Carrot website not ranking on Google? Here's why, and how to fix it.
Updated
A Carrot website that isn't ranking on Google almost never has one broken switch. It is usually one of eight common reasons, and most of them can be fixed on Carrot itself. This guide shows you how to check whether Google even knows your site exists, how to find which reason is yours, and what to do about each one, step by step. You don't need any technical background.
We build Apex Vivus, a website and CRM for real estate investors (a CRM is the software where you keep every seller and follow-up), so near the end we show where it does things differently. Everything before that works on any website, Carrot included, and where Carrot does SEO well, we say so. If you're comparing the two, our Carrot alternative comparison puts them side by side.
By Jerryll Noorden, buying houses in Connecticut since 2016, founder of SEO For Real Estate Investors and creator of Apex Vivus. Checked 14 November 2026.
What does it mean when my site is "not ranking"?
When your site is "not ranking", it isn't showing up where sellers look when they search Google. SEO, short for search engine optimization, is the work that gets your website shown there. Ranking is where your site appears in the list. When a seller searches "we buy houses Hartford", Google shows up to five different kinds of results, numbered like the search above, and only one of them is decided by SEO on your own website.
Results marked "Sponsored". Someone pays each time a seller clicks. SEO doesn't change them.
Google's AI writes a short answer and names a few websites it trusts.
Local businesses, chosen mostly from their Google Business Profile, Google's free business listing, and their reviews.
Large companies with thousands of pages, competing in every town at once.
Called organic results. This is where SEO on your website counts, and where "not ranking" usually means you're not on page one.
So "not ranking" can mean three different things: Google doesn't know your site exists, Google knows it but puts it on page three, or you do rank, but below the ads, the map and the AI answer. The two checks below tell you which one is yours.
Is my Carrot website even on Google?
Whether your Carrot website is even on Google is the first thing to find out, before you change anything: check whether Google has your site in its index. The index is the list of pages Google keeps and searches through. A page that isn't indexed can't rank, however good it is. These checks are free and take about fifteen minutes.
- Search for your own site on Google
Type
site:followed by your web address into Google, with no spaces and no www, for examplesite:webuyhousesinconnecticut.com. If you see a list of your pages, Google knows your site. If Google says your search did not match any documents, it doesn't, and that is your first problem to solve. - Set up Google Search Console
Search Console is Google's free tool that shows how Google sees your website. Go to search.google.com/search-console, sign in with your Google account and click Add property. Choose Domain and type your web address. Google then gives you a short code to prove the site is yours. It goes into your domain settings, where you bought your web address, and Google's Search Console guide walks you through it. Proving it can take up to a day.
- Look up one page
At the top of Search Console is a search bar called URL inspection. Paste the address of one page, for example your homepage. "URL is on Google" means it is indexed. "URL is not on Google" tells you why, and gives you a Request indexing button.
- See which searches already find you
In the menu on the left, click Performance. You see the searches people typed when your site appeared, how often it was shown and how often it was clicked. An average position of 30 means Google knows your site, but puts about 29 results above it. That is what the eight reasons below are about.
A site that isn't on Google at all is usually a brand-new site, a page that tells Google to stay away, or a site Google hasn't visited yet. Request indexing for your main pages in Search Console and check again in a week. If a page still isn't indexed, Search Console says why.
A site that is on Google but not on page one is one Google can read, and it chooses other pages over it. That is the common case, and the eight reasons below are where to look.
Why isn't my Carrot website ranking?
