It’s incredibly frustrating when you invest time, energy, and plenty of optimism into creating a webpage, yet it stubbornly refuses to rank. Meanwhile, your competitors’ pages sit comfortably atop Google’s listings, despite, in your subjective view, being inferior to yours. Your content deserves that coveted spot at the summit of Google’s results. So, what’s the holdup?
Unraveling the mystery of why your page isn’t ranking requires a systematic approach. You’ll need data, industry insights, and a methodical mindset. First and foremost, you must determine whether your page isn’t ranking well or if it’s not ranking at all. This distinction is crucial.
If your page isn’t ranking well, it indicates a disconnect between how Google perceives your content and what users are searching for. In this case, further optimization may be necessary. On the other hand, if your page isn’t ranking at all, it could mean that Google hasn’t discovered it yet or is unable to index it properly.
Let’s begin by using Google Search Console as a simple method to assess whether your page ranks for any keywords. Access the performance report within Google Search Console and apply a filter to isolate the results for the particular page under scrutiny.
Examine whether the page has gain any impressions or clicks. If it has, take note of the associated keywords. Conversely, if it hasn’t, this suggests that it might not be ranking at all yet.
Now, expand the timeframe of your analysis to its maximum extent. Observe the impressions and clicks graph over this duration. Did the page previously attract traffic, but is now experiencing a decline? Or has it never achieved rankings for any keywords?
Determining whether this issue pertains to your entire site or is confined to a specific page or set of pages is also valuable. By discerning this distinction, you can begin to narrow down potential causes and solutions.
Let’s begin by investigating potential technical issues that could be hindering your page’s ranking. This could involve recent developments, such as changes in development, or persistent issues like rendering problems.
To start, we’ll systematically rule out any code, architecture, or other technical complications.
Crawling Blocks
For Google to rank a page, it must be able to access and interpret its content. If a page isn’t ranking, it’s possible that Google is unable to access it. Sometimes, SEO practitioners implement several techniques to prevent search engine bots from crawling certain pages. For instance, they might use the robots.txt file or password protection to block access.
It’s crucial to find out whether any of these methods have been applied to the page in question, especially if it’s unintentional. For instance, if developers inadvertently revert the robots.txt file to an earlier version, it could result in the page being unintentionally blocked.
Indexing Challenges
If your page isn’t ranking, it could be due to indexing issues, meaning it may not be available for Google to index or Google doesn’t deem it worthy of indexing.
You can quickly check if a page is indexed by Google using Google Search Console. Simply input the page URL into the “Inspect page” tool. This will reveal whether Google has indexed the page and highlight any crawling issues. Additionally, it may provide insights into why the page isn’t included in the index.
Internal Linking
Another technical factor that could impede a page’s ranking is its linkage to the site’s internal structure. Linking to a page from other areas of a website signals to Google that the page holds relevance for users. If there are no internal links leading to the page, it implies that the page lacks importance.
Moreover, the anchor text used for these internal links, such as “click here” or “view more products like this,” also provides signals about the linked page’s relevance. The absence of internal links or the ineffective use of anchor text might contribute to the page’s struggle to achieve a higher ranking.
Page Speed
In recent years, Google has increasingly prioritized user experience signals to determine page rankings. One significant aspect is the speed at which a page loads. Specifically, Google assesses three key components of page load speed known as the Core Web Vitals: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
While Google representatives have indicated that these factors serve as supplementary signals and might only act as a “tie-breaker” when competing pages are closely matched in other ranking aspects, they can still influence your page’s ranking relative to competitors.
Google’s Search Liaison Explains Reasons for a Webpage’s Failure to Rank
Rendering Issues
Aside from crawling and indexing challenges, another factor affecting a page’s ranking could be its rendering. In essence, when a browser attempts to access a page, it must render it, transforming HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code into an interactive interface. Although Googlebot doesn’t behave exactly like a browser, it still processes and executes this code.
If anything obstructs Googlebot’s ability to render a page may fail to comprehend its content. You can use Google Search Console to assess how effectively Google renders your page.
- Content-related Factors: When addressing ranking challenges, it’s essential to assess the quality of the page’s content. Is it valuable, informative, and relevant to the searcher’s query? Identifying specific content-related issues can be challenging.
Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on a website target the same keywords with similar content. This situation can arise due to pages covering similar topics and presenting them in similar ways. Additionally, technical factors such as a tag system or products differing only by minor variations like color or size can contribute to nearly identical pages.
In response, Google may designate one version of the page as the “canonical,” indicating the preferred version for ranking. A quick method to determine if a page is considered the canonical version within a set of similar pages is by using Google Search Console. The URL inspection tool reveals which URL Google recognizes as the “canonical.”
If the URL listed as “canonical” does not match the one being inspected, it indicates that Google considers them duplicates. Consequently, it’s unlikely that the inspected URL will rank well, as Google favors another version for ranking.
Although canonical tags can signal to Google which version to prioritize, Google’s choice may override this signal. The chosen version may possess more internal links, indicating its importance, or it may be better optimized than the inspected URL.
