What could be the problem if your perfectly optimized post isn’t ranking? Is the problem because your website is not available on Google or is there something else going wrong? What’s stopping your content from reaching the coveted #1 position? In this post, we’ll discuss many possible reasons why your site isn’t ranking even though it’s optimized.
We’ve broken down the possible issues you might encounter into four sections:
Pro tip
Quick question: How is your internal linking? If your content is optimized but not ranking or Google is ranking the wrong pages on your site, it may be because you need to improve your site’s structure or fix orphaned content. We’ve created some really nice SEO workouts to help you check and fix these types of problems – check them out and fix these problems now!
Indexing and crawling issues
The first few items on the list all deal with indexing and crawling issues. Simply put, you can’t rank if your page or website doesn’t show up on Google at all. If you find these topics confusing, you may want to read up on how Google works and how to get started with SEO.
1. Your website/page is not on Google
If you need help determining whether your website is available on Google, you can use the Website: Search operator in Google. type Website: yoast.comand you will see a list of pages for that domain. Entering the full URL of a specific article should only return one search result. If you see your pages, it means that Google knows about your website and has included – at least part of it – in its index. Once you find that your site is in the index but you think it’s not performing well, you may want to dig deeper.
The search operator site: helps you find your website in the Google index
How to fix the problem
Check your WordPress reading settings. If you have the “Stop search engines from indexing this website” box checked for the “Search Visibility” option, this is most likely the reason your website is not appearing on Google. If this is the case, uncheck the box and click to save your changes. If the problem is that only certain pages are not showing on Google, you may want to check your search appearance settings in Yoast SEO. Go to the Content Types tab and make sure your settings are correct.
2. Your website/page is still too new
If your website or page is new, it might just be enough to relax and take another quick look. There are many important aspects to crawling, indexing, and ranking your content. Sometimes it takes days or maybe even weeks for Google to complete its discovery process.
How to fix the problem
If you find that your website is not yet available on Google, you can install Yoast SEO and send the generated XML sitemap to Google Search Console so that Google can discover your website. You can also use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to determine the performance of specific pages. Here’s exactly how Google crawls and displays your website.
One of the most common reasons why Google doesn’t index your website or a particular page is because it was accidentally not indexed. Adding noindex meta robot tags to a page tells Googlebot that it can crawl the page, but the results cannot be added to the index.
How can you check if your site is not indexed? That’s easy; Just open the page and view the source code. The following code can be found somewhere at the top of the page. This tells search engine crawlers that the page’s content should not be added to the index, thus preventing it from ranking.
How to fix the problem
It’s happening! Even we occasionally make a mistake and accidentally fail to index a post. Luckily, it’s an easy fix. We’ve written about how to get a piece of content back on track with Yoast SEO.
4. Your website/page is blocking Google with robots.txt
You may have told Google not to index your content, but it’s also possible that you’ve told Google not to crawl your site at all! Blocking crawlers in a so-called robots.txt file is a surefire way to not receive traffic. Blocking robots is easier than you might think. For example, WordPress has a search engine visibility setting that, once set, does its best to keep crawlers away Stop search engines from indexing this website. Disable this option to make your website available again.
Be careful not to activate this option accidentally
WordPress uses the noindex approach described above to manage website indexing via the Search Engine Visibility setting. There is a warning that it is up to the search engines to honor the request.
Aside from telling WordPress to block search engines, other technical issues may also cause crawl errors that prevent Google from properly crawling your site. Your website’s web server may not respond properly and display server errors, or broken JavaScript parts in your code are interfering with the crawler. Make sure Google can easily crawl your website.
How to fix the problem
If your robots.txt file is blocking Google from crawling your site (or parts of it) and you want to change this, you will need to edit the file. You can follow this guide to edit your robots.txt file.
5. You need to improve your index coverage
Ensuring that Google indexes your web pages is important for success. Index coverage refers to the number of URLs on your website that are included in Google’s search index. Even the most optimized content may not appear in search results without comprehensive index coverage.
To identify the problem, you need to examine the index coverage report in Google Search Console. This tool categorizes your pages into different categories and explains why pages are not being indexed. If you notice that many pages fall under Errors or Excluded, it’s time to investigate further. One of the most common errors is “Crawled – not currently indexed” in Search Console.
