5 Reasons Why Your Website Isn’t Ranking

It’s no secret that high-ranking websites receive more traffic than their low-ranking counterparts. And when there’s more traffic coming to your site, you’ll have an easier time generating sales and conversions; it’s just that simple. Unfortunately, obtaining a top search ranking for your site’s target keywords is easier said than done. You can spend countless hours optimizing your site, only for it to remain stagnant in its current position. So, why isn’t your website ranking and how can you fix it?

Too Much Competition

One possible reason why your website isn’t ranking is because there’s too much competition for your target keywords. If thousands of other websites, some of which are established, are vying for the same keyword, you’ll face an uphill battle trying to rank your site. Use a keyword research tool like Adwords Keyword Planner to uncover high-traffic keywords with minimal competition.

Blocked Robots

Another common reason why websites fail to rank in the search results is because they have settings which block search engines from crawling them. Code can be added to a website’s .htaccess file that tells search engines to either not crawl it and/or not index it. Assuming you are trying to capture organic search traffic, you’ll want to avoid adding this code to your .htaccess file. Even if you don’t remember altering the .htaccess file, tinkering with your content management system (CMS) settings may yield the same results. So if you haven’t done so already, go back and check your site’s .htaccess file to ensure that search engines can crawl and index your site without restriction.

Lack of Original Content

Original content is the driving force behind every successful website. Regardless of your site’s niche, it needs fresh, original content to succeed. If the bulk of your site consists primarily of duplicate content that’s found elsewhere on the web, it’s doubtful that Google will give it a high search ranking. Focus on producing relevant, high-quality content that’s completely original.

It’s Still New

Optimizing a website to rank high for a specific keyword or phrase takes time, lots of time. You can’t expect Google to immediately bump your site up to the #1 position after just a couple days of launching it. Google — and the other major search engines — will crawl and scan your site for weeks if not months before giving it a solid and steady ranking. During this time, you should be patient and wait for the dust to settle. Search engine optimization isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. Give it time while continuing to build high-quality content for your website and the rankings will soon follow.

Have any other search optimization tips that you would like to share with our readers? Let us know in the comments section below!