10 Reasons Your Website Isn’t Ranking

Struggling to get your website noticed on Google? You’re not alone. A beautifully designed site means little if no one can find it. With most users clicking on one of the top five search results, ranking high on Google is essential to driving traffic, leads, and sales. That’s where SEO comes in. By optimising your site for search engines, you boost visibility, build trust, and attract the right customers — without paying for ads. If your website isn’t ranking, it’s time to rethink your SEO strategy and unlock your brand’s full online potential.

• Mobile-first matters: A non-responsive site can crush your rankings.
• Content is still king: Poorly optimised or irrelevant content won’t rank.
• Keyword competition is real: Target long-tail, low-competition terms first.
• Backlinks build authority: Quality links signal trust to search engines.
• SEO requires trust & consistency: Irregular updates and shady tactics hurt rankings.
• Technical issues kill visibility: Slow load times, broken links, and plugin conflicts can block Google entirely.
• Black-hat SEO = penalties: Following Google’s guidelines is non-negotiable.
• On-site + Off-site + Local SEO: All three are essential for full optimisation.
• Old content can drag you down: Refresh outdated pages to stay competitive.
• SEO is a long game: Patience, strategy, and regular updates win in the end.

Table of Contents

1. Key takeaways
2. Your Website Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
3. Poor Content Optimisation
4. Competitive Keywords
5. Lack of Quality Backlinks
6. Missing Trust Signals
7. Inconsistent Publishing
8. Ignoring SEO Best Practices
9. Neglected Older Content
10. Technical SEO Issues
11. Google Penalties & Black Hat Tactics
12. Essential SEO Elements
    • On-site SEO
    • Keywords
    • Content
    • Local SEO
    • Off-site SEO
13. Conclusion: How to Start Ranking Again
14. FAQ

As we all know, mobile usage is rapidly eclipsing desktop and laptop usage, therefore having a mobile-friendly website has become critical. If your website is not mobile-friendly, it may have a strong influence on your search engine results. 

A website should be ‘responsive’ at all times. It means that it can take the form of that particular device without interfering with the user’s experience, whether seen on an Android phone, iPhone or iPad.

You may test your website’s responsiveness by going to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool and entering your website’s URL. It will give your website a pass or a fail rating based on its performance.

This is the most typical reason why your website does not appear in search results. It is your obligation as a website owner to inform Google about all of the products and/or services available on your website. 

Google utilises more than 200 variables to rank your website in search results. Most of these may be improved simply by adding and changing various components of your websites, such as page titles and meta descriptions.

Search engines utilise metadata and descriptions to identify what your site is about. Each web page includes a unique collection of meta tags that may be used to describe the information on that page.

Varying keywords indicate different degrees of interest and the goals of website visitors. Some businesses may have a large online marketing budget, to target several industries’ valuable search terms, which may contribute to your website not ranking on the top page of Google for your primary keywords.

Because everyone wants to target terms with the highest possible search volume, the keyword becomes competitive. Though targeting competitive keywords is not a bad idea, if undertaking SEO on your own, or with a limited online marketing budget, it is preferable to select specific keywords for your industry website that are more targeted, longer tailed,  less competitive, and can yield some great enquiries nonetheless. 

As your website expands, you may gradually broaden your focus and target more competitive keywords on additional pages.

By scanning your website for keyword phrases and analysing their relevance to Google queries, the Google algorithm categorises and ranks your website. It looks for these keywords in many places on your website, including the title tags, meta descriptions, website domain, the start of the page content, and the actual textual content. 

Each of these sections should include the keyword for which you want your website to rank in a natural and easy-to-read manner. However, if you begin keyword stuffing – placing too many repetitive keywords throughout your site, the algorithm will penalise you by decreasing your website’s ranking; consequently, avoid it at all costs.

Search engines evaluate the number of backlinks on a website to assess its search engine rating, popularity, and importance. The quantity and quality of your backlinks demonstrate how dependable and consistent your website is. 

To build a strong backlink profile, remember that quality is far more essential than quantity. A link from a high-quality website in your field is considerably more valuable than hundreds of low-quality connections. 