A Carrot website usually isn't ranking for one of these eight reasons, the ones we see most often when an investor website, on Carrot or anywhere else, doesn't rank. For each one: what it means, how to tell if it's yours, and what to do about it. Everything in the last column works on Carrot too.
| The reason | How to tell | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1Your location pages say what every other one saysA location page is a page for one town you buy in, like "We buy houses in Waterbury". | Open two of your location pages side by side. If only the town name changes, Google sees near-copies. | Rewrite your busiest town pages with what only you know: the neighborhoods, the kinds of houses, a deal you did there. Google's rules warn against pages made only to rank town after town. |
| 2Your site says what the investor down the street saysMany investor sites in one town start from the same words and the same pre-written posts. | Copy a sentence from your homepage and search for it on Google, in quotes. If other investors' sites show up with the same words, Google has copies to choose from. | Tell your own story, with your own photos and your own reasons. Carrot's own guide lists templated content as a reason rankings drop. |
| 3Your website address is newYour domain is your web address. Google takes time to trust a new one. | Your site is less than about six months old, or you recently moved it to a new address. | Give it time, and run the checks above so you know Google can read every page. Don't change addresses again. |
| 4Your Google Business Profile is thinGoogle Business Profile is Google's free business listing: the box with your name, reviews and phone, and your spot on the map. | Search for your business name. If no box with your name, reviews and phone appears, you don't have one, or it isn't verified. | Create and verify it, fill in every field, add photos, and ask every seller you helped for a review. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. |
| 5Your pages are slow or hard to use on a phoneMost sellers search on a phone. A page that loads slowly loses them, and Google notices. | Test your homepage on PageSpeed Insights, Google's free speed test, and open your site on your own phone. | Shrink large photos and remove widgets you don't need. This is one of Carrot's strengths: Carrot says its sites launch at 90+ on phones and 98+ on computers. |
| 6Few other websites link to yoursA backlink is a link to your site from another website. Google reads it as a vote of trust. | In Search Console, click Links in the menu on the left to see who links to you. | Get listed, with the same name, address and phone, in local directories (Carrot suggests 50 to 60), and earn links from local partners. Never buy links. |
| 7You're competing with ads, the map and big national websitesOn a search like "we buy houses Hartford", the regular results start far down the page. | Look at the search at the top of this page. Count how far a seller scrolls before the first regular result. | Aim for longer, more specific searches, where big sites are weaker: "sell a house during a divorce in Hartford". Write one in-depth page per seller situation. |
| 8AI answers take the clickGoogle, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini now answer many questions themselves, and name only a few websites. | Ask ChatGPT or Google's AI: "Who buys houses for cash in my town?" Does it name you? | Answer questions clearly and state the facts plainly: who you are, the towns you serve, how you work. Google says its AI answers need no special code; the page must be indexed and the best answer. |
A note on number 1: Carrot's own page about location pages says that original content that shows knowledge and expertise is important for SEO. Its location pages are a starting point you are meant to make your own. If your site doesn't bring leads even when people find it, that is a different problem, covered in Carrot website not getting leads?
What does a page that deserves to rank look like?
A page that deserves to rank looks like a substantial, complete description of its topic, written for people rather than for search engines: that is what Google's own guidance on helpful content asks of a page. Here is the difference on a real investor site: Jerryll's post about selling a house during a divorce, as it was on Carrot, and the same web address today, rewritten into an in-depth guide.
Scroll inside each window, all the way to the bottom.
The old post answers one question. The guide answers every question a seller in a divorce asks: Connecticut facts, the steps in order, timelines and pictures. That is the kind of page Google and AI tools prefer to show, and you can write it on any platform. On Apex Vivus, Humphrey, the assistant built into it, can write the first draft for you.
Is it Carrot's fault my site isn't ranking?
It usually isn't Carrot's fault your site isn't ranking. Carrot is good at the technical side of SEO and has taught investors SEO for years. What no platform can do for you on its own is the part that decides most rankings today: original, in-depth pages about your market, and a reputation in your town.
- Location pages created for you "in seconds", by Carrot's own description
- Fast sites: 90+ on phones and 98+ on computers in Google's speed test, by Carrot's own numbers
- Testing and training for investors since 2013, and a free guide to what to do when rankings drop
- Making each town page original, so it isn't a copy
- Writing an in-depth guide for each seller situation
- Becoming the site AI tools name when a seller asks
- Keeping visitors on the page long enough to act
The second list applies to almost every website platform. The difference between platforms is how much help you get with it.
How does Apex Vivus help a site get found, on Google and in AI answers?
Apex Vivus helps a site get found, on Google and in AI answers, with SEO tools and location pages, plus help with the second list above, the part that is usually left to you. Vivus is Latin for alive: the site keeps learning from your results instead of staying the way it was built.
PageForge writes a page for each town and seller situation you pick, like foreclosure in Waterbury or probate in Hartford, with photos matched to your site. It builds a limited number at a time, so Google doesn't see hundreds of near-copies.
Humphrey can rewrite a short page into a full guide for your market, with the facts, the steps and the answers a seller looks for, like the divorce guide above. It costs 60 cents a page.
Every Apex Vivus site is designed around its owner: your photos, your story, your colors. Nobody else in your town has your site, so Google isn't choosing between copies.
Pages state plainly who you are, the towns you serve and how you work, the things ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI look for when a seller asks who buys houses nearby.
The SmartForm asks the seller what's going on, a foreclosure, a divorce, an inherited house, and rewrites the page for them. Humphrey walks visitors through the site out loud. Both keep people on the page.
Apex Vivus checks how fast your pages load on a phone, the way Google measures it, and offers fixes you can apply from your dashboard, so a slow page doesn't quietly cost you visitors.
Nobody can promise you a ranking, and we don't: Google decides. What we can say is that Apex Vivus does more of the work Google says it rewards. To see everything else it does, from the lead to the paycheck, read the Carrot alternative comparison.
Here's what that looks like for a real investor. Anthony Bostic in Augusta, Georgia used Jerryll Noorden's SEO method, put his own face on his site, and is the first result on Google again:
October 27, 2026 · his Facebook post
“As promised a couple of weeks ago, I have reclaimed my throne! I now rank #1 on Google and Bing as I did a couple of years ago. […] As you can see, my face is showing like Jerryll Noorden. He has given the blueprint.”
Anthony Bostic, Anthony's Estates, Augusta, Georgia
What more of his SEO clients wrote
“In that month, I doubled my SEO leads. I made it to the 2nd spot in less than a month.”
Aaron Robinson · on BiggerPockets
“In one month he did more for my google rankings that I have been able to do over the past year and a half.”
A client of Jerryll's · on BiggerPockets
“Within 10 minutes, Jerryll was able to find 8 errors on my website and help me correct it!”
Jamiel Strickland · on BiggerPockets
Word for word, from Jerryll Noorden's references on BiggerPockets, where clients write them on their own accounts.
And AI search is already sending sellers. A month after his website moved to Apex Vivus, Šemso Gagulić sent Jerryll these two messages:
Šemso Gagulić, one month after his website moved to Apex Vivus. Shown with his permission.
A 30-day plan to get your site ranking, on Carrot or anywhere else.
You don't have to fix everything at once. One week at a time, in this order, starting with the checks that tell you where you stand.
- Run a site: search
- Set up Search Console and inspect your homepage
- Write down the ten searches that already show your site
- Pick your three busiest towns
- Rewrite each with local facts and a real story
- Link them from your homepage
- Verify your Google Business Profile and fill in every field
- Ask five past sellers for a review
- Make your name, address and phone the same everywhere
- Pick foreclosure, probate, divorce or an inherited house
- Write the full guide for your market
- Ask an AI who buys houses in your town, and note if it names you
Then check Search Console once a month, not every day. SEO moves in months, not days, and a page you improve today may take several weeks to move.
Carrot SEO questions, answered.
Why is my Carrot website not ranking on Google?
A Carrot website usually isn't ranking on Google for one of eight reasons: location pages that read like copies, words shared with other investor sites, a new web address, a thin Google Business Profile with few reviews, slow pages on phones, few links from other websites, a search crowded with ads, the map and big national sites, or AI answers taking the click. First check that Google has your site in its index with a site: search and Google Search Console, then work through the reasons one by one. Most can be fixed on Carrot itself.
How do I check if my Carrot site is on Google?
To check if your Carrot site is on Google, type site:yourdomain.com into Google, with no spaces and no www. If you see your pages, Google has indexed your site. For page-by-page detail, set up Google Search Console, Google's free tool, and paste a page's address into the URL inspection bar at the top: "URL is on Google" means the page is indexed.
How long does it take a new investor website to rank?
A new investor website usually takes months, not days, to rank. Google takes time to trust a new web address, and local investor searches are competitive. Check Search Console once a month rather than every day, and spend that time on original, in-depth pages and on reviews for your Google Business Profile.
Do Carrot location pages work for SEO?
Carrot location pages can work for SEO. Carrot creates them automatically, and says on its own site that original content showing knowledge and expertise is important for SEO. The risk is leaving them as created: pages where only the town name changes read as near-copies, and Google's rules warn against pages made to rank for town after town. Rewrite your busiest towns with local detail only you know.
Is Carrot good for SEO?
Carrot is good for SEO on the technical side. Carrot sites are fast (Carrot reports 90+ on phones and 98+ on computers in Google's speed test), location pages are created for you, and Carrot has taught investors SEO for years. What decides most rankings today is still up to you on Carrot: original, in-depth pages about your market and your sellers' situations, reviews, and links from other local websites.
Will switching from Carrot hurt my rankings?
Switching from Carrot to Apex Vivus should not hurt your rankings on its own: every page keeps the same web address and the same words, so Google recognizes the same pages and the move alone gives it no reason to change your spot. A site that keeps visitors longer is more likely to help than hurt. The page "Leaving Carrot? What comes with you" explains how the move protects your rankings.
Should I buy backlinks or pay for an SEO service?
You should never buy backlinks: Google can remove a site that does from its results. Before paying for an SEO service, do the free checks in this guide. Many investor sites rank better after fixing their town pages, their Google Business Profile and their reviews, which no one can do better than the owner.
How do I get my website into ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers?
To get your website into ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI answers, make your pages answer the question clearly and state the facts plainly, because those are the pages AI tools quote: who you are, the towns you serve, how your process works and what it costs a seller. Google says its AI answers need no special code: the page must be indexed and eligible to show in Search. Ask an AI "who buys houses for cash in my town?" every month to see whether it names you.
Does page speed matter for a we buy houses website?
Page speed does matter for a we buy houses website, mostly because sellers search on phones and leave slow pages. Test your homepage on PageSpeed Insights, Google's free speed test. Speed is one of Carrot's strengths, so on a Carrot site it is rarely the main reason a site does not rank.
What does Apex Vivus do differently for SEO?
What Apex Vivus does differently for SEO is help with the part usually left to you. It has SEO tools and location pages too, and on top of that PageForge writes a page for each town and seller situation you pick, Humphrey can rewrite a short page into an in-depth guide for 60 cents, every site is designed around its owner so it is not one of many copies, and the SmartForm and Humphrey's guided tour keep visitors on the page. Nobody can promise a ranking, and Apex Vivus does not.
Can I see my Carrot site on Apex Vivus before deciding?
You can see your Carrot site on Apex Vivus before deciding. On the page "Leaving Carrot? What comes with you", type your Carrot site's address and you see every page and blog post that would come with you, at the same web addresses. Nothing on your site changes and you do not need an account.
Everything about Carrot, in one place.
Can I see my site rebuilt to be found? Preview it free.
You can see your site rebuilt to be found: type your Carrot site's address and see every page and blog post that would come with you to Apex Vivus, at the same web addresses. Nothing on your site changes and you don't need an account. Or start with the full side-by-side comparison.
Hi, I'm Humphrey.
Is your Carrot website not ranking on Google? Let me walk you through it out loud: how to check if Google has your site, the eight usual reasons, and what to do about each one. About five minutes, and you can stop me or ask me anything.
Turn your sound on