How to fix the problem
Make sure your XML sitemap is up to date and accurately reflects your site structure. Please submit it to Google Search Console so that Google can find your pages. Check and fix any crawling errors such as 404 errors, server errors, or redirect issues. These errors can prevent pages from being indexed. Pages with low-quality or duplicate content may be excluded from the index. Focus on creating unique, valuable content that offers real user engagement. Use the URL Inspection Tool to request indexing for important pages that are not already indexed. This tool also provides insights into how Google perceives your site.
Google Search Console helps you understand why pages aren’t indexed
Technical issues affecting rankings
IS Is your page/website indexed but not ranking? Technical problems must then be checked.
6. You’re not ranking because your website is having technical problems
Your website must meet certain technical benchmarks if you want to rank on Google! Loading speed, or how quickly your pages load, is important. Security and hosting quality are also important, and that’s not all. You can read all the essentials in our article: Things Everyone Should Know About Technical SEO.
If your post doesn’t appear in search engines, technical issues may prevent it from fully appearing in search results. Conflicting plugins may be causing problems, and we’ve also seen some themes blocking Google from indexing your site. And although Yoast SEO takes care of a lot of technical issues under the hood, it should be set up properly to do it right.
How to fix the problem
The solution you need depends on the technical issues your website is facing and we can’t cover everything here. You may want to check the following points:
Make sure all your Yoast plugin settings are correct
Check that you are doing everything right to keep loading times down
Make sure your website is set to https:// and your security certificates are up to date
Upgrade your hosting plan
Check that your plugins and/or theme are not causing problems.
If your technical SEO looks good and your website is indexed, you need to dig deeper to discover the problem. Read on!
7. You will be penalized if you violate SEO rules
If Google catches you using shady SEO techniques that it doesn’t allow – e.g. Using underhanded tactics like buying links or inserting keywords into hidden text can result in your page or website being penalized. If you’re already putting in the effort to create a good website and quality content, it’s counterproductive to try. Even if everything else on your site is perfect and you do something that Google doesn’t allow, you’re going to have problems ranking (or appearing in Google search results).
Most of these things are common sense, so unless you’re trying to trick Google or spam people, you probably have nothing to worry about. However, some things used to be common SEO practices that can cause problems today. For more examples of bad SEO practices to avoid, check out our article on SEO myths.
How to fix the problem
You can check whether Google has reported your site for these issues by using the Manual Actions tab in Google Search Console (GSC). If you’re new to GSC, you should check out our introductory article. If you find a problem in the Manual Actions tab, read this Help articles to learn more about what it means and how to fix it.
Linking issues affecting rankings
A good internal linking structure and high-quality backlinks are important if you want to rank high. Google crawls the web and follows every link it finds. So if your links are missing, it may cause ranking issues.
8. Your website does not have a proper internal link structure
Another reason your content isn’t showing up in search results is that a crucial part of your SEO strategy isn’t in order. Don’t underestimate the importance of page structure – internal link structure – to your SEO strategy. A clear page structure helps Google understand your website better. If your internal link structure is poor, your chances of ranking high are lower – even if your content is well optimized and great.
How to fix the problem
Start adding these links! Make sure your important Posts and pages have the most internal links. But don’t add links randomly: make sure you add relevant, related links that provide value to your users.
You can use the Yoast SEO orphan content filter to find posts without inbound internal links. Yoast SEO Premium will help you even more by providing you with helpful linking suggestions as you write. When you use Yoast SEO Premium, you also get various other AI features such as: B. Yoast AI Optimize to help you do the hard work. And if you really want to improve your site structure, check out our Site Structure Training – also included in Premium!
Pro tip: Easily take care of your orphaned content and internal links with our SEO workouts available in Yoast SEO Premium.
Read more: Site structure: the ultimate guide »
9. There are few backlinks to your website
If you have just started building your website, your content will not rank immediately. Not even if you have optimized everything perfectly and every point in Yoast SEO is green. To rank, you need some links from other websites. After all, Google needs to know that your website exists.
How to fix the problem
Creating incredible content is a great way to get links to your pages. High-quality content attracts clicks from readers, who may share the content far and wide on social media. All of this helps get those links. Of course, there’s more you can do to get links naturally and without spam: here are fifteen ways to get high-quality backlinks.
To get (more) backlinks, you can access other websites. You need to do some PR or link building. Ask them to mention your website or talk about your product and link to your website. You can also use social media to spread the word! Learn everything about link building strategies in our all-round SEO training!
Content and keyword issues that affect rankings
If everything else is as it should be when it comes to search engine optimization, then your page or website’s poor ranking may have something to do with your content or keywords.
