Google finds a website by following links to it and by reading the list of pages the website publishes, called a sitemap. It then decides which searches each page answers from the words on it, and how far up to show it from how useful and trusted the page appears.

How long does it take for a new site to show up?

Days to a few weeks. You can speed it up by adding the site to Google Search Console, a free tool from Google, and giving it the sitemap's address there. Search Console then shows which searches the site appears for and any pages Google could not read.

How do I add a site to Search Console?

1. Sign in at search.google.com/search-console and add a Domain property for your domain, such as yourbusiness.co.uk.
2. Google gives you a TXT record. Add it on the DNS page where you bought the domain, alongside the website's records.
3. Press Verify. Once it passes, open Sitemaps and enter the sitemap's address, which on most builders is the domain followed by /sitemap.xml.

What helps a page show up for the right searches?

Using the words customers search with, in the page's title, its first heading and its text: "emergency plumber in Leeds", if that is what you are. Each page about one thing, so the page about boiler repairs is not also the page about bathroom fitting. And a search snippet for each page, the sentence Google shows under its title, which says what the page offers.

Links to the site from others help as well: a local directory, a trade body, a supplier, or a newspaper that wrote about you.

How do I appear on Google Maps?

Create a free Google Business Profile at google.com/business and give it the website's address. Google asks you to prove the business is yours, usually with a short video of the premises, and sometimes by phone, email or a postcard with a code. The profile then shows the business on Maps and beside searches for it, with its hours, photographs and reviews.

Should I pay someone for search engine optimisation?

Not before doing the above, which costs nothing. No one can promise a place on Google's first page, since Google alone decides it, so be wary of anyone who does.

How does it work on miow?

Every miow site publishes its sitemap at /sitemap.xml and tells search engines what each page holds, such as products with their prices, opening hours, and questions with their answers. A site is kept out of search engines while it is at its miow address, so that it is found at its own domain from the start; Use your own domain covers moving it. Each page's search snippet is set on Pages, and Site health lists the pages without one.