What a visitor can see
Open the site on a phone, the way a customer would. A plumber in Medina and a shop owner in Brunswick can use the same pass. Read the phone number, the hours, the prices, and the jobs. Tap the number. Tap a service page. Look at the photos and the line in the footer. A customer who needs a plumber tonight and reads hours that say you are closed has the wrong fact. A customer who calls an old number reaches whoever answers that number. The year in the footer is one line on that page. It does not place the call.
What Google publishes about an old page
Google says its ranking systems are designed to prioritize helpful, reliable information created to benefit people. The self check on that page asks whether the content has easily verified factual errors, and whether it appears sloppy or hastily produced. The same page says Google's core ranking systems look to reward a good page experience. The page experience guide asks whether pages are served in a secure fashion and whether the content displays well on mobile devices. Google says there is no single page experience signal. It says Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems, and that other page experience aspects do not directly help a website rank higher. Those other aspects can still make the site more satisfying to use, which Google says is aligned with what its ranking systems seek to reward. Google also says Search seeks to show the most relevant content even when the page experience is sub-par, and that a great page experience can contribute when lots of helpful content is available for the same search. A strong result in a report does not guarantee a top position. On age, Google's crawling notes say that for Google Search, content is rated by quality, regardless of age. Create and update the content as necessary. Google says there is no additional value in making a page look fresh by a trivial change and a new date. The helpful content page lists two warning signs: changing the date of pages to seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed, and adding or removing a lot of content mainly to seem fresh. Google says that second move will not help rankings.
Source: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (Google Search Central); Understanding page experience (Google Search Central); Myths and facts about crawling (Google)
A wrong phone number or the wrong hours
The number on the page is the number a customer will try. If it is an old line, the call goes there. MDN says a link can use a tel: URL for a telephone number, and that a cellular device can autodial that number. A number that is only text is not that link. The customer has to retype it. Put the number on the first screen of a phone and tap it. Google's Business Profile guidelines say the phone number must be under the direct control of the business, and say not to list a number that sends people to some other business. The hours on the site should be the hours you keep this week, including a holiday if one is close. Google's hours help says you can set hours on the Business Profile so customers can find the most up to date hours for a normal week. Google's local ranking tips say businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results, and that if the info is not accurate the profile might not show up for relevant searches in the area. The same page says complete info helps customers know what you do, where you are, and when they can visit. The profile and the website are separate. Match the phone and the hours in both places. A landscaper who stopped snow plowing, or a plumber who stopped night calls, should say so on the page and on the profile.
Source: HTML anchor element, linking to telephone numbers (MDN); Guidelines for representing your business on Google; Edit your business hours (Google Business Profile Help); Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
On this site: How to show up on Google Maps for your town
A contact form that does not send
If the page asks people to send a message, send one test from a phone before you decide the form is fine. Use a real name, an email you can open, and a short note that says it is a test. Then look in the inbox and in spam. A form that never sends leaves you with no message. The guide on a contact form that is not working covers a thank you line that still leaves the inbox empty, spam, and fields that fail on a phone. Keep a tel: link on the first screen so a person can call when the form fails. The free checker looks for a tel: link. It does not submit the form, and it logs the website address and the score, not personal data.
Source: HTML anchor element, linking to telephone numbers (MDN)
On this site: Why your website contact form is not working; Free website checker
A page that does not fit a phone
Open the site on a phone you own. If you have to pinch and zoom, or the text runs off the screen, the page is hard to use. Google's page experience guide asks whether the content displays well on mobile devices. Google's viewport documentation says the viewport tag tells the browser how to render a page on a mobile device, and that the presence of that tag indicates to Google that the page is mobile friendly. A pass on the tag is still not a review of the layout. Look at the phone. Google uses the mobile version of a site's content for indexing and ranking. Google calls that mobile-first indexing. Google says a mobile version is not required for a page to be included in Search, and that having one is very strongly recommended. Google also says to create a mobile-friendly site so a person on a phone can use it. Google recommends responsive design, which serves the same HTML on the same URL and can display it differently based on the screen size. Google also says that if the mobile page has less content than the desktop page, you can expect some traffic loss, because indexing uses the mobile page. Put the phone number, the hours, and the jobs on the version a phone shows. The phone guide on this site is the longer check.
Source: Understanding page experience (Google Search Central); Meta tags Google supports, including viewport (Google Search Central); Mobile-first indexing best practices (Google Search Central)
On this site: How to check if your website works on phones
Not secure, and a certificate that is out of date
Read the address. It should start with https://. Chrome help says a Not secure label means the site does not use a private connection. Someone may be able to view and change the information you send and get through the site. Chrome says the site owner has to secure the site with HTTPS. web.dev says to protect every site with HTTPS, even when the site does not handle sensitive messages, because HTTPS helps prevent intruders from tampering with the page. A full page warning that says Your connection is not private is a different screen. Chrome lists that warning, and certificate errors such as NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID, when Chrome will not accept the certificate. Chrome says a wrong device clock can cause NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID. Check the date and time on the phone, then reload. RFC 5280 says a certificate has a validity period, from its start date through its end date, and that a proper check must confirm that period includes the current time. A wrong clock fails that check on a certificate that is still in date. If the clock is already right and other sites open, the certificate on this site is outside its dates or otherwise not accepted. MDN says HTTPS is HTTP secured with TLS, and that the site uses a certificate so the browser can check it is talking to that name. Renewing the certificate is a host setting when you can open the host panel. The guide on a site that is down covers the warning in more detail. Do not type a password on that warning. The free checker reports whether the address loaded over HTTPS.