10. Your site is great, but there is too much competition
Usually a site doesn’t rank because there is just too much competition. If you’re optimizing your content for competing keywords and key phrases like (cat behavior), (robot vacuum), or (real estate agent), there’s a good chance you won’t rank for that term.
Check the results pages for your keyword to see if this is the problem. Do high-ranking websites like Wikipedia or Amazon dominate the first page? Do you see many websites that have already established themselves in this niche? Your website probably doesn’t have the authority (yet) that these other websites do. So you can optimize all you want, but unfortunately that won’t be enough to rank high in search results if your niche is too competitive.
How to fix the problem
If you want to rank for highly competitive terms, try a long-tail keyword strategy. Write content that targets related long-tail keywords and phrases before diving into the competing keywords. As these long-tail articles start ranking, you can also rank for more competitive terms. Such a strategy requires long-term efforts, but it will pay off in the end.
Read more: Why you should focus on long-tail keywords »
11. Low quality content or incorrect intent
Another reason your content isn’t ranking is because it doesn’t match the intent of the people searching for your keyword. Search intent is important to search engines: Do people want to buy something, visit a specific website, or search for information? Even if you target a longer keyword phrase, if your content doesn’t match searchers’ predominant intent, search engines won’t show it in results because it’s not what people are looking for.
Let’s look at a few examples. Say you’re a dog trainer who wants to rank for puppy training services, so you optimize (your puppy’s training) with transactional intent in mind. But if you look at the search results, you will notice that there are informational videos and all the results explain how to train a puppy yourself. So searchers have an informational intent. This can also work the other way around. If you have written a step-by-step guide to making garden decorations for your blog and are aiming to rank for (flower garland garden decoration), you may have difficulty ranking for that term if people only buy and don’t want to make it yourself.
Remember that not every search term has a dominant type of intent. Additionally, it is not impossible to rate content for different purposes. However, it may be worth checking if your optimized content is not ranking in search engines.
How to fix the problem
Unfortunately, you don’t have the power to change search engine users’ intentions. But you may Adjust your content strategy. If your optimized content isn’t ranking, look at search results (use private mode) and analyze what you see. Is a particular type of outcome dominant? Are there pictures or videos? What related searches do you see? Here are your opportunities. If you notice informational intent in a search query, you can write content to attract people to your website, establish your brand as a reliable source of information, and stay in people’s minds when they’re looking to buy something. If you find a lot of images in search results, you may need to focus more on image SEO. When determining your SEO strategy, consider what you see in the results pages.
12. Your content lacks uniqueness
Even well-written and optimized content could have problems ranking if it doesn’t stand out. Search engines prioritize content that offers a unique perspective or adds value compared to existing articles on the same topic.
Review search results for your target keywords and examine the highest ranking pages. Does your content offer something different or more insightful? If your site presents similar information in a comparable format, you may find it difficult to rise in the rankings. With the advent of generative AI, we will see a wave of mediocre sameness in search results. If you publish the same thing, search engines won’t care.
Generative AI can help create content, but it needs help maintaining quality and relevance. Although AI can produce large amounts of content quickly, we should prioritize quality over quantity. You should ensure that the material is original and valuable to your audience. AI-generated content can be repetitive or lack diverse perspectives. It’s important to refine it with your unique insights or expert opinions.
Additionally, content should always be tailored to your audience’s needs and search intent, as AI may not fully capture human nuances. Always follow search engine guidelines for AI-generated content to avoid possible penalties or indexing issues. You can improve your content strategy while maintaining its integrity by using AI as a supporting tool rather than a standalone solution.
How to fix the problem
Just stop; Add unique insights and perspectives. Add your own voice and incorporate original research, case studies or expert opinions to differentiate your content. Keep your content updated with the latest information, trends or data to maintain relevance and uniqueness. Encourage comments and discussions to build a community around your content and make it more dynamic and engaging.
Is your optimized content still not ranking?
Several reasons can lead to a post not being ranked. Have you properly optimized your post with Yoast SEO? Then the most common reason is probably that the competition in a niche is too great. Unfortunately, SEO is a long-term strategy. You have to work hard and be patient. In the meantime, you can tackle many other aspects of your SEO (site structure, link building). Try to focus on all aspects of website optimization and achieve the best result. It will pay off eventually!
Read more: Rank Tracking: Why You Should Monitor Your Keywords »
Edwin Toonen
Edwin is an experienced strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he worked at a top web design magazine, where he developed a strong understanding of how to create great content.
