Wondering why the heck your website isn’t showing up on Google, even when you type in your exact business name? If you’ve got a great website but you just can’t seem to find it, here’s why it might be happening (and how you can fix it).

1. Your website is brand new.

If your website is brand new, it takes time to appear on Google. Just because you’ve created a new website doesn’t mean it will skyrocket to the first page overnight. If that were the case, every time you did a search the internet would be a chaotic feeding frenzy! Your site likely isn’t indexed yet or it could be in Google’s Sandbox, a filter that applies to new websites to make sure they’re legit.

What You Can Do: If you haven’t done it already, submit a sitemap to Google. While waiting, you can add some new and awesome content to your site. But primarily, be patient! It may take up to 90 days before it begins to rank.

2. Not using the proper keywords.

Keywords are essential for SEO! They drive organic traffic to your website and help the audience know more about your business. But you can’t just use any keyword - if you’re using phrases that people don’t search for, or broad keywords that are way too competitive, your website isn’t going to rank.

What You Can Do: Use Google’s keyword planner to find the right keywords, and use sprinkle those throughout your content, page titles and page descriptions (more on that below).

3. Missing page titles and descriptions.

Your site might not have the right page titles and descriptions which hurts your rankings. These are important so the audience knows what they will see on a page. Also, through page titles and descriptions, search engines determine the relevancy of your site as a result of a web search query.

What You Can Do: Research keywords relevant to your business and update your page titles, descriptions and URL. For example instead of our title being ‘Home’ it’s ‘Mastered Marketing - Social Media & Digital Marketing Brisbane’

4. Your website isn’t easy to use.

Visitors can get confused and frustrated if your website isn’t user-friendly. Your website might have clumsy or confusing navigation, making it difficult to find the information they need. Also if it’s not mobile optimised, fix this ASAP! If it doesn’t work perfectly on every device, visitors can exit your website faster than you can even say ‘hello’!

What You Can Do: Use the site as a visitor and make it flow as smoothly as possible. Also, name pages clearly so it’s easy to find important information (rather than trying to be funky and using strange titles).

5. Your content is thin.

‘Thin’ content is low-quality content you put into your website for the sake of having ‘stuff’. If your pages have less than 300 words or don’t give people an answer to their questions, it’s essentially a waste of time and Google won’t give your website the time of day.

What You Can Do: Make your pages useful, and delete dead-weight pages you aren’t using. Pick 1 or 2 pages that are really important (e.g. home / services) and put a lot of effort into those. Look at our social media page as an example to see how much information we provide.

6. You have copied content.

Copied or ‘duplicate’ content is when you straight up copy what’s on another site and change a couple of words to make it seem original. This is considered a mortal sin by Google, and sites with copied content will be ranked lowest, as per their rules. Not only will you struggle to rank, you’ll actually get penalised.

What You Can Do: You can use other websites as guide or a reference, but make your content original and valuable. If it’s not useful, just delete it!

7. You haven’t been adding any new content.

Constantly adding new, high-quality content (like blogs) shows Google that your website is a regularly updated, authentic and a reliable resource for visitors. If your website is gathering dust, expect your rankings to drop.

What You Can Do: Create useful content with at least 500+ words every 1-2 months. You can do this through blog posts, services pages, case studies, or FAQ pages to provide ongoing value. PS - you should do this even if your website is ranking!

Bonus Tip: Register With Google

If you’re a local business, create a free Google Business listing. Once verified, this will instantly help your rankings, especially if you’ve been struggling to show up just for the name of your business.

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Implement those tips to improve your website’s rankings. Just remember to be patient, add genuine value through useful content and regularly update your website. If you need a schmick new site, we’d be happy to help!

Mitch Hills | @masteredmarketing