As the internet continues to expand and evolve, it becomes increasingly important for businesses to establish a strong online presence. One of the key elements of this is having a website that ranks well in search engine results pages (SERPs). Unfortunately, many businesses struggle to achieve this, leaving their website buried on page two, three or beyond. In this article, we’ll explore some reasons why your website may not be ranking and what you can do to improve its position in the SERPs.

Reason 1: Poor Quality Content

Content is king when it comes to ranking in search engines. If your website lacks high-quality, relevant and engaging content, it is unlikely to rank well. Google’s algorithms are designed to reward sites that provide value to users. If your site is filled with low-quality or irrelevant content then Google will deem your website unworthy. 

To improve your content, focus on creating engaging and informative articles that address the needs and interests of your target audience. More words doesn’t necessarily mean better content, although ensure your content is well-written, formatted correctly and contains relevant keywords where necessary. Of course, our experts can help plan relevant content that engages and performs well so please contact us to discuss further.  

Reason 2: Poor Website Design and Performance

Website design and performance plays a critical role in search engine rankings. If your website is poorly structured, then it can affect the way your website is crawled and ranked. Some of the most common issues include slow loading times, poor mobile design and confusing navigation/user path.

To address these issues, consider redesigning your website with a clean, modern design that prioritises user experience. If you’re looking for an affordable website refresh, then contact our web design experts to discuss more about how we can improve your website.

Reason 3: Lack of Keyword Research

Keywords are the foundation of SEO and as such it’s important to conduct thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant keywords for your business. To ensure you receive the best advice it’s always best to discuss with an SEO specialist to ensure you target the best terms in relation to what’s doable within your niche and domain metrics. Once the terms of a campaign has been devised then we can optimise your website appropriately.

Reason 4: Poor On-Page Optimisation

On-page optimisation refers to the various techniques used to optimise individual pages on your website for search engines. This includes optimising meta tags, heading tags, and URLs among other things. If your website lacks proper on-page optimisation, it will be difficult to rank well in search engines and may require the keen eye of a digital marketing specialist to maximise the potential of your website.

Reason 5: Lack of Backlinks

If your website lacks high-quality and relevant backlinks, it is unlikely to rank well. Backlinks are essentially “votes” of confidence from other websites, indicating that your site is a valuable resource and shouldn’t be underestimated even in 2023.

Reason 6: Over-Optimisation

Over optimising a website can be detrimental to your ranking efforts. Keyword cannibalisation is another issue which can occur through over optimisation and while it may not be clear to the average person, a digital marketing specialist will be able to detect and resolve these kinds of site issues.


Reason 7: Duplicate Content

Duplicate content can also harm your website’s ranking. If your site contains a large amount of duplicate content, then search engines will deem your website as low-quality and dilute your website’s authority. The obvious action here is to ensure that each page on your site has unique and original content where possible.


Reason 8: Lack of Social Media Presence

Social media can be a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website and improving your search engine rankings. If your business has a limited social media presence, then it should be an area of improvement to consider for your business.


Reason 9: Lack of Local SEO

If your business relies on local customers, it’s important to work on improving your local visibility online. This can be achieved through having your business listed correctly in local directories and optimising your Google My Business (Google Business Profile) effectively amongst other things.


Our Experts Can Address All These Issues and More

There are many factors that can impact your website’s search engine rankings and by addressing some of these issues it can help you improve results and drive more traffic to your website. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so it’s important to enlist the help of a digital marketing agency or SEO specialist to ensure your website is optimised and reaches its full potential.



To discuss how we can help improve your online visibility, contact us today on +27 (0) 7137 04327.