Why Is My Website Not Ranking? 16 Common Issues & Fixes

Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO ensures that search engines can crawl, index, and understand your site effectively. If there are issues at the technical level, your website may not appear in search results, regardless of how great your content is.

1) Site or Page Is New to Search Engine Crawlers

Google doesn’t rank new sites and pages instantly. 

If your website or page just launched, it takes time for search engines to crawl, index, and rank it. Google needs to recognize your site as a credible source before it starts showing it to users in search results.

Solution

• Submit your site to Google Search Console to speed up indexing.
• Create and submit an XML sitemap so Google can understand your site’s structure.
• Share your content across social media and industry platforms to encourage crawling and brand awareness.
• Build backlinks to your website from credible sources to establish authority and improve ranking chances.
• Regularly update your site with fresh content to keep search engines engaged.

2) Indexing Issues

If Google can’t index your site, it won’t show up in search results. Having your website recognized and included in Google's index is crucial for visibility. This can happen due to:

• Noindex tags: If your pages have noindex tags, they tell search engines not to index them.
• Robots.txt blocking search engines: If your robots.txt file is misconfigured, it may prevent Google from crawling key pages. Additionally, ensure that your website settings do not discourage search engines from indexing the site.
• Crawl budget mismanagement: Large sites may use up their crawl budget on unimportant pages, leaving important pages unindexed.
• Poor sitemap configuration: While a sitemap is not required for indexing, it helps Google understand your site’s structure and ensures key pages are crawled efficiently.
• Broken links and 404 errors: These can create a poor user experience and make search engines devalue your site.
• Server issues (5xx errors): If your site frequently has server downtime, Google may struggle to access your pages.

Solution

• Identify any indexing issues in Google Search Console. One way is to use the URL Inspection tool to check if your pages are indexed.
• Remove unnecessary noindex tags from important pages.
• Ensure your robots.txt file isn’t blocking essential content.
• Optimize your crawl budget by prioritizing high-value pages and using canonical tags for duplicates.
• Fix broken links and ensure all internal links lead to relevant content.
• Resolve server issues by checking your hosting provider and monitoring downtime with tools like UptimeRobot.

3) Poor Website Speed

A slow website doesn’t just frustrate users. It also signals to Google that your site isn’t providing a great experience, and UX and SEO go hand in hand.

Google considers page speed a ranking factor, and slow-loading sites can suffer in rankings, especially on mobile.

Solution

• Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze your site speed and identify problem areas.
• Optimize images by compressing them without sacrificing quality (use tools like TinyPNG or WebP formats).
• Enable lazy loading so images and videos load only when needed.
• Use a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute content efficiently and improve load times globally.
• Minimize JavaScript and CSS files using tools like Autoptimize or WP Rocket.
• Upgrade to a high-performance hosting provider that supports faster load times.

4) Mobile-Friendliness Problems

Google follows a mobile-first indexing approach, meaning if your site isn’t optimized for mobile, it’s going to struggle. Mobile usability issues can cause a drop in rankings and user engagement.

You can check how your site performs on mobile using Google’s free tool PageSpeed Insights:

Solution

• Use PageSpeed Insights to see how your site performs on mobile devices.
• Ensure text is readable without zooming and content is easily accessible.
• Optimize images and videos for mobile viewing.
• Avoid intrusive pop-ups that hinder navigation.
• Implement responsive design so your website adjusts across different screen sizes.
• Improve mobile load times by using accelerated mobile pages (AMP) where applicable.

Linking Issues

Links, both internal and external, are critical for SEO as they help search engines understand the relationships between pages and establish site authority.

Ensuring proper linking is essential for maintaining search engine visibility, as issues like a lack of backlinks or missing internal links can prevent search engines from indexing your content effectively.

Without a strong linking strategy, your website may struggle to rank competitively, and valuable content might not receive the visibility it deserves.

5) Poor Backlink Quality

Backlinks act as votes of confidence from other websites. You can think of them as referrals, with which one site vouches for another.

While we generally want backlinks, not all of them are created equal.

Spammy or irrelevant backlinks can actually hurt your rankings instead of helping them. If your website has a lot of low-quality or toxic backlinks, search engines might even penalize your site or, at the very least, be reluctant about showing it to users, which negatively impacts your search rankings.

Additionally, the recent leak of internal Google documentation confirmed that link relevancy matters, too. In fact, Google likely ignores backlinks from irrelevant sources, so having such links is almost like having none at all.

