Silas T Nkoana

Website Not Ranking On Google

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Silas T Nkoana

When your website is not ranking on Google, it usually comes down to a mix of technical issues, content gaps, and a lack of consistent SEO work. As a South African SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant, Silas T Nkoana focuses on helping business owners understand and fix these problems so their sites can actually be found in search.

On his consultancy site, Silas introduces himself simply as Silas T Nkoana – SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant in South Africa, offering SEO and broader digital marketing services that aim to improve online visibility and growth for local businesses, including those targeting the South African market (SilasTnkoana.co.za).

Below is a practical, SEO‑optimised guide to why your website is not ranking on Google, what to do about it, and where a consultant like Silas can assist.

1. Why Your Website Is Not Ranking On Google

For most sites, poor rankings come down to a few core areas:

1.1 Technical SEO problems

Technical barriers can stop Google from properly accessing or indexing your site. Google’s own documentation notes that if pages are blocked by robots.txt, marked “noindex”, or return server errors, they may not appear in search at all (Google Search Central – “Inspect and fix indexing issues”).

Common technical reasons your website is not ranking on Google include:

  • Pages not indexed (noindex tags, blocked by robots.txt, or not discovered)
  • Poor site structure and internal linking
  • Slow page speed or mobile‑unfriendly design
  • Duplicate content and wrong canonical tags
  • Incorrect use of redirects (chains, loops, 302s instead of relevant 301s)

Google recommends using tools like Search Console’s URL Inspection to check whether pages are indexed and whether there are crawl errors or coverage issues (Google Search Console Help).

1.2 Weak or unfocused content

If your pages don’t clearly answer the searcher’s query, they’re unlikely to rank. Google’s guidance on creating helpful, reliable, people‑first content stresses that pages should demonstrate expertise and be written primarily for users, not search engines (Google Search Central – “Creating helpful, reliable, people‑first content”).

Content‑related reasons your website is not ranking on Google:

  • Thin content (very little useful information per page)
  • No clear target keyword or search intent
  • Duplicate or near‑duplicate copy across pages
  • Out‑of‑date content that’s not maintained
  • Over‑optimised or “spammy” keyword stuffing, which may be devalued by Google’s systems (Google Search Essentials – Spam Policies)

1.3 Lack of authority and backlinks

Google’s original documentation on ranking systems notes that PageRank and other signals use links from other sites as a way of understanding authority and relevance (Google “How Google Search works – Ranking results”).

If no credible websites link to you, your site appears less trustworthy to search engines. That’s why a website with good content may still not rank if it has:

  • Very few or no high‑quality backlinks
  • Links primarily from spammy or irrelevant sites
  • No mentions or citations across the broader web

1.4 Local SEO issues (for South African & local businesses)

For local businesses, Google Business Profile (GBP) visibility is crucial. Google explains that for local search rankings, relevance, distance, and prominence all matter (Google Business Profile Help – “Improve your local ranking on Google”).

Your website may not rank in local results if:

  • Your Google Business Profile is not verified or incomplete
  • Your name, address, and phone (NAP) are inconsistent across directories
  • You lack local reviews and local backlinks

South African businesses often appear in directories such as Yellow Pages South Africa or Brabys, which help confirm a company’s presence and basic contact information for search engines (Yellow Pages South Africa – Business Listings and Brabys – Business Directory).

2. How an SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant Helps When Your Website Is Not Ranking On Google

Because SEO touches technical, content, and marketing disciplines, many business owners turn to a specialist rather than trying to fix everything themselves.

2.1 SEO diagnosis and audit

According to Google’s own advice on working with SEOs, a reputable SEO consultant should start with an audit that reviews technical health, content quality, and link profile, and then provide concrete recommendations (Google Search Central – “Do you need an SEO?”).

A typical audit covers:

  • Indexation and crawlability checks
  • Site speed and mobile‑friendliness (using tools like PageSpeed Insights)
  • On‑page SEO (titles, meta descriptions, headings, structured data)
  • Content gaps versus competitors
  • Backlink profile and potential risks

Consultants such as Silas T Nkoana, who positions himself as an SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant in South Africa on his own site, offer this kind of diagnostic work for sites that are struggling to appear in Google search (SilasTnkoana.co.za – SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant).

2.2 Fixing technical SEO issues

Based on Google’s technical guidelines, an SEO will typically:

2.3 Content strategy and optimisation

An SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant will develop a content plan aligned with your business goals, using keyword research to identify what your audience is actually searching for. This follows Google’s recommendations to create content that is:

This directly targets the core problem: your website not ranking on Google because it lacks the depth and relevance Google expects for key queries.

2.4 Building authority and digital presence

Because Google uses off‑site signals like backlinks and mentions, an SEO consultant also focuses on sustainable authority‑building:

  • Identifying relevant industry sites for guest content or collaborations
  • Earning links by creating genuinely valuable resources
  • Strengthening brand presence across trusted directories and platforms

For South African businesses, appearing consistently in credible directories such as Yellow Pages South Africa or Brabys can help reinforce NAP consistency and legitimacy, supporting both local and organic search efforts (Yellow Pages South Africa and Brabys Business Directory).

3. Practical Steps If Your Website Is Not Ranking On Google

Even before you engage a consultant, you can take several practical steps guided by Google’s own resources:

  1. Check if your site is indexed
    Use site:yourdomain.co.za in Google Search and the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to confirm indexing status (Google Search Console Help – URL Inspection).

  2. Review your content against Google’s people‑first criteria
    Compare your important pages against Google’s checklist for helpful, reliable content and adjust where necessary (Google’s helpful content guidelines).

  3. Run a simple technical check

    • Test mobile friendliness and speed with PageSpeed Insights (PageSpeed Insights).
    • Look for obvious issues like pages returning 404 errors, redirect loops, or being blocked by robots.txt (Google robots.txt docs).
  4. Claim and optimise your Google Business Profile (for local businesses)
    Follow Google’s instructions to verify and fully complete your business listing, add accurate categories, business hours, and photos, and start collecting reviews (Google Business Profile Help).

  5. Document issues and next steps
    Having a clear list of issues (indexing, content gaps, slow pages, missing local presence) will make it easier to work effectively with an SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant.

4. When to Engage an SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant

Google explicitly advises that engaging an SEO can be valuable when you are launching a new site, redesigning an existing one, or struggling to get found in search (Google SEO Starter Guide – “Do you need an SEO?”).

You should consider working with a consultant if:

  • Your website is not ranking on Google for your own brand name or key services
  • You rely on online leads or sales but traffic is stagnant or declining
  • You’re unsure how to interpret data from Google Analytics or Google Search Console
  • You operate in a competitive space and need a focused, ongoing SEO strategy

Professionals like Silas T Nkoana, who presents himself as an SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant on his website for the South African market, are positioned to help diagnose these issues and create a structured plan to improve visibility and performance in Google Search (SilasTnkoana.co.za).

If your website is not ranking on Google, the underlying causes are usually fixable. By combining Google’s own best‑practice guidelines with the structured approach of an experienced SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant, you can move from being invisible in search to attracting consistent, relevant traffic for your business.

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