Short answer: first work out what your "GoDaddy website" actually is: a domain only, a site made in GoDaddy's website builder, or a WordPress site hosted at GoDaddy. Then check that the domain points to the live site without masked forwarding, the site is published and allowed to be indexed, each page has a real title and text, and the site is verified in Google Search Console with a sitemap submitted.
A lot of business owners bought their domain at GoDaddy years ago and aren't sure what's connected to what. That confusion is behind many of the "my site isn't on Google" cases we see, so it's the first thing to clear up.
Step 1: Work out what you have
Log in to your GoDaddy account and look at your products. You'll usually find one of three setups:
- Domain only. You registered the domain at GoDaddy, but the website itself is built and hosted somewhere else, or nowhere yet.
- GoDaddy's website builder. The site was made with GoDaddy's own drag-and-drop builder and hosted by GoDaddy.
- WordPress at GoDaddy. The site runs on WordPress, on one of GoDaddy's WordPress or hosting plans.
If it's WordPress, most of the fixes are WordPress settings, not GoDaddy ones. Follow our guide to why a WordPress site isn't on Google after the domain checks below.
Step 2: Search the right way
Type site:yourdomain.com into Google with your real domain. If pages show up, the site is indexed and your problem is ranking, not visibility; skip to step 8. If nothing shows, keep going. Try your exact business name in a private browser window too. A new site often appears for its own name first.
Step 3: Check where the domain points
Type your domain into a browser. What loads?
- A GoDaddy "parked" page means the domain isn't connected to any website. Google has nothing of yours to index. The domain needs to be connected to the site in the DNS or domain settings.
- Your site, but the address bar changes to a different address: the domain is forwarding. Google will index the destination address, not your domain.
- Your site, and the address stays the same, but it's slow or odd on a phone: check whether the domain uses forwarding "with masking". Masked forwarding shows the other site inside a frame, and search engines generally don't credit that content to your domain.
The clean setup is a domain that points directly at your site through DNS records, with one version of the address (with or without "www") that the other redirects to.
Step 4: Make sure the site is published
In GoDaddy's builder, edits don't go live until you publish. Open your site in a private window and confirm the live version is the one you expect. If you rebuilt the site in a new tool but never switched the domain over, Google may still be seeing an old site, or nothing.
Step 5: Check the builder's SEO settings
GoDaddy's builder has its own SEO tool where you can set a page title and description for each page and guide which keywords a page focuses on. The menu names have changed over the years, so look in the site's settings or marketing area for anything labelled SEO. Check that:
- Each page has a specific title, such as "Roof Repair in Raleigh, NC | Smith Roofing", not just "Home".
- Each important page has a description written for people searching.
- Pages you want found aren't hidden, password-protected or left unpublished.
Step 6: Verify the site in Google Search Console
Google Search Console is free and shows which pages Google has indexed and why others aren't. The most reliable way to verify a domain registered at GoDaddy is a "Domain" property: Google gives you a TXT record, which you add in your domain's DNS settings at GoDaddy. Once it's verified, open the Pages report to see what's indexed and what isn't.
Step 7: Submit a sitemap
A sitemap lists the pages on your site so Google can find them. Most website builders and WordPress SEO plugins create one automatically, often at /sitemap.xml. Open that address on your site to check it exists, then submit it in Search Console's Sitemaps report. Use URL Inspection to request indexing for your homepage and main service pages.
Step 8: Give Google something to rank
If your pages are indexed but don't appear for the searches you care about, the problem is the content. Common issues on small sites:
- One page for everything. Each main service needs its own page with real text about it.
- Very little text. A page with a photo and a phone number gives Google little to work with.
- No location details. Mention the towns and areas you serve, naturally, where it's true.
- Slow pages. Large images and heavy effects make pages slow on phones.
Step 9: Set up your Google Business Profile
For local searches, your Google Business Profile often shows up before any website. Make sure it exists, it's verified, and the business name, address or service area, phone number and website link match what's on your site.
When to rebuild instead
If the site is old, hard to edit, slow on phones and missing pages for your main services, fixing settings may only get you so far. At that point a redesign is usually the faster route. We build on Wix and WordPress. If you'd like to talk about a move, contact us and we'll discuss it in your overview. Our guide to sites that get visitors but no leads covers what to look at if your site does get found but doesn't bring in calls.
Not sure what you're looking at? The free site overview is a short written review of your site's SEO and function from someone who checks these things every day.