Solution

• Use Google Search Console or link building tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to audit your backlink profile.
• Identify and disavow low-quality or spammy links to prevent them from hurting your rankings. You can do so using Google’s disavow tool.
• Focus on earning high-quality backlinks from reputable websites through guest posting, partnerships, and industry collaborations.
• If you decide to buy backlinks, work with reputable providers (like us).
• Avoid building links on spammy websites.

6) Lack of Backlinks

As mentioned, backlinks act as referrals. If your site has none or few, especially compared to your competitors, your website's ranking will likely struggle.

You can estimate how many backlinks you’d need using tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz. These tools analyze your competitors’ backlinks and help you gauge the number and quality of links required to stay competitive.

To get an estimate, analyze the keyword you’d like to rank for.

The tool you use will estimate how many referring domains you’ll need to rank for that keyword based on its difficulty.

The more difficult a keyword is, the more high-quality your referring domains should be.

Alternatively, you can see how many backlinks point to your competitors’ websites by analyzing domains rather than specific keywords.

Enter your competitors’ URLs into one of these tools and you’ll see an estimate of their backlinks and referring domains:

Solution

• Build relationships with industry leaders and bloggers to earn backlinks naturally.
• Publish guest posts on authoritative sites in your industry to gain exposure and credibility.
• Create link-worthy content like in-depth guides, research studies, and infographics that people want to share.
• Use media inquiry sites to get featured in articles and earn authoritative backlinks.
• Purchase backlinks on high-authority domains. If you want to work with a link building agency for this, contact us. 

7) Missing Internal Links

Internal links help search engines understand the structure of your website and distribute ranking power across pages. There are two main ways in which internal links can impact your site.

Firstly, if you don’t have enough internal links, search engines may struggle to prioritize your most important pages, and users may find it difficult to navigate your site effectively. 

And as we’ll see in a moment, bad UX can negatively impact SEO and your rankings.

Secondly, search engines may struggle to ‘find’ pages you haven’t built internal links to. 

It can take them longer to identify and index them, or even understand what they’re about, leading to lower or no rankings at all.

You can check if your site has any orphan pages using tools like Ahrefs’ Site Audit.

Solution

• Add internal links to relevant pages to guide users and improve search engine indexing.
• Use descriptive anchor text that gives context about the linked page.
• Ensure that your most important pages (like service pages, cornerstone content, and high-value blog posts) receive internal links from other relevant pages.
• Regularly audit your site for orphaned pages (pages with no internal links) and integrate them into your content strategy.
• Avoid excessive linking—keep links relevant and user-friendly.

Content Issues

Content is one of the most crucial factors in SEO rankings. Even if your site is technically sound, poor-quality or unoptimized content can prevent you from achieving high rankings.

8) Lack of Optimization in Meta Descriptions

Even if your content is valuable, it won’t rank well if it’s not optimized properly for search engines and users. Understanding search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial to ensure that your content meets the necessary standards for higher rankings and visibility.

Missing or poorly implemented keywords, improper heading structures, and weak metadata can all lead to underperformance.

Solution

• Conduct keyword research and integrate relevant terms naturally throughout your content. Content optimization tools, like Frase and SurferSEO, can guide your efforts.
• Optimize meta titles and descriptions to improve click-through rates. If you can do so naturally, add your target keywords here as well.
• Use proper header structures (H1, H2, H3) to organize content and make it easier to read.
• Ensure images have descriptive alt text for accessibility and SEO benefits.

9) Low-Quality Content

Thin, duplicate, or poorly written content won't help your rankings. Google prioritizes high-quality, valuable content that answers user queries effectively. Additionally, it may not rank duplicate content at all.

Solution

• Create in-depth, well-researched content that provides real value to users.
• Support your arguments with high-authority external sources.
• Weave in your target keywords, but avoid keyword stuffing.
• Use a mix of text, images, videos, and infographics to enhance user experience.
• Run content audits to identify and remove duplicate or thin content.

10) Quality Content, High Competition

Your content can be well-optimized and high-quality but still not rank if you’re competing with industry giants for competitive keywords.

Brands that usually have the upper hand include those with:

• A strong backlink profile
• A well-established reputation and brand recognition
• Large marketing budgets for paid promotions and PR
• A strong social media presence and engaged audience
• Domains older than yours and a history of consistent content publishing

To compete with and eventually outrank fierce competitors, you’ll likely need to employ additional strategies besides writing high-quality content.

