Why Is My Website Not Ranking? Common SEO Problems Solved

DLL Studios
May 4
12 min read

If your website isn’t ranking, it’s likely due to common SEO issues. Here’s a quick rundown of what might be holding you back and how to fix it:

Page Speed: Slow-loading websites see higher bounce rates - optimize speed for better performance.
Mobile Optimization: Ensure your site is mobile-friendly as most users now browse on mobile devices.
Content Quality: Low-quality content or missing E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals can hurt rankings.
Technical SEO Errors: Issues like broken links, poor site structure, or missing meta descriptions can block search engines from indexing your site.
Local SEO Problems: Inconsistent business information, outdated Google Business Profile (GBP), or missing reviews can reduce visibility in local searches.
Backlink Quality: Toxic or spammy backlinks harm your site’s authority - focus on building high-quality links.
User Experience (UX): Poor navigation, slow loading times, and bad mobile design lead to high bounce rates and lower rankings.

Quick Fixes:

Speed Up Your Site: Compress images, use caching, and improve server response times.
Enhance Mobile Experience: Use responsive design and optimize for mobile-first indexing.
Improve Content: Write high-quality, relevant content that aligns with user intent.
Fix Technical Issues: Audit your site for errors using tools like Google Search Console.
Optimize Local SEO: Keep your business info consistent and actively manage reviews.
Clean Up Backlinks: Disavow harmful links and focus on earning natural, authoritative links.
Improve UX: Simplify navigation, ensure fast load times, and make your site accessible.

By addressing these key areas, you can improve your site’s visibility and start climbing the search rankings.

Why Your Website Isn’t Ranking (And How to Fix It NOW)

1. Local SEO Problems

Struggling with local SEO can hurt your visibility and bottom line. Did you know 72% of consumers visit stores within five miles after conducting local searches? If you're not ranking in local searches, you're losing out on foot traffic and sales.

Local SEO Warning Signs

Here are some common issues that could be holding your local SEO back:

Warning Sign	Impact on Rankings
Inconsistent NAP	Confuses search engines about your business identity
Missing GBP Categories	Reduces visibility for relevant searches
Unverified Locations	Sends weaker trust signals to search engines
Outdated Business Hours	Lowers user trust and engagement
Unmanaged Reviews	Hurts your prominence in search results

One of the biggest mistakes? Choosing the wrong category for your Google Business Profile (GBP). It's the top negative ranking factor. Many businesses pick overly broad or incorrect categories, making it harder to appear in specific local searches.

"Review neglect is, perhaps, both the commonest and costliest local SEO mistake. Reviews are your most persuasive free sales force and a major seat of your online customer service." - Miriam Ellis

Fixing these issues is critical. Below are actionable steps to tackle each problem.

Local SEO Fixes

Here’s how you can improve your local search rankings:

Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your GBP should be complete and accurate. Focus on:

Adding precise business hours, including holiday schedules
Uploading high-quality photos of your business
Posting regularly about news, events, or special offers
Selecting accurate categories that reflect your services

Ensure Consistent Business Information

Consistency is key. Make sure:

Your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is identical across all platforms
Structured data markup is added to your website
Listings on platforms like Bing Places and Facebook are verified
Online directories are regularly audited for accuracy

Manage Customer Reviews Effectively

With "near me" searches up by 400%, reviews matter more than ever. Here’s what to do:

Respond to all reviews professionally within 24 hours
Handle negative feedback constructively
Encourage happy customers to leave reviews
Monitor review sentiment across various platforms

Create Location-Specific Content

Content tailored to your local audience can make a big difference. Try:

Building dedicated pages for each business location
Using local keywords in titles and meta descriptions
Embedding Google Maps on your contact pages
Sharing updates about local events and community involvement

Google evaluates local searches based on relevance, distance, and prominence. These fixes can help you climb the local search rankings and drive more traffic to your business.

2. Technical SEO Errors

Technical SEO mistakes can quietly sabotage your search rankings. For example, over 65% of websites lack basic meta descriptions, and 74% have images without proper descriptions. These oversights can significantly hurt your site's visibility.

Finding Technical Problems

Here are some common technical issues affecting websites:

Technical Issue	Percentage of Affected Websites
Missing Image Descriptions	74.43%
Pages with No Inbound Links	69.32%
Overly Long Title Tags	67.52%
Missing Meta Descriptions	65.38%
Noindex Blocking	50.58%
4XX Response Errors	35.73%
Slow Loading Speed	34.54%

To identify these problems on your website, try the following:

Google Search Console (GSC): Use GSC to detect critical issues such as server errors, mobile usability problems, Core Web Vitals performance, security concerns, and manual actions against your site.
Regular Technical Audits: Check key areas like robots.txt files, internal linking, page speeds, and mobile responsiveness.

