Are you struggling to get an answer for why your website is not ranking on Google even if it is still indexing? As an experienced blogger, here I raised several reasons that stop your blog to rank on search engines. Now, go and check.
Crawling is when your site gets found and indexed by Google, but if it does not happen. This can leave you feeling frustrated because it does not mean that it will show up in search results. There could be a bunch of reasons as to why this is the case:
A Gentle Reminder: Why Your Site Is Not Crawled Yet By Google? Let’s Dive In!
There can be many reasons why a site is not indexed, including:
What is Keeping Your Website Off Google
There could be several reasons your site cannot be found in Google search. Let’s dive into some of the most common causes and how you can deal with them.
Your Site Hasn’t Been Crawled By Google Yet
Web pages that have just launched or web pages that a publisher updates may not be found as quickly by Google’s crawlers. It may take a while for new content to be found, and indexed by Google.
Fix: Use Google Search Console and Submit the URL This action informs Google of the existence of your site and urges indexing.
Google Did Not Index the Site
Even though the search engine may crawl over your website, it might opt not to index certain pages, particularly if they do not pass quality guidelines or are missing material.
Fix: Create high-quality, meaningful original content that makes sense for your audience. Providing freshness through repairing content or adding high-quality original content on a regular basis increases the chances of being indexed.
The Site is Asking Google Not to Index It
You can use a noindex tag or directive in your site code to tell Google, “Don’t index these pages.” That is helpful in some instances if the page is still being developed, but it might become an issue when used accidentally.
The Fix: Check your meta tags and robots on site. Check for unintentional disallow in robots. Tools like the Robots. This can be checked by using the text Tester in Google Search Console.
The Site Has Been Penalized
If you violate the Google webmaster guide, you may receive a penalty from Google and your site removed from search results.
Solution: Go to Google Search Console and see if there are manual action notifications. If you see a penalty, follow the steps mentioned and ask for reconsideration as per the provided instructions.
The Site Has Technical Issues
Technical issues like dead links, server errors, or improperly set robots. For instance, when Google follows the links on your site to collate the content to show it in SERP you intentionally make it difficult for them by hiding content with a poorly placed noindex or incorrect directive in the robot.
Solution: Perform a technical audit of your website to pinpoint and remedy problems. Regularly check site health and eliminate any errors reported by tools such as Google Search Console.
Your site has poor-quality content
Google might bypass the indexing of pages that contain low-quality or thin content that lacks value to its users, in return.
Solution: Publish content that is in-depth, informative, engaging, and meets the needs of your audience. Eliminate duplicate content — make each page unique and appeal to your audience as a separate value.
The Site Is New
New sites may take time to be indexed since Google has a process of finding and reviewing new sites.
Solution: Patience is probably your best bet while you work on increasing your site’s authority through high-quality content and getting backlinks from reputable places. Another option is submitting a sitemap through GSC, which can speed things up.
The site had a redesign recently.
When you redesign your website, it is easy to unintentionally create problems such as broken links where pages are missing or the URL structure has changed, affecting indexing.
Fix: If you are introducing a redesign, conduct an audit to make sure each page is reachable and correctly linked. Reflect on the new structure by updating your sitemap and submitting it to Google.
Bolstering Google Search Visibility: Diagnose Heresies – By knowing what the issues are you can work to avoid them. Proper upkeep and best practices consistently applied are crucial to successful indexing.
To improve a website’s chances of being indexed by Google, you can:
Submit a sitemap
If your blog posts are being indexed but not ranking well, several factors might be at play. Let’s explore some common issues and how to address them:
Ensure Your Site Is Mobile-Friendly and ADA Compliant
In the age of most users viewing websites from mobile devices, having a design that can be easily adjusted to suit the viewport is important. Following the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is also important as it makes sure all users with disabilities have the same access to your site.
Solution: Use responsiveness designs to design your site responsive to different screen sizes. Use tools such as Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to find out how well your site performs on mobile devices. Make sure your site is ADA-compliant by adding several features, such as image alt text, keyboard navigation accessibility, and readable fonts.
Ensure Full Link Navigation
An internal linking strategy gives search engines clarity on the hierarchy of your content as well as its importance.
Answer: Ensure the use of a clear navigational menu and anchor text employed for internal links are descriptive This helps not only with the SEO but also provides better user experience since visitors can locate relevant information.