Source: Check if a site's connection is secure (Google Chrome Help); Why HTTPS matters (web.dev); Common error messages in Chrome (Google Chrome Help); Internet X.509 certificate profile, RFC 5280; Transport Layer Security (MDN)
On this site: My business website is down or showing an error; Free website checker
Broken links, old prices, and old photos
Tap the links a customer would tap, such as a service page and the contact page. MDN says a 404 Not Found status means the server cannot find the requested resource, and that links to a 404 page are often called broken links. MDN says 404 errors can lead to a poor experience for visitors. Google says it does not index URLs that return a 4xx status code, and that a URL already in the index is removed if it starts returning a 4xx status. A service page that says the page was not found cannot tell someone your hours. A price that is no longer what you charge is a fact a customer can check against the quote. Google's helpful content questions include whether the content has easily verified factual errors. Replace the price with the one you charge now, or take the price off the page if you quote each job. Photos belong on the site when they show the work, the truck, or the shop you have now. A photo of a location you closed describes an older business. Google's mobile guidance says to provide high quality images, and not to use images that are too small or low resolution on the mobile site. Google's local ranking tips say photos and videos can show customers what you offer. A menu item that opens a page not found screen is the longer check in the broken links guide.
Source: 404 Not Found (MDN); How HTTP status codes affect Google's crawlers; Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (Google Search Central); Mobile-first indexing best practices (Google Search Central); Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
On this site: Broken links on my small business website
Reviews and the Google listing
Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance, and prominence. Prominence includes how many reviews a business has, and Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. A reply shows that you value the feedback, and Google says positive reviews and helpful replies can help the business stand out. Google's local ranking page talks about the number of reviews and whether the ratings are positive. It does not name the age of a review as its own factor. If a review names a service you stopped, or a person who no longer works there, reply with what is true now. Do not offer payment to change a review or take it down. The review guide on this site covers what Google does not allow. The info that sends a customer to the wrong place is a wrong phone, wrong hours, or a website link on the profile that does not open your site. Google says that if your business info is not accurate, the profile might not show for relevant searches in your area. Edit the profile so the phone, the hours, and the website match the site.
Source: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google; Manage customer reviews (Google Business Profile Help)
On this site: How to get more Google reviews; How to show up on Google Maps for your town
The copyright year by itself
The year in the footer is a line of text. When the phone, the hours, the prices, and the jobs are current, that year does not send the call to the wrong place. Google says content is rated by quality, regardless of age, and that a trivial change made so a page looks fresh, including updating the page date, has no additional value. Changing only the footer year is that kind of change. Google's helpful content page treats changing dates to seem fresh, when the content has not substantially changed, as a warning sign. Update the facts that changed. Then, if you can log in, set the footer year to the current year so the line matches the page. If you cannot log in, ask the person who can. Spend that edit on the phone, the hours, and the jobs before you spend it on the year.
Source: Myths and facts about crawling (Google); Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (Google Search Central)
A 15 minute self check
Set aside about 15 minutes. Use a phone. Read this list on the site you have now. You can read the services and the towns without pinching to zoom. Tapping the phone number starts a call, and the number is the one you answer this week. The hours match this week, including a holiday if one is close. The jobs, and any prices, match the work you do now. Two links you tap, such as a service page and the contact page, open. They do not say the page was not found. The address starts with https://. The address bar does not say Not secure, and you do not see a full page certificate warning. If the page has a form, you sent one test and found it in the inbox or in spam. If you have a Google Business Profile, the phone, the hours, and the website on it match the site. The photos show the truck, the shop, or the jobs you have now. The footer year is current, or you noted it as a one line edit after the facts above are right. If a line fails, that line is the next job. A failed line is often an edit when you can still change the page.
On this site: How to check if your website works on phones; Why your website contact form is not working
What you can fix, and when to get help
You can fix a lot of this when you can log in. Change the phone number, the hours, the prices, and the jobs. Replace a photo. Fix a link that goes to a missing page, or remove it. Update the footer year. Send a form test. On the Google Business Profile, edit the phone, the hours, and the website, and reply to a review that names old work. Ask the host to turn on HTTPS, or to renew a certificate, when that switch is in a panel you can open. Hand the rest to the host or to the person who edits the site. That includes a layout that still needs a pinch and zoom after you tried the settings you can see, a certificate you cannot renew, a form that needs the mail setup in the contact form guide, and a login you do not have. Leave DNS records and plugin files to that person. One change at a time, then look at the page again. If you cannot log in, and the person who built the site will not hand it over, use the guide on getting the site back. If the page does not load at all, use the down guide first. A new site is the cleaner job when the pages no longer match the business and there is no clean way to change them. The redesign guide separates a fix from a rebuild.
On this site: Why your website contact form is not working; How to get your website back from a web designer; My business website is down or showing an error; Signs your business website needs a redesign
Check the page, or ask for help
If the page loads, start with the free website checker. It reads one public page and reports HTTPS, the response status, a mobile viewport tag, and a tel: link. It logs the website address and the score, not personal data. It does not read your hours, your prices, or the year in the footer. Website Quick Diagnostic is $19, paid once. An automated PDF within about 1 hour with your speed and mobile scores, the top 5 issues ranked, and a plain fix for each. The $19 is credited toward the $99 Checkup within 30 days. Website Checkup is $99, paid once: a ranked report of what to fix on your website first, covering speed, SEO, mobile, and AI search visibility, delivered within 2 business days. No login is needed. The report goes only to you. If the site is down and there is nothing to check, you get a refund. Those checks describe a page they can fetch. They do not update your hours, renew a certificate, or rebuild the page. If you want a new site, ask on the start page.
On this site: Free website checker; Website Quick Diagnostic; Website Checkup; Start a site quote