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3 Reasons Why Your Content isn’t Ranking in Google (And How to Fix It)

Are you wondering why your content isn’t ranking in search engine results?

You’ve done your homework by researching which keywords to use and carefully creating content. However, your efforts don’t seem to be yielding any results.

SEO can be difficult and take a while to master, but there are some things you can look at when you’re stuck and aren’t seeing an improvement in your organic search results. It can be very frustrating not getting to number one for certain keywords and/or seeing a decrease in your ranking. The good news is that there is help and expertise available.

In this blog post, we will cite three common reasons why content fails to rank in search engine results. We’ll also discuss how to remedy all three reasons.

Let’s get started.

You’re targeting keywords that are too competitive.

Keyword research is an integral part of an effective SEO strategy. A good understanding of what terms your potential customers are typing into search engines will enable you to find new opportunities that your competitors may not. Creating content without the right keywords would be akin to travelling without a destination in mind.

Once you have a list of keywords you’d like to target, you need to narrow down the list even further. The following factors should help you decide which ones you’ll target.

• Keyword Volume – This is the amount of traffic a keyword receives daily, weekly, or monthly.
• Keyword Difficulty – This is how difficult it would be to rank for a given keyword.
• Search Intent – This is the user intent behind a search. A person usually uses search engines to make a purchase, find information, or compare products.

Ideally, you should target a keyword with a high amount of volume and a low level of difficulty. However, due to the overwhelming amount of content being published online, finding such a keyword could prove to be difficult.

Instead of targeting broad keywords with a significant amount of volume, you should target long-tail keywords instead.

Long-tail keywords are keywords composed of three words or more. They don’t get as much traffic as short-tail keywords, but they’re significantly less difficult to rank for.

They also give you more information about the user’s intent.

For example, the keyword “basketball” has a monthly search volume of 673,000. At first glance, the amount of traffic it gets seems like a good enough reason to target it.

Let’s take a look at the search intent.

If a person uses the keyword “basketball,” you can’t tell what they’re looking for. Do they want to learn how to play basketball? Are they looking for information about the history of the sport? Do they want to purchase a basketball?

From a business standpoint, spending time and other resources on raking for the keyword isn’t a good idea. Yes, you may get a lot of traffic, but the people who land on your website might be looking for something entirely different.

What if you target “how to play basketball” instead of “basketball”?

The keyword “how to play basketball” has a monthly search volume of 3,600. It’s significantly less than the amount of traffic “basketball” receives, but it gives you plenty of information about search intent.

• You can write content that’s tailor-made for people who want to learn how to play basketball.
• You can weed out potential visitors who are not interested in the information you’re providing, improving your bounce rate.

Your content doesn’t stand out.

According to a recent survey, over 4 million blog posts are published every day. It’s harder than ever for your content to get found online.

So, amidst all the competition, how do you stand out?

Creating content that’s as good as what’s ranking in the search engines is no longer enough. You have to create something better.

Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz, previously coined the term 10X content. It’s content that is ten times better than what is already out there.

By this stage, we’re assuming you’ve already done keyword research. Now, you have to conduct a Google search for each of your target keywords.

Examine the top-ranking search results. Ask yourself the following questions.

• What is the average word count for the top three results?
• How do they present information? Do they use infographics, audio, or video?
• Did they fail to discuss or expand on important points?

The answers to these questions should be a jumping-off point for your next blog post.

If a competitor writes a post containing ten tools, include twenty or more tools in your blog post.

If you notice that they failed to expand on one important point, make sure to thoroughly to discuss it when writing your post.

Creating content that is better than what’s already ranking in search engines may sound difficult. However, you can accomplish it with thorough research.

Your website is slow.

Back in mid-2018, Google rolled out its Speed Update. The update made page speed a major ranking in mobile search results.

For example, two websites contain equally good content. Their blog posts are similar in scope, word counter, and presentation. The difference is, Website A is faster than Website B.

Due to the Speed Update, Website A now has better chances of ranking higher in mobile search engine results.

In a nutshell, creating quality content is still a must for better search engine rankings, but it needs to be paired with a fast website.

Begin by measuring your website’s current speed. There are plenty of free tools online that do this for you.

• PageSpeed Insights – This is a free tool that measures website speed using data from Google Chrome Users. It also provides improvement suggestions for speeding up your website.
• Pingdom – This is another tool that tests your website speed. It measures your website speed depending on a user’s location.

Once you’ve determined your current speed, you can begin taking measures to improve it. Some common steps include:

• Leverage browser caching. – You can install a WordPress plugin that saves files in a user’s device. The next time the user visits your website, they will no longer have to download the files again.
• Minify resources. – Websites are created using HTML, CSS, and Javascript files. The more content your website, the bigger these files become. You can use WordPress plugins and other tools to minimise file sizes.

Conclusion

If you’re wondering why your content is ranking in Google, there are several reasons you might be unaware of.

You could be targeting keywords that are too competitive. Attempt to target long-tail keywords instead. These keywords may not receive as much traffic, but they lead a specific set of potential clients to your website.

You could be creating lacklustre content. Research the top-ranking search results for your target keywords. Examine their content, and attempt to create something better.

Your website might be too slow. Due to a recent Google Speed Update, fast websites now have better chances of climbing up search engine rankings.

Need a top-class SEO strategy? Cornerstone Digital is an SEO agency in Sydney that can lead your ideal customer to your website. Call us on (02) 8211 0668 or email us at info@cornerstone-digital.com.au.

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Darlyn Herradura

A self-professed book and digital marketing nerd, Darlyn Herradura focuses on building trust between customers and businesses with the written word. She understands that creating valuable content is the best way to get found online and happily spends her time doing that.