How Google decides what to show
6 min read · Updated
Google’s job is to show the most useful result for each search. It does that in three stages: finding pages, understanding them, and ranking them. Knowing roughly how each stage works tells you where your effort pays off.
Stage 1: Finding your pages (crawling)
Google uses automated programs, often called crawlers or Googlebot, to visit web pages and follow links to new ones. If Google can’t reach a page, it can’t show it.
Things that stop Google finding your pages:
- A robots.txt file that blocks it. This is a small file on your site that tells crawlers where they’re allowed to go. A single wrong line can block your whole site. It happens more often than you’d think, especially after a new website launch.
- A “noindex” setting left on from when the site was being built. Many website builders have a “discourage search engines” checkbox that’s easy to forget.
- No links to the page. A page nothing links to is hard for Google to find. A sitemap helps, because it lists every page on your site.
Stage 2: Understanding your pages (indexing)
Once Google has read a page, it works out what the page is about and stores it in its index, a giant library of web pages. It reads:
- The page title, which is the most important single clue.
- Headings, especially the main heading (H1), which should say what the page is about.
- The text, including how you describe your services and where you work.
- Image descriptions (alt text), because Google can’t fully see images.
- Structured data, a behind-the-scenes format that spells out details like your business name, address, opening hours and reviews.
Clear, specific wording helps. A page titled “Home” with a heading that says “Welcome!” gives Google almost nothing to go on. A page titled “Emergency Electrician in Newcastle” with a heading to match leaves no doubt.
Stage 3: Ranking
When someone searches, Google picks the pages that best match what they want and puts them in order. Google uses hundreds of signals, but for small businesses the ones that matter most are:
- Relevance: does the page clearly match what was searched? A page about exactly “hot water system repairs” beats a general services page.
- Location: for local searches, being close to the searcher and clearly serving their area matters a lot.
- Trust and reputation: reviews, how long you’ve been around, and whether other reputable sites mention and link to you.
- Page experience: whether your site loads quickly, works well on phones and is secure (HTTPS).
What about the map results?
For local searches, Google usually shows a map with three businesses before the normal results. These come mostly from Google Business Profiles, not websites. Your profile’s category, reviews, distance from the searcher and how complete it is all matter. Your website still helps: Google checks that it matches your profile. Our guide to local SEO for tradies covers this in detail, and it applies to most local businesses.
And AI answers?
Google now shows AI-written summaries for some searches, and many people ask ChatGPT and similar tools instead. These tools lean on the same things: clear information about what you do and where, and a good reputation. Read what GEO and AEO actually mean for more.
What you can actually control
You can’t control Google’s algorithm, but you can make it easy for Google to find you, understand you and trust you:
- Make sure nothing is blocking Google from your site.
- Give every page a clear title, heading and meta description.
- Say plainly what you do and where.
- Make your site fast, secure and easy to use on a phone.
- Build up reviews and get mentioned by other local sites.
A free scan checks the first four in about a minute and tells you what to fix first. Learn more about the SEO audit.
Want the full picture? See what our free SEO audit checks
Common questions
Can I pay Google to rank higher in the normal results?
No. You can pay for ads, which appear labelled as Sponsored at the top, but you can't pay to rank higher in the free results.
Why did my ranking suddenly drop?
Common causes are a website change that accidentally blocked Google, a new competitor, or a Google update. Check your site can still be indexed first. A free scan will flag it.
How does Google know where my business is?
From your Google Business Profile, your website's address and suburb mentions, structured data, and other sites that mention your business and location.