into the Check site status search field.
- Submit your search to view the report.
If it states there is no unsafe content, Google is not blocking your website and no further action is required.
Related: