Why Your Blog is Invisible: Fix Technical Setup & Indexing

 Writer: Exponect.com Team

Introduction: Why Your Blog May Be Invisible

Featured as a cornerstone of my Blogging Tips series, this post provides an in-depth exploration of Technical SEO—the essential 'engine' that powers your On-Page SEO strategy. While most creators focus solely on keyword optimization, this guide, provided by exponect.com team, addresses the fundamental infrastructure required for search visibility. By mastering DNS A-Records, SSL handshake protocols, and Canonical tagging, you ensure that your site’s architecture and server-side configurations are seamless. Resolving these technical barriers is the only way to facilitate efficient crawling and indexing, ensuring your high-quality content isn't silenced by Google's visibility filters.

When I started blog, I faced many issues on blogger and WordPress as well. On social media online fake Gurus tell people create blog and become rich overnight that is totally unethical. It is against Google E-E-A-T and ethical blogging as well. My blog did not appear on Google for 3 months due to a minor mistake of 4 A-Records in DNS Settings. I used custom domain on blogger. But due to a small technical mistake, my readers could not access me for 3-4 months.

I humbly request that you first understand the technical aspects of blogging before launching your blog.

Many novice bloggers have passion for blogging. they think that once the created website for blogging using One-Click process or installation then their websites or blogs will be visible on SERP (Search Engine Results Page) like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Remember! if your blog is not properly set up, any search engine like Google will not read it and you will face 403 errors, delayed indexing, broken links, and many more issues like these.

So, remove myths of successful blogging after One-Click installation on WordPress and creating Blog on Blogger blogging platforms. Many beginners start blogging but give up because they don’t know technical aspects of blogging.

Hence, if you don’t know technical aspects of the platform for blogging then learn these before starting a blog either on WordPress or Blogger otherwise your blog will be invisible on search engines due to lack of technical awareness. As a result, you will encounter many issues regarding technical setup and Indexing in on your blog.

so, this guide is for you to learn and start your smooth blogging journey in the long-term without any confusion and misunderstanding.

 

Remember:

Google is more than a search engine—it’s a filter. It hides sites that are slow, broken, confusing, or untrusted.

 

Note: This guide covers Blogger (Blogspot) and WordPress, highlighting which fixes apply to each platform.

 

1.
Technical Setup Issues (Mostly Blogger)

 

These problems often cause your blog to be completely invisible.

I

DNS / Domain Setup (Blogger only)

As I mentioned in the introduction, I did not know the 4 A-Records secrets in blogging using a custom domain on Blogger. I faced many issues like redirects, and my site was not accessible without “www” (exponect.com). For almost 4 years, I thought that 4 A-Records were optional. Most YouTube tutorials and blogs claim that you only need two CNAME records and that the four A-records are optional. This is a myth and a massive blunder when using a custom domain on Blogger. Without those A-records, your naked domain will not resolve, and you will face constant 403 errors. You must master DNS settings before purchasing a domain from registrars like GoDaddy, Namecheap, Hostinger, etc.

 

Problem:

On Blogger, connecting only the 'www' version leaves your naked domain broken. Users who type your site without 'www' will see errors. This is an issue I faced for the past four years. I started and quit blogging multiple times because of this small technical issue. It eventually becomes a very serious problem that can turn all your hard work into dust.

Problems I faced:

Critical Issues When Only Using 2 CNAMEs

 

The "Naked Domain" Blackout

 

Problem:

www.example.com

works, but example.com (the naked domain) does not.

 

Impact:

Most people don’t type “www.”

 If a backlink or reader uses the naked domain, they hit a “Site Cannot Be Reached” error. Google sees this as a broken site and removes it from the SERP.

 

403 Forbidden Error (Access Denied)

 

Problem:

Without 4 A-Records (216.239.32.21, etc.), Google’s server cannot map your domain root.

 

Impact:

Your site may appear in your browser cache, but others see a 403 error, preventing indexing. Hence, www.exponect.com worked because of the CNAME records pointing to Blogger’s servers but exponect.com (naked domain) did not work without the 4 A-Records. It remained headache for me for 4 years.

 

Loss of Authority ("Dust in the Wind")

 

Problem:

Two versions of your site aren’t connected.

 

Impact: Links to your naked domain don’t pass SEO authority to your www site. Your hard work loses value.

 

Failed SSL Handshake (Security Trap)

 

Problem:

HTTPS requires root domain verification.