Request to Index the Homepage
People tend to search for your tools from the homepage, and unfortunately, at times search engines will not be able to index even the homepage of the site therefore impacting all aspects of web visibility.
Resolution: Submit indexing request for the homepage with tools like Google Search Console. Which in turn encourages search engines to crawl and index your site sooner.
Check for Security Issues
Search engines may penalize your site if you have security vulnerabilities, and this will affect its rankings.
The Fix: Frequently check your site for malware and ensure you have an SSL certificate installed. There are tools available that will help identify and fix potential threats, Tools as Google’s Security Issues report.
Check for Manual Actions
Search engines apply these types of penalties when a site breaks its guidelines, which are called manual actions.
Fix: Go to Google Search Console > Manual Actions and check if any manual actions are being applied on your site. If they are there, take the recommended steps to fix them then ask for a review.
Make Sure There is a proper robot text File on the Site.
A poorly set up robots. Use a text file that can prevent search engines from crawling important pages.
Solution: Review your robots. Create a Txt file so it does not accidentally block the search engines from finding vital information. Google’s Robots Testing Tool is an example of such a tool that can help you with it.
Check That Site Has Pages That Can Be Accessed
Difficult-to-reach and hard-to-navigate pages tend to scare users and search engines away.
Solution: Make Sure That All Pages Are Accessible in Two or Fewer Clicks from the Homepage Keep a well-defined URL structure and create an accurate sitemap so that search engines can get through your site with ease.
Step 1: Ensure that the Site is Rich in Content.
Content is king in SEO. Quality, relevant content draws users in while also indicating to the search engine that your site offers value.
Solution: Post unique and valuable content on a regular basis to help your audience Use keywords where they make sense and keep your content fresh to reflect current topics.
If you tackle all of these areas, you will be able to create a more optimized site that enables your blog posts to rank better in search engine results.
Additional Tips to Improve Your Website Ranking:
Boosting your blog’s ranking on search engines like Google requires a few steps. Let’s break them down:
Keyword Optimization
Select the Appropriate Keywords: Long-tail keywords convert better than high competition Keywords. These are extended, more targeted phrases that searchers will often use to find you. These are generally not as competitive and may attract a more specific audience.
Using Keywords in a Natural Way: Weave selected keywords into the title of your blog, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout the content. They provide context for what your post is about to search engines.
Incorporate Synonyms and Related Phrases to Add Context This can help boost the contextual relevance of your content and rank for multiple queries that may be related to one another.
Content Quality
Give Insights: Make your posts actionable and provide something that nobody else has. Articles that satisfy readers’ needs rank better.
It’s also advisable to be thorough: Longer (i.e., in-depth) posts usually do better. Make sure your content is thorough and appealing by utilizing subheadings, bullet points, and visuals.
You can also add headings, bullet points, and pictures and make sure all paragraphs are short enough to read. If your user experience is good, it can boost your rankings.
Technical SEO
Page Speed Optimization: If your site does not load fast, then you will lose many visitors and decrease in rankings. Figure out what issues you have using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and fix them.
Mobile-friendly testing: As most users are browsing the site on mobile, responsive design is essential; Devise your site on mobile devices and other varied forms of device for ideal compatibility.
Use Schema Markup: Adding structure data to your website helps search engines understand your content better and this can help you earn more visibility in search results.
Backlinks
Ask for Good Links: A link from a good site is like a vote of confidence. Earn These Links through Guest Posting, Partnerships, or Shareable Content
Add Internal Links: Linking to other related articles on your site will improve SEO and increase the time spent on the page.
Engagement Metrics
Bounce Rate and Dwell Time: If your visitors bounce quickly, it is a sign that you are not providing the right content. Post things that require direct interactions with you in order to keep them on your page longer.
Engage with your audience: Ask readers to Comment, Share your posts, and interact with the content. Which can help drive user interaction and indicate to search engines your content is a part of.
Competitor Analysis
Analyze High-Performing Posts: Find out what posts in your niche perform well. Look into their content structure, keyword use, and backlink profiles as well.
Spot content gaps: Search for topics that your competitors lack in coverage, and cover those areas with your content. Something extra can be the difference maker.
Regular Updates
Update Old Articles: This gives an opportunity to keep a constant update on your current content through linking, keywords, and info — something like this. This will tell the search engines that your site is alive and relevant.
Be consistent: Posting regularly keeps your site alive and provides others a purpose to return.
So, by implementing these tricks you can make your blog reach many readers.