Why is my site not shown in search?
Have you created a website that is just waiting to explode on the internet? You’ve put so much time and effort into it, you obviously want it to be seen on Google. However, what if your customers search for it and can’t find it?
This happens to thousands of web creators of personal websites and businesses every day – so you need to know what to do if your website isn’t showing up on Google.
#1. Your backlinks aren’t high-quality enough
There are so many millions of pages out there wanting the spotlight from Google, and Google knows this! That’s why you need to prove to Google that your page deserves to be ranked. Google’s approval means everything to your pages.
This is where backlinks come in...
Often, other pages rank above yours because they probably have high-quality backlinks – and lots of them.
Paste your URL into Site Explorer (or any other backlink analysis tool you enjoy using), and you will see the number of unique websites (referring domains) there are linking to your page. Backlink analysis tools really help you understand your link profile.
#2. Your webpage doesn’t match up with “search intent”
Google is the most popular search engine because everyone knows that if you need to find something relevant to what you need, and quickly, Google is the place to go! That’s why it is the intent of Google to rank results that are extremely useful and relevant for every question asked.
It is extremely important to match the content on your webpage with what searchers want to read. This is referred to as “search intent.”
#3. Timing is everything
Google doesn’t find your website straight away after creating it, it takes time. So, don’t stress out if it’s been over a week and you don’t see your webpage.
But if your website has been around for a few months or longer and you still aren’t showing up in search results, it means that your website is indexed, your SEO just needs improving.
#4. There isn’t enough “authority” on your page
Google has a sophisticated ranking algorithm which is based on PageRank. This counts backlinks and internal links as votes.
Your URL Rating (UR) has a scale between 0-100. Webpages with high UR have more “authority” than their counterpart pages with low UR.
You can easily check the URL rating on every page of your website by pasting the URL into Site Explorer or a free backlink checker.
Now you need to compare that against the URL Rating of the pages that rank at the top for your specific SEO keyword using a SERP overview.
After checking this, you will know if you lack “link authority” or not.
If you lack “link authority”, you need to build more backlinks and add more internal links. So, start off by adding more internal links, as it’s fast and easy to do!
#5. There isn’t enough “authority” on your website
When it comes to website “authority” you really need to look at the specific keywords that are used as this will affect ranking.
Here you need to look at Domain Ratings. This guide will tell you everything you need to know.
#6. Your webpages aren’t being indexed by search engines
There may be a problem with your pages showing up in Google’s search results because you have mistakenly “told” Google not to index your page by using the html code <meta name=”robots” content=”no index”/>.
Check for this in the html code of your site and if present, remove it so that Google knows to index the page.
#7. Search engines are blocked from crawling your webpages
The process in fixing this problem can be complicated as it refers to something called a robots.txt file, which tells search engines where they may and may not direct themselves on your site.
You need to know everything about how search engines work with regards to crawling, indexing, and ranking. Once you understand this, search engines shouldn’t have a problem crawling your webpage.
#8. Duplicate Content Issues
It’s really important that every page you have has fresh and unique content. Google loves this and ranks it high. What Google doesn’t want to see, is the same content spread across different pages. Keep every page you have unique, and its ranking will go up.
#9. Google has penalized you
There are two ways of being penalized by Google:
- Algorithmic – This is due to quality issues of your website
- Manual – A Google employee will review your website if they have reviewed it and found it doesn’t comply with their Webmaster Guidelines.
Manual penalties are quite rare, and you’ll be alerted by this action in Search Console.
Conclusion
Truth be told, SEO can get extremely complicated and is something best done by a professional. If you are interested in growing your business with SEO then reach out to First Page today to speak with a Digital Strategist.
