Sometimes, it feels like you’re just working and working and pumping content on your website and nothing is happening. You can’t seem to find the reason why your website isn’t ranking. It can be a frustrating place to be in.
Website traffic and visibility are very important to a business’s reach and exposure. That is to say, you can have great content and ideas to share, but without an audience, these ideas and content will surely be buried deep into oblivion.
Again, getting your content to rank high means increasing your reach and exposure, which will invariably lead to other advantages such as increased brand awareness, lead generation, and higher sales and advertising revenues.
So you might be wondering, how can I make my content rank higher? Never worry. At the end of this article, we will not only be laying out the reasons why your website isn’t ranking but would also be proffering solutions to these challenges.
Therefore, keep reading and let’s help you get that website ranking once again.
Why Your Website Isn’t Ranking – What is Website Ranking?
Website ranking refers to the position of a website in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords or queries. For instance, when someone performs a search on a search engine like Google, the search engine algorithm ranks the website based on various factors to determine the relevance and quality of the search engine.
Website ranking is crucial because users typically click on the top results that appear on the first page of the search results. The higher a website ranks, the more visibility and organic traffic it can potentially receive. This, can, in turn, lead to increased brand awareness, user engagement, and conversions.
The 10 Reasons Why Your Website Isn’t Ranking
1. Lack of relevant and high-quality content
Why should Google reward you with a higher place in the SERPs when you do not offer value to users? You keep asking yourself, why are my blog posts not ranking? The reasons are not far-fetched. And one of these reasons is that you don’t provide value to users.
Google algorithms are designed to prioritize websites that provide valuable and informative content to users. High-quality posts that are well-written, comprehensive, and engaging tend to attract more user engagement. This means that users will spend longer time on the page, with lower bounce rates, and higher click-through rates.
In addition, how about earning quality backlinks through high-quality? When websites link to your content, it signals to search engines that your content is authoritative and trustworthy.
2. Lack of on-page optimization – Why your website isn’t ranking
This is one of the major reasons why your website isn’t ranking. A lack of on-page optimization can hurt your website’s ranking in search engine results. On-page optimization refers to the process of optimizing individual web pages to improve their visibility and relevance to search engines.
It involves optimizing meta tags, using relevant keywords, creating compelling titles and headings, optimizing URL structure, improving internal linking and ensuring proper use of HTML tags.
3. Inadequate backlinks
This is one of the reasons why your content fails to rank. Backlinks are incoming hyperlinks from other websites to your own, and they are considered an important factor in search engine optimization. For example, in the world of academia, citation demonstrates credibility and authority. When people cite sources in academia, it somewhere shows that the original author is an expert in the field and highly regarded.
The same thing applies to backlinks. Search engines view backlinks as votes of confidence from other websites. So, when reputable and authoritative websites link to your content, it tells search engines that your website is trustworthy and valuable.
4. Slow website speed – Why your website isn’t ranking
Slow website speed is among the proven reasons why your content is not ranking. Let’s not get it twisted, we live in a fast-paced world where people want things as fast as possible. Nobody’s got the time to waste waiting on a page to load forever when they can get what they’re seeking elsewhere at a much faster pace.
When your website is slow, users may become frustrated and abandon your site, leading to a high bounce rate. This invariably leads to poor user engagement, lower conversion rates, and fewer visits. Providing a fast and smooth user experience is crucial for keeping visitors engaged and satisfied. So, for website owners, make that website page load faster because slow website speed is one of the reasons why your blog posts are not ranking on Google.
5. Poor mobile optimization
This is another reason why your website isn’t ranking. Mobile optimization refers to the process of designing and optimizing your website to provide a seamless and user-friendly experience for mobile users. Website owners hear this, in recent years, Google and other search engines have transitioned to mobile-first indexing, which means they primarily use the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking purpose.
Hence, if your website is not properly optimized for mobile devices, it may lead to a poor user experience for mobile users. This can include issues like slow page loading times, distorted layouts, unresponsive elements, and difficult navigation. Still don’t know why your content isn’t ranking. A website poorly optimized for mobile might just be the answer.