"I feel like Google believes they are in a good place with links and content so they will continue to push for speed and mobile-friendliness. So the best technical SEO tactic right now is making your site faster." - Mike King

Let’s look at how to fix these issues.

Fixing Technical Issues

Addressing technical SEO problems strengthens your site's performance and rankings. Here's how:

Fix Indexing IssuesGoogle doesn’t index every page. Instead, focus on creating a strong site structure and maintaining high-quality content across your site.
Improve Site StructureA well-organized site makes navigation easier for users and search engines. Key tips:
- Keep important pages within three clicks of the homepage.
- Use internal links to distribute PageRank effectively.
- Ensure navigation is intuitive.
- Keep XML sitemaps updated and error-free.
Boost Page SpeedFaster websites perform better. For instance, Neil Sheth's SEO agency increased a client's organic traffic by 228% in just three months by focusing on technical fixes.
Add Schema MarkupStructured data enhances visibility. Bill Widmer saw a 15.23% increase in Google traffic after adding FAQ Schema to his pages.
Enhance Mobile ExperienceWith mobile-first indexing, mobile usability is critical. Make sure your site:
- Uses responsive design.
- Loads quickly on mobile devices.
- Has readable text without requiring zoom.
- Features properly spaced tap targets.

"Simple oversights can destroy your machine." - Joe Robison

3. Content and Keyword Mistakes

Low-quality content and poor keyword targeting can seriously hurt your search rankings. Research shows that 58.4% of all clicks go to the first three search results, while page two results only see about a 1.5% click-through rate. This highlights how important content optimization is for visibility.

Common Content Quality Issues

Many content issues stem from misunderstanding user intent or failing to meet quality standards. Here are some of the most frequent problems that can drag down rankings:

Content Issue	Impact on Rankings
Lack of E-E-A-T Signals	Hurts trust and authority
Thin or Shallow Content	Reduces user engagement
Outdated Information	Makes content less relevant
Keyword Stuffing	Risks search engine penalties
Poor Readability	Leads to higher bounce rates
Missing Citations	Lowers credibility

"Content quality refers to the overall value, relevance, and usefulness of a piece of content to its intended audience".

How to Fix Content and Keyword Issues

Improving your content's performance involves adopting strategies that align with both user needs and search engine expectations. Here are some practical ways to do it:

Improve Content Quality Focus on aligning your content with Google's E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). You can do this by:
- Addressing specific user questions or problems
- Including expert opinions and insights
- Sharing original research or data
- Offering thorough and well-rounded analysis
Refine Your Keyword Strategy
"Keyword optimization is essential because it's about connecting with your audience in the most effective way possible".
Use keywords that match user intent. Avoid overloading your content with irrelevant or excessive keywords.
Maintain High Standards With 78% of businesses auditing their content at least once a year, it's clear that quality matters. Your content should:
- Answer common questions
- Include clear examples and visuals
- Stay updated with the latest information
Prioritize User Experience Make your content easy to read and navigate. Use short paragraphs, clear headings, and visuals that align with the topic. Google rewards content designed for users rather than content created just to game the system.

"SEO isn't static, and your keyword strategy shouldn't be either".

These steps not only improve your content but also set the stage for addressing other factors that influence your SEO performance.

4. Poor Backlink Quality

Having a strong backlink profile is crucial for maintaining good search rankings. Toxic backlinks can harm your site's authority and visibility, so it's important to manage your backlinks carefully.

Signs of Harmful Backlinks

To fix backlink issues, you need to identify harmful links first. Here are some common warning signs that your backlinks might be dragging down your rankings:

Backlink Issue	Warning Signs	Impact on Rankings
Spammy Sources	Links from content farms and link mills	Severe ranking drops
Unnatural Patterns	Keyword-stuffed anchor text	Algorithm penalties
Irrelevant Context	Links from unrelated industries	Reduced authority
Low Trust	Links from poorly regarded websites	Decreased visibility

"Toxic backlinks weaken your site's organic ranking".

These harmful backlinks often come from aggressive or automated link-building tactics. Once identified, you need to act quickly to remove them and focus on building stronger, more reliable links.