Content Format
Even if your content is informative, valuable, and original, Google may still prioritize a different content format for ranking purposes. Consequently, your page may struggle to ascend higher in search results. For instance, consider a scenario where your plumbing website aims to rank a page discussing waterpipe leakage techniques. You search for keywords you believe your page should rank for, such as:
- How to replace a water pipe
- Causes of waterpipe leakage
You observe that Google prominently displays videos in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for these queries. Despite your well-created written content detailing waterpipe leakage fixing techniques, it may struggle to surpass these video results.
This preference for videos suggests that Google perceives users as more satisfied with video content when seeking answers to these queries. Integrating a video alongside your written content could enhance your page’s competitiveness against these video-centric results.
Searcher Intent and Relevance
In addition to content format, the alignment with searcher intent can also impact your page’s ranking. Consider the earlier example: if you’re targeting the keyword “how to fix water pipe leakage” but your page solely focuses on the best materials for water pipe, Google will recognize the mismatch between the user’s query and your page’s content. Consequently, users won’t find the answer they seek, despite the depth of information provided.
Likewise, if a searcher is seeking a “cheap water pipe,” Google is unlikely to rank a page discussing how to fix water pipe leakage. This query indicates a commercial intent, with users poised for purchasing. Therefore, Google favors pages offering products over informational content.
It’s important to consider the overall structure of your page. Mixing diverse search intents—such as educational content about how to fix water pipe leakage followed by product listings—can confuse Google in determining which user needs the page addresses.
Superior Competitor Content
At times, your page’s low ranking may be attributed to its low quality compared to competitors. It might lack in-depth or fail to provide sufficient information to users. In such instances, it’s imperative to critically evaluate the pages that Google ranks highly and discern why they outshine yours.
Language
Is your webpage written in the language predominantly used by searchers in your target location? If not, it could explain why you’re not ranking well, despite having valuable content.
Uniqueness Factor
While your page may offer satisfactory answers in an appropriate format, its lack of uniqueness can impede its ranking. If Google already ranks numerous pages covering the same topic with similar content, why would it prioritize yours?
To address this, inject uniqueness into your page by adding distinctive elements. Providing novel perspectives or directing users to exclusive products can give Google a reason to consider your page alongside those already ranked for the topic.
Manual Action
Manual actions are penalties imposed by Google for serious violations of its policies. They can lead to a webpage or entire website being excluded from appearing in Google search results. These violations consist of issues like spammy content, low-quality material, and cloaking. If your webpage violates Google’s Spam Policies, it may be subject to manual action. To check for any manual actions affecting your website, consult the Manual Actions report in Google Search Console.
- Credibility Factors: Google relies heavily on assessing a page’s credibility to determine its usefulness to searchers and its ranking position. This assessment encompasses various aspects.
Backlinks
As previously discussed, links within your site signal relevance to Google. However, external links hold even greater value.
When a well-ranking website in a similar industry links to your page, it serves as validation from a human perspective, indicating that your content is valuable and relevant. This external endorsement contributes significantly to your page’s credibility.
If your page isn’t performing well in rankings, it may be due to a lack of backlinks from reputable sources. Alternatively, your competitors’ pages might benefit from more endorsements from relevant, authoritative websites.
E-A-T Signals
E-A-T, an acronym for “experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness,” originates from Google’s search quality rater guidelines. It serves as a framework for assessing the quality of content on websites.
This is particularly crucial for pages categorized under “your money or your life” (YMYL), which contain information that could potentially harm readers if inaccurate or misleading (e.g., medical, financial, or legal advice).
For such pages, Google places additional emphasis on signals indicating whether the content is authored by a subject matter expert (expertise) with genuine experience in the field. It also considers pages on websites recognized as authorities in the subject matter and displaying trustworthiness signals.
Algorithmic Factors
When a previously well-ranked page starts slipping into the search engine results pages (SERPs), it’s tempting to attribute it to “algorithm updates.” It’s a convenient explanation, and easy to convey to stakeholders without needing concrete evidence. However, this excuse is only valid to a certain extent.
Even if your page’s decline in rankings coincides with a “system” update (as Google terms its algorithms now), you still need to investigate the issue to determine how to optimize your page better and regain rankings.
It’s essential to rule out all other potential issues before attributing a drop in rankings solely to a system update. Furthermore, it’s important to analyze case studies and impact reports from other affected websites to gain insights into necessary changes to make your page more conducive to ranking well following the update that affected its ranking.
Reasons Your Website is Not Ranking in Google
Your webpage’s failure to rank could stem from a single significant technical glitch or a blend of multiple issues hindering its performance. Instead of hastily implementing major alterations, it’s vital to meticulously focus on the potential problems and systematically evaluate the effects of any changes you make.
The ultimate goal is to avoid exacerbating the situation by inadvertently causing your page to plummet even further in Google’s rankings while striving to enhance its performance.
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