If your website isn’t appearing in Google.com.au search results, it’s likely due to the process Google uses to discover, crawl, and index web pages – a system that, as of December 2025, relies heavily on automated bots and algorithmic ranking.

Google’s search functionality begins with ‘crawling’, where automated programs called ‘Googlebot’ systematically browse the web, following links from known pages to discover new content. These pages are then ‘indexed’, meaning Google analyses the content and stores it in a massive database. Currently, Google Search Console is the primary tool for Australian website owners to submit sitemaps – files listing all the pages on your site – directly to Google, facilitating crawling. In December 2025, Search Console now includes detailed reports on indexing coverage, identifying errors like ‘crawl anomalies’ or ‘indexing issues’. Google’s ranking algorithms, which determine search result order, consider hundreds of factors, including keyword relevance, page speed (increasingly important for mobile-first indexing in Australia), and backlinks (links from other websites). Google’s AI-powered systems, continually refined, assess content quality and user experience. The rollout of the Helpful Content update, completed in 2026, prioritises content created for users, not solely for search engine ranking.

Essentially, Google’s search operates by discovering content through crawling, organising it through indexing, and then presenting the most relevant results based on complex algorithmic ranking.