Believe it or not, this really happens. Some websites are set up in a way that tells Google to ignore them, meaning clients or investors searching for the exact services you offer are directed straight to your competitors instead. Yikes.
It’s worth noting that there are times when blocking search engines is intentional, like when a site is under development. But if your goal is to connect with more clients or attract investors, this setting can seriously hold you back.
Here’s a quick test to see if your website is unintentionally pushing new business away:
Test if your website is blocking Google
- Go to google.com
- Paste your full website URL, like https://phancybox.com.au
- Press Enter
- Do you see “A description for this result is not available because of the site’s robots.txt – Learn more”?
If you do, your website is being ignored, but it’s a quick fix with the right help.
What to do if your website is blocking Google
If your search results reference your website’s robots.txt file, contact your web developer immediately. You can say, “My robots.txt file is blocking my website from Google. Please can it be amended immediately?“
Why was your website blocked from Google in the first place?
When web developers create new websites, they often block them from Google temporarily. This is done to avoid Google referencing an incomplete website. When the website is put live, however, this setting should be removed.
How do you stop your website from being indexed by Google?
This should be done by an experienced web developer in the robots.txt file, but depending on your CMS and hosting environment, there are other ways to achieve this, too. They can check your HTACCESS file, and if you’re using WordPress and Yoast SEO, for example, you can check in your CMS settings too.
Do you need help?
It’s important to note that blocking websites, pages, or directories from Google can send them the wrong type of signal if managed incorrectly. These settings are best left to an SEO expert and applied by a website developer.
Either way, with the right access and knowledge, this is a quick fix. Please contact us if your website is being blocked by Google unintentionally, and you need a hand.