In this article, we will discuss five reasons why your website is not ranking in Google. So keep reading.
Did you know that 75% of Internet users never make it past the first result page when googling? That’s right — if a website doesn’t appear on the first page of Google search results, there’s a high chance nobody will see it, let alone interact with it and make a purchase.
Naturally, all that SEO talk can intimidate rookies, so they often resort to pay-per-click search ads. Although they are a good starting option for entrepreneurs who want to gain immediate exposure, ads are needed more than ads alone to promote a business successfully in the long run. The website also needs to rank high in organic search results, providing visitors with an actual reason to stay, engage, and eventually come back.
A few factors can harm your Google search ranking. If your website needs to perform better, it’s most likely facing one of the following five problems, which is why it’s not ranking in Google. Thankfully, fixing them is usually no big deal!
1. Your website Isn’t Indexed
If your website has yet to be crawled and indexed by Google bots, it won’t even show up among search results, let alone on the first page. Here are some possible explanations for why your website is not indexed by Google yet:
Your Website Is Too New
It can take bots anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to recognize your website, index it, and display it among Google search results. After all, domain authority is built over time, usually via backlinks. Both the quantity and quality of these links will determine your website’s ranking.
Your Website Has A “No Index” Tag
When a website or webpage is under construction, web developers typically add a “no index” tag to the code. In some cases, they forget to remove it afterward, thus preventing the page from appearing in the Google search results.
On the other hand, the problem might be outside the code. It’s quite easy to overlook a mistake in the configuration of settings. For instance, if you use WordPress, you might have checked the “Discourage from indexing” box by accident. Uncheck this option if you want your WordPress website to be visible to search engines.
Your Website Has Been Accidentally Blocked
Google bots rely on the “robots.txt” file to instruct them which parts of the website they can visit and which they can’t. If your website’s been up for some time, yet it still doesn’t show up in the SERPs, the problem could lie in this file. It might contain a piece of code that prevents the bots from crawling the website’s most important content.
To check whether that’s the case, you should sign up with the Google Search Console and upload your “thesitemap.xml” file, which will instruct the Google bots to crawl and index it. By going to the “Coverage” report, you can see if any errors have ensued.
In addition, you can visit “yourdomain.com/robots.txt” to check whether the right content has been blocked. If not, you can edit the file via File Manager or FTP, removing the “Disallow” directive for the content you want to index. Still, if you need more confidence in your coding skills and are afraid you’ll mess up the file, asking an experienced coder for help may be a wiser option.
2. Your Website’s Content Lacks Value
If your website’s content doesn’t match its search intent, it definitely won’t rank high on Google. Thus, make sure the content is relevant to the search query and that visitors actually have use for it. The high-quality content will organically generate backlinks to your website. As a result, Google will deem your website credible and boost its ranking.
However, expect to gain this credibility after some time. Building authority takes not only time but also plenty of effort on your part. For instance, one of the most effective ways you can achieve authority is by establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
The thought leadership backlink strategy typically involves two things:
- Creation of “linkable,” data-driven content; i.e., authentic content based on original research
- Promotion of your brand in various media (webinars, podcasts, etc.)
Finally, remember to update your content every once in a while to maintain your website’s ranking. After all, Google search trends change rapidly, especially when it comes to keywords. Keep up with them and ensure your content is relevant for today’s most common search queries.
3. Your website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
Over the last decade, the percentage of web traffic on mobile phones has spiked, now making 55.56% of all web traffic (as of February 2021). Therefore, it’s no wonder that Google has switched to mobile-first indexing, favoring websites that are optimized for mobile. To improve your website’s ranking, you should make it accessible across all available platforms.
What’s more, you should preview every page and test its functionality on multiple devices before publishing it. Luckily, most content management systems provide this option. In addition, you can always use tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or MobileTest.me to find out how your website performs in mobile mode.
4. Your Website Is Slow
Your website’s loading speed can significantly impact its ranking on Google. The longer the page loads, the higher its bounce rate, causing it to rank much lower. Regularly check how your website stacks up using tools like GTmetrix, Google Speed Insights, etc.
Here are some factors that can affect your website’s loading speed and responsiveness:
Web Hosting
Shared hosting is fine at the beginning when your business is small and expecting less than 1,000 visitors per day. However, when your business expands and attracts a greater number of visitors, the resources offered by the shared hosting plan won’t suffice. In that case, you’ll need to upgrade to a dedicated or virtual private server (VPS) if you want your website to run smoothly.
For the best possible experience, go with an EU hosting company. Due to the high competition and willingness to invest in infrastructure, Europe is home to some of the fastest and cheapest hosting providers out there. However, before you choose a host, make sure to browse through the latest reviews of the best European hosting providers before choosing one.
If you’re not ready to take the next step and invest in your website yet, you might want to check out web hosting companies that offer free trials. That way, you can test their services for a limited period, completely free of charge.
Images, Videos, And Files
The number and size of files that appear on the page can also influence its loading speed. Use them wisely to prevent them from slowing down the page.
Plugins
It would help if you were also careful when using plugins. If too many are active at the same time, the server will stay calm. In case you can’t decide which plugins to turn off, consider those that negatively impact your loading times first.
5. Your Website Has Been Given A Penalty
Finally, your website could also have trouble ranking because Google deemed it inappropriate for some reason and filtered it out. For instance, that could happen when it detects plagiarism or the notorious “keyword stuffing.”
There are two main types of penalties:
- Manual — penalties administered by Google employees who have reviewed the website and decided it doesn’t follow all the necessary Webmaster Guidelines
- Algorithmic — penalties that occur when the Google algorithm detects quality issues with the page
Unfortunately, while you can easily check for manual penalties in your Google Search Console account, that’s not the case with algorithmic penalties. These can be quite difficult to identify. To find out if your website has been penalized by the algorithm, check if the sudden drop in organic traffic coincides with the most recent Google algorithm update.
Final Thoughts
If you want to boost your site’s Google ranking, you should optimize it, keeping all the relevant factors in mind. More importantly, make sure to avoid making these five common mistakes.
However, always remember that changes don’t happen out of the blue. It takes time and continuous effort to strengthen your brand and maintain a high Google ranking. Still, if your website is functional and optimized for your particular audience, you can rest assured that organic traffic will come naturally with time.