Common Reasons for Poor Keyword Rankings
If you have done keyword research and optimized your website for those keywords, you might expect to see your site ranking well on search engines. However, sometimes you may find that your keywords are not ranking as high as you hoped, or even worse, not ranking at all. What could be the reason for this disappointing outcome?
There are many possible factors that can affect your keyword rankings, and some of them are more common than others. In this blog post, we will explore some of the most frequent reasons why your keywords are not ranking well and what you can do to fix them.
- Your keywords are too competitive. One of the most obvious reasons why your keywords are not ranking is that they are too competitive. This means that there are many other websites that are targeting the same keywords as you, and they have more authority, relevance, and popularity than yours. To rank for competitive keywords, you need to have a strong SEO strategy that includes high-quality content, backlinks, social signals, and technical optimization. Alternatively, you can try to find less competitive keywords that still have good search volume and match your audience’s intent.
- Your keywords are not relevant to your content. Another common reason why your keywords are not ranking is that they are not relevant to your content. This means that your content does not match the search intent of the users who are looking for those keywords. For example, if your keyword is “best laptop,” but your content is about laptop repair services, you will not rank well because your content does not answer the user’s query. To rank for relevant keywords, you need to create content that provides value and satisfies the user’s needs and expectations.
- Your keywords are too broad or too specific. A third reason why your keywords are not ranking is that they are too broad or too specific. This means that your keywords are either too general or too narrow for your target audience. For example, if your keyword is “shoes,” you will face a lot of competition from various types of shoes and shoe-related topics. On the other hand, if your keyword is “red leather shoes for women size 7”, you will limit your audience to a very small niche that may not have enough demand. To rank for optimal keywords, you need to find a balance between broad and specific keywords that have enough search volume and low competition.
- Your website has technical issues. A fourth reason why your keywords are not ranking is that your website has technical issues. This means that your website has problems that prevent search engines from crawling, indexing, or ranking it properly. For example, if your website has broken links, slow loading speed, duplicate content, or poor mobile-friendliness, you will hurt your SEO performance and user experience. To rank for technical keywords, you need to fix any errors or issues that affect your website’s functionality and usability.
- Your website has been penalized by Google. A fifth reason why your keywords are not ranking is that your website has been penalized by Google. This means that your website has violated Google’s guidelines or algorithms and has been demoted or removed from the search results. For example, if your website has engaged in spammy or manipulative practices such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, or buying links, you will face severe consequences from Google. To rank for penalized keywords, you need to identify and remove any violations and submit a reconsideration request to Google.
Keyword Selection and Relevance
If you want to rank higher on Google, you need to choose the right keywords for your content. Keywords are the words and phrases that people use to search for information online. They are also the signals that Google uses to understand what your content is about and how relevant it is to the user’s query.
However, choosing the right keywords is not as easy as it sounds. There are many factors that affect how well your keywords will perform on Google, such as competition, search volume, user intent, and keyword relevance. In this blog post, we will explain why your keywords may not be ranking as well as you expected and how you can improve your keyword selection and relevance.
Inadequate Keyword Research
One of the most common reasons why your keywords are not ranking is that you haven’t done enough keyword research. Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing the best keywords for your content based on your goals, audience, and industry.
Keyword research helps you to:
- Identify the topics and questions that your target audience is searching for
- Discover the keywords that have high search volume and low competition
- Understand the user intent behind each keyword (what they want to achieve or learn)
- Find related keywords and long-tail variations that can boost your traffic and conversions
Without proper keyword research, you may end up choosing keywords that are too generic, too competitive, or irrelevant to your content. This will make it harder for Google to rank your page and for users to find it.
To conduct effective keyword research, you need to use reliable tools that can provide you with accurate and up-to-date data on keyword metrics, such as:
- Google Keyword Planner: A free tool from Google that helps you find keywords related to your topic, along with their monthly search volume, competition level, and suggested bids.
- SEMrush: A paid tool that offers comprehensive keyword analysis, including keyword difficulty, keyword trends, keyword gap, keyword magic tool, and more.
- Ahrefs: Another paid tool that provides in-depth keyword research features, such as keyword explorer, keyword generator, keyword difficulty, and more.
Using these tools, you can find the best keywords for your content based on your niche, goals, and audience.
Keyword Relevance
Another reason why your keywords may not be ranking is that they are not relevant to your content. Keyword relevance is the measure of how well your keywords match the content on your page and the user’s query.
Google’s main goal is to provide the most relevant and useful results for each search query. To do this, Google uses various algorithms and signals to evaluate the relevance of your page, such as:
- Content quality: How well-written, informative, and original your content is
- Content structure: How well-organized, formatted, and easy-to-read your content is
- Content freshness: How up-to-date and timely your content is
- Content length: How comprehensive and in-depth your content is
- Content authority: How credible and trustworthy your content is
To improve your keyword relevance, you need to make sure that:
- Your chosen keywords align with the main topic and purpose of your content.
- Your chosen keywords match the user intent behind each query (informational, navigational, transactional)
- Your chosen keywords are specific and descriptive enough to capture the user’s interest.
- Your chosen keywords are used naturally and strategically throughout your content (title, headings, body text, meta tags)
- Your chosen keywords are supported by relevant and related keywords (synonyms, variations, modifiers)
On-Page Optimization Issues
If you want to rank higher on search engines, you need to optimize your on-page factors. On-page optimization refers to the elements of your web page that you can control and improve, such as your content, title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and keyword density. Here are some tips on how to optimize these factors for your target keywords.
- Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: These are the snippets of text that appear on the search engine results page (SERP) and tell users what your page is about. They also influence your click-through rate (CTR), which is the percentage of users who click on your link from the SERP. To optimize your title tags and meta descriptions, you should:
- Include your target keyword or a close variation in both the title tag and the meta description.
- Keep them short and relevant. The optimal length for title tags is 50-60 characters, and for meta descriptions is 150-160 characters.
- Write them in a way that entices users to click on your link. Use action verbs, benefits, numbers, or questions to capture their attention.
- Header Tags (H1, H2, etc.): These are the headings and subheadings of your content that help users and search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your page. They also help users skim through your content and find the information they need. To optimize your header tags, you should:
- Use only one H1 tag per page, which should contain your main keyword and summarize the main topic of your page.
- Use H2-H6 tags to break down your content into smaller sections and subtopics. Include keywords or related terms in these tags where relevant.
- Make sure your header tags are descriptive and informative. Avoid using generic or vague terms that do not convey the value of your content.
- Keyword Density: This is the ratio of how often your target keyword appears in your content compared to the total number of words. Keyword density is important because it signals to search engines what your page is about and how relevant it is to the user’s query. However, keyword density is not a fixed number that you should aim for. Rather, you should:
- Avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of repeating your keyword excessively or unnaturally in your content. This can harm your ranking and user experience, as it makes your content look spammy and low-quality.
- Maintain a natural keyword density that matches the intent and context of your content. Use synonyms, variations, or long-tail keywords to diversify your vocabulary and avoid repetition.
- Use tools like Yoast SEO or Moz Keyword Explorer to analyze your keyword density and get suggestions on how to improve it.