So, to rank effectively in search engines, you must establish a strong backlink profile for your website.

Backlinking may be done efficiently using a variety of ways, including:

• Blog Commenting 
• Leading Authorities 
• Guest Posting

Link-building, like keywords, should be natural and spontaneous, and all links should operate well. 

A smart link-building plan that incorporates backlinks to high-quality organisations and reliable sources, as well as clear internal link-building to products, services, and information, helps not just your consumers but also enhances your website’s Google rankings.

A good link has wording that relates to the domain and keywords of the item to which you are linking, as well as a source that gives actual expertise and authority on the issue.

This boosts your trust, authority, and expertise characteristics, making your website appear more genuine, authentic, and useful to Google’s algorithm.

The greater your SEO score, the higher you will appear on search engines such as Google and Bing. While higher Google rankings are desirable to all companies due to greater visibility, a secondary benefit is a trust you acquire with potential consumers. 

Users prefer to believe the suggestions generated by search engines, thus ranking higher for the terms a user is looking for will cement your product or service as trustworthy in the customer’s view.

It is not enough to just post a blog every other week, especially if they are hastily written and of poor quality. Even optimised material must be generated regularly if search results are to improve.

Have you ever visited a website that appears to have remained the same for years? A steady flow of blog articles shows the possible prospects that you are still in the game and that your website content remains relevant.

Secondly, and more crucially for this topic, it enhances your chances of ranking well in Google. The more material you have on your website, the more probable it is for specific keywords to get indexed.

Building on that, if Google notices you’re often publishing material, it’ll alter its crawl timings on your site and visit more frequently.

Because there is so much to say about the topic of SEO, there are numerous blogs, forums, and seminars dedicated to it.

There are crucial SEO criteria on every page of your website that must be adhered to, including an SSL certificate, relevant headings, optimal page titles and correctly written meta descriptions.

After all, Search Engine Optimisation is all about making your website content stand out in Google’s eyes as the greatest display of information possible for consumers searching for keywords related to your sector.

Consider this: you’ve undoubtedly done a few Google searches in the previous 24 hours for various resources, services or products. But before you think further about the search results that appeared, allow me to ask you a question: When was the last time you went to Google’s second or third page for a search result? How often do you think that happens?

At the end of the day, Google’s objective is to respond to your query as soon as possible by displaying the most relevant and useful material at the top of search engine results pages.

Achieving optimal website rankings on Google is a continuously shifting goal, one if not attended to regularly, will likely see your website fall behind in the rankings.

The same is true for the material produced months or years ago but is still not ranking.

In such instances, such blogs should be examined and updated. The content may not be current, lack major details that people want or need to understand, or have merely an outdated structure that’s in line with Google’s current best practices.

A complete content strategy includes not only the creation of new pieces but also the optimisation of posts that have been posted on your site for some time.

If you want to rank on Google, your website must satisfy some highly specific technical requirements. Loading speed, or how soon your pages appear when clicked on, is critical. Security is also incredibly important. But these are not the only factors to consider. All of the fundamentals are covered in our article: There are eight elements concerning technical SEO that everyone should be aware of.

If your content does not display in the search engines at all, there may be technical difficulties with your website theme or hosting that may prevent it from appearing at all. Or you might have competing plugins creating issues that may also be preventing Google from crawling your site. 

If Google discovers you utilising unethical SEO practises, such as purchasing links or cramming keywords into hidden content, your page or site may be blacklisted. 

Even if everything else is flawless across your website, Google will not rank you favourably if you undertake any ‘black hat’ tactics in an attempt to achieve quick search results.

Most of these are common sense, however, there are a few practises that were once prevalent in SEO that might now result in severe penalties so keep up to date on any recent changes to guidelines on forums and reputable blogs.

On-site SEO refers to changes made to your website’s content to make it more search engine friendly. When optimising your websites for search engines, you want to communicate to search engines in some ways exactly what the content is about.

