Wondering why your site isn't ranking in Google despite all your efforts?
Well, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’ll be sharing with you the 7 most common reasons why your site is hardly ranking (and what you can do to fix it).
Let’s get started!
1. Your Website Is Not Indexed in Google
This should be pretty obvious, right? If your website is not indexed, there’s no way it’ll appear in Google’s search results.
If you made your site yourself you could have a block on search engine indexing. Eco Web Design checks this all when the site gets launched (goes live) so this is not usually part of the issue. Keep reading.
2. Your Target Keywords Are Too Competitive
This is pretty common among beginners who always want to target keywords with the most amount of search volume possible.
While there’s nothing wrong with targeting competitive keywords, it’d be better if you pick the right battle and select keywords that you can feasibly rank for with your current domain authority and available resources (money / time / skill set).
For example, if you’re just starting out with almost no money or experience, then it’d be crazy to aim for the most competitive keywords.
Instead, try to start small and pick easier keywords to go after first. After this, you can slowly expand and target more competitive keywords as your website grows.
3. Your Website Is New
If your website is only a few weeks old and you haven’t created much content or done any link building, then I forbid you to ask why your website isn’t ranking yet.
Because it simply CAN’T.
Let me tell you this once again:
In order for your website to rank high in the search results, you only need 2 things:
- High-quality content
- Powerful backlinks
That's it.
That’s the “secret” formula.
Also, there seems to be a waiting period where fresh websites are held in lower results. But don’t worry - this is just the time it takes Google to finish monitoring websites to make sure they’re legit.
People call this the Google Sandbox.
Generally, it could last anywhere between 3 to 6 months. But, based on my experience, it really varies from niche to niche. More competitive niches tend to have a longer wait period.
4. Your Content Is Simply Lacking In Quality
Most people mistake “long content” with “high-quality content”.
Although it’s true that longer content usually performs better, a 2000-word piece full of filler words won’t help you much when it comes to ranking high in the search results.
So, what should you do?
Look at the top 3 competitors in the search results for your target keywords. After studying your competitors, try to be better or at least match their content quality in terms of length, depth and on-page optimization.
5. Your Website Doesn't Have Enough High-Quality Backlinks
The number of backlinks you have is still the most important ranking factor.
So, before complaining about your site not ranking anywhere, honestly ask yourself if you have put enough effort in building a strong backlink profile for your site.
Also, you need to remember that not all backlinks are created equal.
What you should focus on is how you can start acquiring legitimate editorial backlinks from relevant authoritative websites in your industry.
6. Your Website is Not Well Optimized for SEO
On-page optimization is a big topic and it can get a bit complicated, particularly if you dig deep into all its technical aspects.
Fortunately, our friend at Supremacy SEO has simplified the process with his 80/20 Guide to On-page SEO.
Before you go and stuff your content with every keyword available, keep in mind that over-optimizing your site isn’t a good thing. In fact, it can potentially harm your ranking.
7. Your Website Doesn't Have A Good User Experience
Usability and user experience are very important, as Google’s ultimate goal is to give its users the best possible results.
You can track user experience and usability by measuring key SEO metrics like time on site, bounce rate, and return rate.
If these numbers are low, that means you really need to work hard on improving your site.