It isn’t enough to get your website to show up on Google. People don’t scroll through pages of search results to get as much information as possible. The number one spot on Google gets 32% of all clicks, so it’s hard to get attention if you aren’t on the front page.
The problem is that ranking on the front page isn’t easy. You have to optimize your website for Google and convince it that you’re worth moving to the front.
The good news is that there are some things you can look at if you aren’t getting the SEO results you expect. Below are seven common reasons why an SEO campaign isn’t producing results.
1. Duplicate Content
Duplicate content has become a hot topic in SEO over the past several years. Many people believe you can’t have content similar to other websites, so they do everything they can to create unique content that you can’t find everywhere.
Unfortunately, there are some situations when you accidentally create duplicate content on your website. This can result from the category, tag, and author pages posting snippets of content you post on your web pages.
The problem is that those web pages start ranking for keywords. Google doesn’t know which page is the most important, so it’s hard to rank your pages for your chosen keywords. Look into all your web pages to ensure you don’t have duplicate content on any page.
2. Unstructured Data
Google looks for structured data now more than ever. Structured data are website design elements that help you format your website content and help Google understand what your website is about.
It does this because Google now scrapes websites to get rich text snippets to show directly on the search results. Structured data makes it easier to pull snippets and show searchers correct information.
You can improve your chance of ranking by adding structured data to your website and using it similarly to websites ranking for rich text snippets. It may not get you directly to the number one spot, but it can shortcut the process by putting your website’s content directly on the search results.
3. Mobile Experience
Much of today’s internet traffic comes from mobile devices. People globally now use smartphones to browse the internet and get information. In most cases, a lot of your website traffic will come from those devices.
You need a responsive design to create an excellent design for mobile users. A response website will change its layout based on the screen size of your visitors. This means nobody will have a poor experience and won’t struggle to read your website’s content.
4. Slow Loading Pages
Page speed is a critical factor in creating a great experience. Google doesn’t want people with slow connections to have to wait minutes for websites to load. Unfortunately, that happens more than you think.
You can suffer ranking penalties if it takes too long for people to load your website. Google measures website performance, so it can tell if you don’t have a speedy site.
Check out Google’s web tools to see where your problem areas are. You can use that information to optimize your website speed for all users.
5. Search Intent
Google doesn’t want to rank websites that don’t answer a searcher’s questions. Unfortunately, some SEO professionals know how to optimize for keywords and get them to rank. There are times when they’ll do that with content that doesn’t matter to the user.
That’s why search intent matters a lot to Google. It wants searchers to find the information they need whenever they visit a website. Google has gotten good at figuring out search intent, so it now plays a factor in ranking.
If your content doesn’t answer the question a searcher has when looking on Google, you won’t get the rankings you’re looking for. Verify that your content will answer the right questions, and you’ll improve your chance of ranking.
6. Topical Relevance
Google wants to rank authorities on the front page. Search engines look for as many trust signals as possible to determine if a website has authority. How can it determine that when you only have a single page on a topic that barely covers anything related to the keyword?
Topical authority is what you need to build that authority. Your goal should be to create as many content pieces as possible that cover a topic from every angle. You can then link those pieces together to build topic clusters on your website.
Doing this will help set your website up as an authority as you continue to cover the topics more in-depth on your website.
7. Backlinks
A well-optimized website can get you far in SEO, but it won’t always get you the number one position. There is a lot of competition in the SEO space, with many websites commanding a ton of authority.
It’s challenging to outrank those websites when your website isn’t as trusted. Those sites have countless backlinks from other big websites that increase their trust.
Building backlinks will help you build that authority. Look for links from other sites through guest posts and other methods to improve your site’s authority and improve your chance of ranking. You can use a great tracking software to monitor what your competitors do in this regard and build similar strategies.
Never Stop Tracking Your SEO Results
SEO takes time to work, so you can’t afford to not monitor your progress and ignore SEO tactics that don’t work. You must constantly be on your game and learn what other websites do to rank on Google. Always remember the SEO tips above to ensure you have the knowledge required to get great SEO results.
Do you want to learn more advice on digital marketing that will help you drive more traffic to your website? Learn everything you need to know by reading more posts on the blog.
