A great website is so important for both personal and business ventures. We all spend hours and hours tweaking our websites and trying to deliver the best possible content for our visitors but for so many websites, this just isn’t enough to help them stand out in the massively crowded online world. With so many millions of websites all focusing on similar topics, it is no wonder that ranking near the top of search engine results pages is so difficult.
Many people who don’t have much experience or knowledge of website design and building do not understand why their website, which looks absolutely amazing, does not figure at all near the top of the rankings. There are various factors that decide this, and each needs to be addressed systematically in order to give your website a boost. To help out everyone whose website is not performing as they want it to, here are the top reasons why your website is not ranking well.
1. Technical Issues
The first reason why your website may not be ranking well is because it has technical issues. Google does not like to recommend its users to websites that are not user-friendly so if its spiders detect problems like rough scrolling, delayed page loading, or broken links, it will negatively affect your website’s rankings. The SEO experts at this company explain that the first thing you should do to try and improve your website’s ranking is to put yourself in the position of your users. Try to imagine that you are visiting your website for the first time ever and check whether it is an enjoyable experience. Does your website run smoothly? Are there any links that go to broken pages or are unclickable. Google’s algorithms are very smart and they will penalize you for a technically poor website.
2. Inadequate Content
At the end of the day, a website needs to provide quality content to its visitors if it is going to be successful. You can create a website that works perfectly, has 10,000 backlinks, and is supported by every social media platform, but if your content is no good, your website will not rank well. People these days are always on the lookout for the next big thing. If your website provides boring, unengaging content to your audience, they will just click onto the next website down the list. If you want visitors to stay on your website and to return later, you have to give them something to come back for.
3. SEO Keyword Issues
Keywords are absolutely vital in SEO and identifying the common search terms which are relatable to your site is a huge part of SEO. It is what you do with those keywords, however, which has an enormous bearing on the ranking of your website. There are two major mistakes that many websites make.
The first is to not do any keyword research and so have none of the important words for the Google algorithms to detect during relevant searches. The second big mistake is to overload your website’s content with the keywords in an unnatural fashion so that you are penalized for trying to game the system.
Working with a trusted SEO agency can help you find the right balance between keyword optimization and high-quality content. Even if you have the most amazing content, it is of no use if it cannot be found by your target audience.
4. No Backlinks
One of the ways in which Google decides whether your website should rank highly for search terms related to a particular topic is the number of backlinks to your website, and more importantly, the number of backlinks on websites that Google does judge to be an authority on the subject. Backlinks are vital because it shows that your site is respected and can be trusted. No backlinks at all will stop you from registering with the algorithms whilst backlinks on poor websites will be flagged up as you have just paid for links. Backlinks should be built link by link of quality sites for maximum ranking effect.
Designing an attractive website and designing a successful website are two very different things. What most people don’t realize is that there is so much that goes on in the background which decides where your website is going to rank. Google has more than one billion websites to scan and rank and so it is vital that your website ticks all the boxes if you want it to stand out. It is important to be aware that SEO is a gradual process and so your website is not suddenly going to leap to number one once you start implementing your SEO. Make sure that you address all the issues laid out in this guide and speak to a professional SEO and website design team to help you take your website to the top.