Usually it is one of two problems: Google has not indexed your pages, or it has indexed them but other pages rank ahead of yours for the words you searched. A quick site: search tells you which one you have. From there, Google Search Console, a check for noindex and robots.txt mistakes, and an honest look at your local signals will usually show the cause.
Start the checksLocal SEO in VancouverOpen Google and search site:yourdomain.ca, using your own domain with no spaces. This asks Google to list the pages it has indexed from your site.
One caution: when you search for yourself, Google personalises results based on your location and history. Search from a private browser window, and remember that a customer in Surrey may see different results from you in Kitsilano.
Google Search Console is a free tool that shows what Google sees on your site. Add your domain as a property and verify ownership. The domain option usually asks you to add a TXT record in your DNS settings, wherever your domain is managed.
Once verified, two areas matter most:
Search Console can take a few days to fill with data on a newly verified site. That is normal.
The most common reason a working website never appears is that it is telling Google to stay away. This often happens when a site is built on a staging copy with search engines blocked, and nobody removes the block at launch.
<meta name="robots" content="noindex"> in a page's code tells Google not to list it. View the page source and search for "noindex".Disallow: / under User-agent: *, crawlers are blocked from the whole site.A brand-new domain has no history and usually no other sites linking to it, so Google has little reason to visit quickly. Indexing can take anywhere from days to several weeks.
You can help by submitting your sitemap in Search Console (often at yourdomain.ca/sitemap.xml) and using URL Inspection to request indexing for your homepage and main service pages, once each. Linking to your site from your Google Business Profile and social profiles also gives Google more ways to find it. After that, waiting is part of the process.
Google does not index every page it finds. Pages with very little text, pages that repeat each other with only a city name swapped, and copy pasted from a supplier or another site are often crawled and then left out.
Ask of each important page: does it explain one service clearly, in your own words, with details only you would know? Pricing approach, the areas you cover, what happens after someone calls, real photos of your work. Merging five near-identical pages into one strong page usually works better than keeping all five.
For searches like "electrician North Vancouver", Google shows a map pack of local businesses above most website results. Those listings come from Google Business Profiles, not websites alone. If you have no verified profile, you are missing from the part of the page many local customers look at first.
Our page on local SEO in Vancouver goes deeper into how the website and profile work together.
If you are indexed and technically sound, search your target phrase and look at who ranks. Broad terms like "web design" or "renovations Vancouver" are contested by established businesses and directories. More specific phrases, such as a particular service in a particular neighbourhood, are often more realistic for a newer site and bring customers who know what they want.
Search Console's Performance report shows which searches already show your pages. That is a better guide than guessing which words to chase.
Sometimes the checks point to a structural cause: one long page for every service, a builder that hides text inside images, very slow mobile pages, or an old site nobody can edit. Fixing those piece by piece may cost more than starting again.
If you go that route, plan it carefully so you keep the URLs that already earn traffic and set up redirects for anything that moves. Our Vancouver website redesign page explains how AIVIQ approaches that, and the Vancouver website cost guide sets out what a rebuild typically involves. If the site needs one clear page per service, a small business site is built that way from the start. If you are not sure, send us your domain and target phrase and we will tell you in writing what we can see.
There is no fixed time. Some new sites are indexed within a few days, others take several weeks, especially brand-new domains with no links pointing to them. Verifying the site in Search Console and submitting a sitemap helps Google find it, but it does not force indexing.
That means you are indexed but not ranking for the service phrase. Ranking for something like 'plumber Burnaby' depends on having a page specifically about that service, your Google Business Profile, reviews and how strong the other businesses competing for that phrase are.
No. Ads and organic results are separate systems. Ads can put you on the page for a fee while they run, but they do not change where your site ranks in the unpaid results.
No. Requesting indexing once for an important page is enough. Repeating it does not speed things up. If a page still is not indexed after a reasonable wait, the reason in Search Console is the thing to fix.
No one can honestly guarantee Google rankings. Be wary of anyone who does. What you can do is remove technical blocks, write clear pages for each service and build genuine local signals.
It is a rough check, not an exact count. It is good for answering 'is Google aware of my site at all?' Search Console's Pages report is the reliable source for indexing details.
Send us your domain and the phrase you expect to be found for. We'll reply in writing with what we can see and a fixed-price scope if work is needed. No compulsory call.
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