On-site SEO is concerned with the structure of your website, SEO keywords, internal links, image alt attributes, and other strategies that assist search engines in analysing and assessing the content of your website.

Keywords are no longer the sole SEO method that matters, but they are still important for your website’s search engine rating. When we talk about keywords, we’re talking about specific words and phrases that potential consumers use to search for solutions online.

Choosing the proper keywords for your website and content takes extensive study, and it’s critical to strive for the sweet spot of high volume ratings + low competition.

The content you produce and post on your website is critical to reaching and engaging your target audience.

When a local user searches for a query about a certain style of window treatment, your blog appears. This enables you to initiate a discussion with a possible consumer by presenting them with important information that they are actively seeking. 

And who will be the first to spring to mind when it comes time to buy new window treatments? You. Your material should be instructive, entertaining, and easily shared.

Your website will not rank in other cities if you run a local business that exclusively services the Australian region. Search engines use the user’s location to provide suggestions that are within a specific range, allowing them to make a rapid selection rather than sorting through companies that are not nearby at the moment. 

So, if someone wanted to locate the greatest sushi in town, they would conduct a fast Google search, peruse the top results in their area, and make their selection. That means if your company isn’t showing up as a top result when it should be, chances are they’ll go somewhere else.

Using local keywords, claiming your directory listings, and establishing pages for your company on platforms such as Google My Business and Google Maps are all ways to boost your local SEO.

Off-site search engine optimisation strategies entail efforts performed on websites other than your own to raise your rating. The essential component of off-site SEO is link building, often known as “backlinks,” which is the process of having other respectable, high-traffic websites link back to your site.

Backlinks are an indication of trust to search engines and may have a significant impact on your ranking position. Make sure the links are coming from well-known and reputable sites, and your rating will improve. 

Don’t try to mislead search engines into identifying poor connections by employing ‘black hat’ methods, or you’ll be punished and even blacklisted from search engines.

Optimising your website for organic search is a lengthy process that yields long-term rewards if done correctly – and consistently.

A multitude of issues, ranging from poor on-page SEO to a lack of reputable links, might prevent your website from obtaining the rankings it deserves. Fortunately though, discovering and correcting the issues that are keeping your website from ranking properly is a good starting point to ensure you’re on the right track.

How can you increase the visibility of your website in search engines? If you think your website is not ranking as well as it could, check over our recommendations, take steps to enhance your rankings, increase visitors and raise your website revenue. 

Why not give TopRankings a call if you’re searching for a business to assist you to reach tangible search engine rankings? Our search engine optimisation abilities have been proven to assist businesses like yours in achieving online success.

TopRankings is Melbourne’s top, proven, and accountable SEO Agency. We have assisted hundreds of Australian businesses in achieving success on Google by employing tried-and-true strategies that we have created since 2007.

We’d be delighted to answer any questions you have regarding our SEO pricing or the holistic approach we employ to increase the visibility of your website in search engines. Please do not hesitate to contact us today!

Why is my website not showing up on Google at all?

Your site may have technical issues like broken links, slow load times, missing metadata, or could even be penalised for using black-hat SEO tactics.

How long does it take to rank on Google?

SEO is a long-term strategy. With consistent effort and the right tactics, noticeable improvements can appear in 3–6 months.

What is the most important factor in Google rankings?

There’s no single factor, but high-quality content, mobile responsiveness, keyword optimisation, and backlinks are among the top.

How often should I publish content?

Ideally, publish valuable content weekly or bi-weekly to keep your website fresh and indexed frequently by Google.

Can I rank without backlinks?

It’s possible, especially for low-competition keywords, but quality backlinks are critical for gaining authority and ranking in competitive spaces.

How do I know if I’ve been penalised by Google?

Check for sudden traffic drops using Google Search Console or Analytics. You may also receive a manual action warning in your account.

Should I update old blog posts?

Absolutely. Updating outdated content with fresh insights and SEO-friendly formatting helps maintain rankings and relevance.

Is local SEO important if I don’t have a physical store?

Yes — local SEO can still help service-based businesses appear in regional search results and on Google Maps.