SEO is a young specialization, with a history of about 20 years. In such a short period, a lot of myths about promoting a website in search engines, about SEO optimization secrets, and mistakes have already appeared.
Did you know that in 1993 the first search engine appeared? A primitive one - Web3 Catalog, and the search engine of the Google company became known only in the 2000s... and today the same Google that started relatively modestly operates with 92% of the global search traffic.
So, if you own a website, you already know how hard it is to reach your target audience. And that's because 1.9 billion websites are currently officially registered. The competition is very high, and the Google ranking for a given query contains only 10 places. The competition is fierce.
Find out below what it means to rank well, where you're going wrong with website optimization, and why Google isn't efficiently storing your web page in its database.
Let's start slowly, namely: your site may simply not be indexed. But what does indexing mean for Google?
Not being indexed means you won't be listed in Google Search.
Indexing your site involves crawling it by search engine crawlers and displaying it in the results when they search for keywords matching your site's content. Careful! This is not about ranking on the first or second page, but, for now, just being present in the results, that is, being indexed. Even if you already have a page, and invested in articles, and web design - you might not appear in the search engine.
Web pages must be stored in Google's index. When a user makes a query, the answers are pulled from this Google database, where they are stored, that is, from the index. So, for your website to appear in Google search results, you must first make sure that your website is accessible to Googlebot. Then, you need to make sure that it is indexed correctly and that you haven't made any other mistakes that make you invisible to Google.
Reasons for partial and/or erroneous indexing
Things can be very simple in some cases, for example, those who took care of the programming, simply forgot to allow the site to be indexed or did not place the sitemap in the XML language (sitemap.xml). If, on the other hand: you have a lot of errors, the site has copied or irrelevant content, or you are penalized by Google - things get very complicated. At the same time, you should know that if the site is new, then in the first 6 months it will be less visible to the search engine. The authority and notoriety of a web page is only built over time.
Reasons for poor rankings
But let's leave the fancy language to the developers and figure out what mistakes you're making in your content creation and why your site isn't ranking well, even if it's been indexed!
You don't use keywords in families and groups or you don't use them where they should
One of the most effective SEO strategies is blogging. Suggest simple, easy, and fun topics to people, for example: "how to make money online", select keywords with no. search environment and low competition (use Google Ads' Keyword Tool (https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/) - Keyword Planner to spot them and only use them in groups of words.
For keyword grouping use Keyword Grouper PRO (https://marketbold.com/KeywordGrouperPro/).
Although it is important to establish an SEO strategy to promote your website in search engines, it is not enough to have SEO keyword-optimized text on your website. You still need to use SEO keywords in meta tags (titles and descriptions), in URLs, in the structure of menus, in the names of images and ALT texts, in in-text titles, in headings, etc.
Invest in strong content, not just pages that sell, but informational pages as well. Provide value to users, introduce guides, cases, printscreens, videos, comments, and reviews. Revamp old articles, choose the right keywords and phrases, browse the top 10 pages that appear on Google with these keyword groups, and create a new article that's better than your competitors. This kind of content is called subtle content and it helps your web page to be indexed better.
Don't worry about user experience
User intent also matters here. A user who is unhappy with your site and clicks will quickly leave the site because your page did not match their intent. This directly hits your site's position, especially if it clicks on competitors. To increase the conversion rate, you need to do SEO optimization for each page.
The page must be easy to use, so the concept you must be guided by is usability. Google, first of all, will draw attention to the time spent on the page and the bounce rate. So, no matter how much you invest in SEO services in Moldova or Romania, sponsored ads, if the product is not loved by people, no one will access this page. Moreover, Google also tracks the behavior of users after they leave the page and you will lose a lot of notoriety.
You don't optimize the mobile version of the site
Google will prioritize the mobile versions of the sites. Excellent mobile loading speed, responsiveness, and adaptability are the basic requirements. If the loading speed is slow, then the user will reject your web page. Bounce rate and time spent on the page are the main parameters that Google takes into account when analyzing your site.
You already know that the site must be mobile-friendly. It provides added value to users. If you have an online store, create mobile apps, and informative articles. Whoever invests in a pleasant user experience will have a lot to gain in the long run, especially if they also invest in promoting the site in search engines.
You are not doing quality link-building
Quality backlinks (links leading to your page) are the main elements of a great SEO strategy and probably the most difficult task. Search engines use links to crawl each page on your site, but also to create links between sites. In this way, search engines decide whether or not a page is of sufficient quality to rank for relevant keywords. So there are many techniques for building quality backlinks, but they vary in difficulty levels. Most SEO experts believe that it is very difficult to get quality links, but nothing is impossible.
So, to get proper indexing from Google, you need to actively invest in building backlinks as well. Here, you have 3 basic options: business directories (where you can add information about your business and website), take advantage of the popularity of social networks (they will help you collect authoritative backlinks), and, not in the last line, improve internal links. Make sure the pages are linked together by keywords that contain links relevant to each page.
You don't have a long-term SEO strategy
Analyze competitors who are in the top 10 search results. What do they do differently than you? Maybe they have relevant content maybe they have an effective SEO strategy, maybe they use SEO services in Moldova, or maybe they have a mobile-friendly page and offer a pleasant experience to users. A brand becomes known through publications in social networks, in newspapers, magazines, and popular online portals, through a strong strategy of promoting a site in search engines.
So, now you know what mistakes you are probably unconsciously making and why your site is not indexed by Google. Pay maximum attention to these aspects and improve your site, making it visible to search engines. This is the only way you can beat your competitors and reach the top 3 in Google results.