Solution

• Target long-tail keywords with less competition but high relevancy.
• Identify gaps in competitor content and provide more depth, better insights, or fresh perspectives.
• Build authority by securing high-quality backlinks and improving your domain trust.

11) Outdated Content

It’s no secret that fresh content has priority in the SERPs—Google announced its Freshness Algorithm all the way back in 2011.

The TL;DR is that Google typically prioritizes fresh over old content, as old content can become irrelevant and inaccurate over time. This is especially true for seasonal and any time-sensitive content.

For example, we recently updated our old blog post, originally written in 2021, for 2025 to keep it relevant. 

Solution

• Regularly update existing content with new statistics, insights, and relevant information.
• Repurpose older content into new formats such as videos, podcasts, or infographics.
• Improve outdated blog posts with better visuals, case studies, and internal links.
• Update time-sensitive content to reflect the latest information and relevance.

UX Issues

User experience (UX) directly impacts how visitors engage with your site.

Search engine crawlers play a crucial role in indexing pages, and UX issues can affect their ability to access and rank your content effectively.

If your website is difficult to navigate or has a high bounce rate, for example, Google may interpret this as a sign that your content isn’t valuable or that users just don’t like your site.

This can hurt your rankings.

12) High Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is not a direct ranking factor, but it can indicate poor user experience. This may, in turn, suggest that users don’t find your content valuable or relevant and impact your rankings.

Ideally, users would:

• Stick around on your website for longer after they land on it from the SERPs 
• Visit other pages on your website. 

So, to improve your rankings, try to implement changes that could encourage these scenarios.

Solution

• Improve your page design and readability for better engagement.
• Use compelling headlines and introductions to hook readers.
• Ensure fast load times to reduce user frustration.
• Add internal links to keep visitors exploring your site.

13) Confusing Website Navigation

Website navigation alone does not directly affect rankings, but poor navigation can still lead to low engagement and high bounce rates. These, again, may indirectly impact SEO.

Solution

• Simplify your menu structure so users can easily navigate your site.
• Use breadcrumbs to show visitors where they are within your site hierarchy.
• Make key pages (services, blog, contact) easily accessible from the homepage.
• Use clear call-to-action buttons to guide users to important pages.

Trust Issues

Trust is a key factor in SEO rankings. If your website has a negative reputation or appears untrustworthy, search engines may be reluctant to rank it highly, even if other elements are optimized.

14) Negative Reputation

While Google does not use online reputation as a direct ranking factor, negative press, poor user perception, or spammy backlinks can lead to fewer clicks and engagement and lower credibility. This can indirectly affect your rankings.

Solution

• Monitor and respond to reviews professionally to build trust.
• Address customer complaints and improve your services accordingly.
• Use reputation management tools to track mentions of your brand online.
• Disavow spammy backlinks that could harm your reputation.

15) Website Penalty

If you’ve engaged in black-hat SEO tactics, such as building automated backlinks or keyword stuffing, Google may penalize your site. Penalties can cause a sharp drop in rankings or completely deindex your site from Google search results.

To check if your site has been penalized, go to Google Search Console and click Security & Manual Actions:

Solution

• Check Google Search Console for manual actions or penalties.
• Remove or fix any black-hat SEO tactics you’ve used in the past.
• Submit a reconsideration request to Google if you’ve resolved the issues.
• Focus on white-hat SEO strategies, like high-quality content and natural link-building.

16) Algorithm Update Affects Your Ranking

Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving to improve user experience and deliver the most relevant search results. These changes, called algorithm updates, can significantly impact your website’s ranking, causing fluctuations that may be difficult to predict.

Solution:

• Stay informed about Google algorithm updates by following SEO news and industry blogs.
• Focus on high-quality content that meets search intent and aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) guidelines.
• Regularly analyze your rankings using tools like Google Search Console and SEMrush to detect potential ranking fluctuations.
• Build a diverse and resilient backlink profile from reputable sources to help your website remain stable against algorithmic changes.
• Adapt your SEO strategy as needed, avoiding black-hat techniques that could lead to penalties in future updates.

Boost Rankings With High-Quality Backlinks

While fixing technical, content, and UX issues is crucial, building high-quality backlinks is one of the fastest ways to improve a website's rankings, especially considering how algorithm updates can impact rankings.

By securing links from authoritative sources, optimizing your content, and ensuring a great user experience, you’ll put your site on the path to long-term SEO success.

Need help improving your website rankings? Reach out or order your backlinks today—we’d love to help!