Improving Your Backlink Profile

To strengthen your backlink profile, you need a two-part strategy: remove harmful links and acquire high-quality ones. Considering that 94% of online content gets zero backlinks, focusing on strategic link-building is essential.

Clean Up Toxic Links Start with a detailed backlink audit. Tools like Google Search Console can help you export your backlink data. Once you've identified harmful links, take these steps:
- Reach out to site owners to request link removal.
- Use Google's Disavow Tool if removal isn't possible.
- Submit reconsideration requests when necessary.
Build High-Quality Links Create content that naturally attracts backlinks. Research shows:
- Long-form content earns 77% more links than short posts.
- Headlines with 14-17 words boost social shares by 76.7%.
- "Why" and "What" posts get 25.8% more backlinks than "How-to" articles.

"Information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles, and directories" – Google.

Use Ethical Link-Building Tactics Focus on strategies like creating ultimate guides, conducting original research, hosting expert roundups, or offering free tools. These methods can help you earn natural, high-quality backlinks.

A great example of this approach is Ahrefs' SEO statistics page, which has earned 5,787 backlinks from 2,282 referring domains. Notably, 82% of these are "dofollow" links, and 37.7% are from high-authority sites (DR 60+). Their success comes from staying updated with fresh data and maintaining top rankings.

"Links obtained primarily for artificial manipulation of Search rankings are link spam. Our algorithms and manual actions aim to nullify these unnatural links at scale, and we will continue to improve our coverage".

5. Bad User Experience

A poor user experience (UX) can directly harm your search rankings. Google now factors user behavior signals into its algorithms, making UX a key element for SEO.

Common UX Issues

When page load time increases from 1 to 3 seconds, bounce rates jump by 32%. This tells search engines your site may not provide value.

UX Issue	Effect on Rankings
Poor Mobile Design	Lower mobile engagement
Slow Mobile Speed	20% drop in conversions
Account Creation	Frustrates 86% of users

Some UX problems that hurt rankings include:

High Bounce Rates: A bounce rate over 40% can signal issues.
Short Session Durations: Users leave quickly, indicating dissatisfaction.
Mobile Optimization Issues: Especially critical with Google's mobile-first indexing.
Accessibility Problems: Sites that aren’t inclusive exclude users with disabilities.

"On the Web, usability is a necessary condition for survival. If a website is difficult to use, people leave."
Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen-Norman Group

How to Improve UX

Improving UX benefits both your visitors and your SEO. Here’s where to focus:

Speed Optimization

Page speed influences 70% of consumer purchase decisions. To improve it:

Compress images
Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
Enable browser caching
Use a content delivery network (CDN)

Mobile Optimization

With 75% of mobile users navigating with one hand, prioritize:

Responsive design
Thumb-friendly navigation
Readable font sizes
Well-placed buttons

Better Navigation

Clear navigation helps both users and search engines. Simplify menus, use descriptive labels, organize content logically, and add search functionality. These steps enhance usability alongside technical fixes.

"Search engines want to provide answers to their users in one click or less."
Elmer Boutin, Head of SEO at Milestone Inc.

Accessibility Features

Accessible websites improve UX and SEO. Key steps include:

Adding alt text for images
Enabling keyboard navigation
Ensuring proper color contrast
Writing clear error messages

A strong user experience not only satisfies visitors but also boosts search rankings. By addressing these areas, you can create a site that both users and search engines favor.

Creating an SEO Plan

Once you've resolved the core SEO issues, it's time to lay out a clear plan of action. A structured approach can lead to noticeable increases in website traffic.

SEO Site Review

Focus on these key areas:

Priority Level	Issue Type	Time to Impact
Critical	Technical SEO & Indexing	1-4 weeks
High	Revenue-Driving Pages	2-6 weeks
Medium	Content Optimization	1-3 months
Long-term	Link Building	3-6 months

Technical Health Check Use tools like Google Search Console to identify and address:
- Indexing issues
- Mobile usability errors
- Core Web Vitals performance
- Security concerns
Content Assessment Evaluate your content to identify opportunities for improvement:
- Pages stuck on the second page of search results
- Service or product pages that aren't performing well
- Content gaps when compared to competitors
- Signals of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EEAT) in your content

"Have the most credible, amplifiable person or team available create content that's going to serve the searcher's goal and solve their task better than anyone else on page one." - Rand Fishkin, Founder, Moz

After completing your site audit, track the impact of your efforts by monitoring key performance indicators.