6. Duplicate content
Another reason why your website isn’t ranking. When search engines detect duplicate content, they’re faced with the challenge of determining which version is the most relevant and authoritative. So, do you know what search engines do in this case? They split ranking signals among different versions, leading to lower rankings for all duplicate pages.
Again, search engines may view duplicate content as a sign of thin or low-quality content on your website. This can affect your perceived value and authority, thereby negatively impacting your website’s ranking.
In other words, one of the reasons why your blog is not ranking is that you’re just churning out repetitive materials.
7. Insufficient or ineffective keyword targeting
Keyword targeting refers to the practice of selecting and optimizing specific keywords or phrases that are relevant to your website’s content. And the inability to do this is one of the reasons your content won’t rank. Strategically using targeted keywords throughout your website will improve visibility and ranking in search engine results.
Start by performing keyword research. Based on your keyword research, select the most relevant and valuable keywords to target. Consider factors such as search volume, competition, and relevance to your website’s content and goals.
Once you’ve identified the keywords to target, optimize your website’s content to incorporate these keywords strategically. Therefore, optimize meta tags (title tags, meta description), headers, body text, URLs, and other on-page elements with the targeted keywords.
8. Lack of proper metadata
Yet again, one of the reasons why your blog posts aren’t ranking. Metadata refers to the information that describes and provides context for your web pages, typically in the form of meta tags. Two important types of meta tags are the meta title tag and the meta description tag. While the meta title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page, the meta description tag provides a summary or description of the content on a web page.
Proper metadata is very important because it helps search engines understand the relevance of your content to specific search queries and encourages users to click on your website in search results.
9. Poor user experience
Want to know why your content isn’t ranking, then poor user experience can play a huge role. Search engines like Google seek to provide the best possible results for their users, which means prioritizing websites that offer a positive user experience.
Let’s say a visitor lands on your website and quickly leaves without engaging with the content or exploring other pages. What does this signal to search engines? Simply put, your website does not satisfy the user’s needs. This leads to a high bounce rate.
To ensure optimum user experience on your website:
- Ensure fast page load times
- Create high-quality and engaging content
- Implement a responsive web design
- Improve website navigation
- Regularly monitor and address user feedback.
10. Newness or lack of authority – why your website isn’t ranking
Well, for a website owner just starting, this is expected and not your fault. Be that as it may, it is one of the reasons why your website isn’t ranking.
New websites often face challenges in gaining visibility and ranking quickly in search results. Search engines typically need time to crawl, index, and evaluate the content and relevance of a new website.
So, during this initial phase when your website is under a form of probation from the search engines, it’s common for your new website to have low rankings, as you seek to build authority and demonstrate your value to search engines.
Therefore, to quickly overcome this initial setback that is not of your own making and go right ahead to build authority, do the following:
- Create high-quality, original, and valuable content
- Optimize your website’s on-page elements, such as meta tags, headings, and URLs, with relevant keywords.
- Promote your website through various social media channels.
- Submit your website’s sitemap to search engines, such as Google Search Console, to facilitate the crawling and indexing process.
Conclusion on Why Your Website Isn’t Ranking
In conclusion, understanding why your website isn’t ranking as desired is very important for improving your online presence and attracting organic traffic.
By now, we’ve established the reasons contributing to the subpar rankings your website is experiencing. However, by addressing these issues and implementing effective strategies, you can significantly enhance your website’s visibility and climb up the search engine rankings.
Ready to supercharge your website’s SEO and drive more organic traffic? Partner with us and experience the transformative power of a comprehensive website overhaul. From optimizing your on-page elements and conducting in-depth keyword research to implementing an effective content strategy.
Our team of professionals is dedicated to taking your website’s SEO to new heights. Don’t let your competitors steal the spotlight – take action now and unleash the true potential of your website!
Meanwhile, this article on branding strategies will surely interest you.