 

Impact: Without A-Records, SSL stays Pending. Turning on HTTPS creates a redirect loop, making your site appear unsafe, and Google hides it.

 

Indexing "Shadow Ban"

 

Problem: Google Search Console may show Redirect Error.

 

Impact: Google’s crawler stops indexing new posts because the handshake is incomplete.

Solution:

I

4 A-Records:

 

Add these 4 A-Records in your domain DNS settings:

 

216.239.32.21

216.239.34.21

216.239.36.21

216.239.38.21

 

So, the 4 A-Records are mandatory to make the naked domain (without “www”) resolve properly. Otherwise:

Visitors typing exponect.com get a 404 or “Site cannot be reached”.

Google sees this as a broken domain and may not index your site fully.

Then, in Blogger Settings → Publishing, turn on Redirect domain.

 

WordPress note:

WordPress usually uses your hosting provider’s IP/nameservers. You rarely need 4 specific A-Records.

 

II.

HTTPS / SSL Issues (Both Blogger & WordPress)

 

Problem:

Forcing HTTPS before your SSL certificate is ready can create a redirect loop, hiding your site from Google.

 

Solution:

Wait until SSL is active, then enable HTTPS redirect.

 

III

Robots.txt Blocking Paths (Blogger only)

 

Problem:

Many tutorials tell you to paste custom Robots.txt code. On Blogger, this often blocks /search/ paths, hiding 70% of your site.

 

Solution:

Use default Robots.txt for Blogger.

 

WordPress note:

WordPress lets you edit Robots.txt too, but most SEO plugins (Yoast, RankMath) handle it automatically. Blocking paths can hide posts/pages.

 

IV

Canonical / Mobile URLs (Both Blogger & WordPress)

 

Problem:

Blogger creates mobile URLs ending with ?m=1. WordPress can also create duplicate URLs if multiple versions exist (www vs non-www, HTTP vs HTTPS).

 

Solution:

Add a canonical tag in <head> pointing to the main URL:

<link rel='canonical' expr:href='data:blog.url'/>

 

2.

Indexing Issues (Both Blogger & WordPress)

 

Problem:

New blogs may not be indexed yet. Pages may show Discovered – Currently Not Indexed in Google Search Console.

 

Solution:

Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console.

Remove accidental noindex tags.

Fix any crawl errors (404s, 403s, server errors).

 

3.

Content Quality Issues (Both)

 

Problem: Thin content, duplicate content, or keyword stuffing can make Google hide your posts.

Solution:

Write unique, valuable posts.

Avoid copying or duplicate content.

Use proper headings and meta descriptions.

 

4.

Site Speed & Performance (Both)

 

Problem:

Slow-loading pages reduce rankings. Large JPG/PNG images are a common cause.

 

Solution:

 

Convert images to WebP.

 

Minimize unnecessary scripts.

 

Use caching and a CDN if possible.

 

5.

Mobile & Duplicate Content (Both)

 

Problem:

Google may see duplicate URLs on mobile (Blogger: ?m=1, WordPress: AMP/desktop duplicates).

 

Solution:

Use canonical tags to tell Google which version is the main one.

 

6.

Security & Penalties (Both)

Problem:

Sites with malware, hacks, or policy violations are hidden by Google.

Solution:

Use security plugins (WordPress) or keep Blogger secure.

 

Remove hacked content.

 

Follow Google’s webmaster guidelines.

 

7.

Competition & Authority (Both)

 

Problem:

Even if your site is technically fine, low backlinks or high competition may prevent visibility.

 

Solution:

 

Build quality backlinks.

Share content on social media.

Focus on niche topics with low competition.

 

Table for Factors Needed on Blogger & WordPress

 

Factor	Blogger	WordPress
4 A-Records / Naked Domain	Yes	No
HTTPS / SSL	Yes	Yes
Robots.txt blocking	Yes	No
Canonical / Mobile URLs	Yes	Yes
Sitemap / Indexing	Yes	Yes
Content Quality	Yes	Yes
Site Speed / Performance	Yes	Yes
Security / Penalties	No	Yes
Competition / Authority	No	Yes

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

A blog becomes invisible for many reasons — technical setup, indexing errors, content quality, site speed, mobile issues, security, or competition.

Blogger users must fix DNS, A-Records, and Robots.txt carefully.

WordPress users usually focus on hosting, speed, canonical URLs, and content quality.

Tip: Fixing these issues step by step ensures your blog moves from invisible to fully indexed and visible on Google SERP.

 

This post has been published by Exponect.com Team