Tracking SEO Progress

Set baseline metrics and regularly monitor your progress using these key performance indicators:

Metrics to Keep an Eye On:

Organic clicks and impressions
Keyword rankings for target search terms
Quality and quantity of backlinks
Conversion rates for individual pages
Click-through rates (CTR)

Data shows that the first position in Google's organic search results garners an impressive 31.7% CTR. To stay on top of your SEO efforts, establish a consistent monitoring schedule:

Frequency	Metrics	Actions
Weekly	Technical issues, indexing	Address urgent problems
Monthly	Rankings, traffic trends	Refine your content strategy
Quarterly	Backlinks, domain authority	Adjust link-building efforts
Annually	Overall performance	Revise your SEO strategy as needed

To gather detailed insights, use a mix of tools:

Google Search Console for search performance
Google Analytics 4 for user behavior analysis
Specialized SEO tools for competitor research

Keep in mind that SEO results often take 6-12 months to fully materialize. Start with quick wins to gain momentum, but maintain consistent efforts to achieve long-term success.

Conclusion: Fix Your Rankings

Let’s pull together the key strategies discussed earlier.

Main Points

To improve your site’s ranking, focus on the essential elements of SEO. Research shows that top-ranking pages tend to load quickly and feature an average of 1,447 words, emphasizing the importance of high-quality content.

Key areas to prioritize include:

Technical SEO and page speed
Content quality and depth
User experience
Consistent link building

These elements work hand in hand to create a strong foundation for better rankings.

"The serious SEO does not expect to rank on page one unless they've first made a sincere effort to create one of the top 10 pages on the internet for the topic." - Andy Crestodina

Get Help from Media Jay

By tackling issues like technical performance, content depth, user experience, and backlinks, you can set your site up for growth. Professional SEO services can help speed up this process.

Technical Improvements

Enhancing site speed
Optimizing for mobile devices
Adding structured data
Generating XML sitemaps

Content Upgrades

Conducting in-depth content reviews
Refining keyword use
Targeting featured snippets
Matching content to user intent

For instance, adding video content can reduce bounce rates by 11.2%. Additionally, top-ranking websites maintain an average click-through rate of 27.6% by consistently refining and updating their content. Media Jay's strategic SEO approach can help you build a framework for long-term success.

FAQs

How do I audit my website to find and fix technical SEO issues?

To audit your website for technical SEO issues, start by using an SEO tool like Google Search Console or Ahrefs to crawl your site. These tools can help identify issues like broken links, duplicate content, or pages that aren’t being indexed properly. Look for errors in your robots.txt file and verify that your XML sitemap is up-to-date and includes all important pages.

Additionally, check for crawlability and indexation problems by reviewing your site's coverage report in Google Search Console. This will show you which pages are indexed, which have warnings, and which are excluded from search results. Finally, you can manually search your site using Google search operators (e.g., ) to spot any unexpected indexing issues. Addressing these technical elements can significantly improve your website's visibility in search results.

How can I improve the quality of backlinks to boost my website's rankings?

Improving the quality of backlinks is essential for boosting your website's search engine rankings. Start by focusing on broken link building - find broken links on relevant websites and suggest your content as a replacement. Creating original research or data is another great strategy, as it encourages others to cite your work naturally. You can also analyze your competitors' backlinks to identify opportunities for similar high-quality links.

Additionally, consider email outreach to connect with website owners and suggest linking to your valuable content. Producing engaging formats like infographics, videos, or in-depth guides can also attract more backlinks. Finally, offering expert insights to journalists or contributing to reputable publications can help you earn links from authoritative sources. Focus on building relationships and creating content that others will find genuinely useful and shareable.

How does user experience (UX) affect my website's search rankings, and how can I improve it?

User experience (UX) plays a critical role in your website's search engine rankings. Search engines, like Google, consider factors such as site speed, mobile responsiveness, and ease of navigation when determining rankings. A great UX keeps visitors engaged, reduces bounce rates, and encourages them to explore your site longer, all of which can positively impact your visibility in search results.

To improve UX and boost your rankings, focus on these key areas:

Ensure fast loading times by compressing images, reducing unnecessary code, and enabling browser caching.
Make your site mobile-friendly so it works seamlessly on all devices, from smartphones to desktops.
Simplify navigation with clear menus and intuitive layouts that make it easy for users to find what they need.
Create high-quality, relevant content that matches what users are searching for and keeps them engaged.

Investing in UX not only improves your rankings but also enhances customer satisfaction and drives better results for your business.

Media Jay