Silas T Nkoana

Why Is My Website Not Ranking

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Silas T Nkoana

Why Is My Website Not Ranking? A Practical Guide from a South African SEO & Digital Marketing Perspective

If you’ve spent time and money building a website, it’s frustrating when it doesn’t appear on Google for the keywords that matter to your business. “Why is my website not ranking?” is one of the most common questions in SEO — and the answer is usually a combination of technical, content, and authority issues rather than a single problem.

Below is a structured, SEO-focused guide to the most frequent reasons websites struggle to rank, with references to established best-practice resources like Google Search Central, Moz, Search Engine Journal, and others. This is relevant for South African businesses and consultants operating on domains like .co.za (for example, `https://silastnkoana.co.za/`), as Google’s core ranking factors are global.

1. Your Website Isn’t Being Crawled or Indexed Properly

For any chance of ranking, Google has to discover, crawl, and index your pages.

1.1. Blocked by robots.txt or noindex tags

If your site tells search engines not to crawl or index it, you won’t rank. Google’s own SEO Starter Guide explains that incorrect use of robots.txt or noindex can completely prevent indexing (Google Search Central – SEO Starter Guide).

Key checks:

  • robots.txt isn’t blocking important URLs (e.g. /, /services, /blog).
  • There are no accidental <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> tags on pages you want to rank.
  • You aren’t blocking essential resources like CSS and JavaScript, which Google states can interfere with understanding your pages (Google – Control crawling and indexing).

1.2. No XML sitemap or sitemap not submitted

An XML sitemap helps search engines discover your content. Google recommends using and submitting a sitemap via Google Search Console, especially for new or complex sites (Google – Sitemaps).

If you haven’t:

  • Generated an XML sitemap (e.g. via your CMS or plugin),
  • Submitted it in Google Search Console,

Google may still find your pages, but it can be slower and less complete.

1.3. No Google Search Console setup

Google Search Console (GSC) is the primary tool to diagnose why a website is not ranking. Google explicitly describes it as a way to monitor indexing status, search performance, and technical issues (Google Search Console Help).

In GSC you can:

  • See which pages are indexed and which are excluded.
  • Check crawl errors and coverage issues.
  • Inspect a specific URL to see if Google can crawl and index it.

If you’re asking “why is my website not ranking?”, one of the first steps is to verify your domain in GSC and review the Coverage and Page indexing reports.

2. The Site Is Too New or Has Very Little Content

2.1. New domains need time and content

A brand-new website (including new .co.za domains registered in South Africa) often doesn’t rank well immediately. Google’s guidance emphasises that search systems are primarily driven by relevance and quality, and that new pages need to be discovered, crawled, and assessed over time (Google Search Central – How Search Works).

If your website:

  • Has only a few thin pages,
  • Has no blog or supporting content,
  • Has just gone live recently,

then limited content depth and history can delay meaningful rankings.

2.2. Thin or duplicate content

Search engines prioritise pages that provide substantial, original value. Moz notes that “thin content” (very short, shallow, or copy-pasted pages) is a common barrier to ranking, especially for competitive queries (Moz – Thin Content).

Your site may not rank if:

  • Service pages have only a few generic sentences.
  • Key pages reuse text from other websites (duplicate content).
  • You lack detailed explanations, examples, or supporting resources.

3. On‑Page SEO Issues: Titles, Keywords, and Meta Data

Even when a site is crawlable, on‑page SEO can make or break rankings.

3.1. Missing or weak title tags

The title tag is still one of the most important on‑page signals. Google’s documentation explains that clear, descriptive titles help search engines understand what each page is about (Google Search Central – Control your snippets in search results).

Common problems:

  • Multiple pages using the same generic title (e.g. “Home”, “Services”).
  • No mention of target keywords such as “SEO consultant in South Africa” or “digital marketing services”.
  • Titles that are too long or too short to properly describe the page.

3.2. Poor meta descriptions and headings

While meta descriptions aren’t a direct ranking factor, Google notes that well-written descriptions can influence click-through rates from search (Google – Snippets and meta descriptions).

Also:

  • H1 headings should clearly reflect the main topic.
  • Subheadings (H2/H3) should logically structure the content around related subtopics.
  • Over-stuffing headings with keywords can harm usability and potentially trigger spam signals, as discussed in Search Engine Journal’s on‑page SEO guide.

If you’re targeting “Why Is My Website Not Ranking”, ensure that phrase appears naturally in:

  • The title tag of a relevant guide or blog post.
  • The H1 heading.
  • The introduction and subheadings where appropriate.

4. Content Not Matching Search Intent

Even if your content is optimised on-page, it must satisfy search intent—what users actually want to achieve when they type a query.

According to Backlinko’s analysis of search intent, Google increasingly prioritises pages that:

  • Match whether the query is informational, transactional, navigational, or local.
  • Provide the type of content users expect (e.g., blog post vs. product page).
  • Answer related questions comprehensively.

If you have:

  • A salesy landing page targeting an informational query like “why is my website not ranking”,
  • Or a generic home page trying to rank for many unrelated queries,

Google may prefer more targeted, helpful resources such as in-depth articles, FAQs, or guides.

5. Weak Website Authority and Backlink Profile

5.1. Not enough quality backlinks

Backlinks from other sites act as a major ranking signal. Google’s documentation confirms that systems use links as a way to understand content’s relevance and reliability (Google – How Search Works: Ranking results).

Key issues:

  • New or small sites often have few or no external links.
  • Links from low-quality or spammy sites don’t help (and can hurt).
  • No presence in relevant directories (for example, South African business listings) or industry platforms.

Industry resources like Ahrefs’ guide to backlinks explain that earning links from real, authoritative websites is vital. If competitors have more high-quality links, they will typically outrank you, even with similar content.

5.2. Lack of local and niche signals

For South African service businesses (e.g., SEO & digital marketing consultants), local relevance is important:

  • Having consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details across reputable listings.
  • Creating a Google Business Profile, which Google recommends for appearing in local search results and Google Maps (Google Business Profile Help).
  • Being listed in legitimate local directories (for example, well-known South African business directories such as those compiled by industry bodies and chambers of commerce, as recognised in local SEO best practice by BrightLocal).

If your site lacks these local signals, you may struggle to rank for “near me” and city-specific searches.

6. Technical SEO Problems Slowing You Down

6.1. Slow page speed and poor Core Web Vitals

Google explicitly considers page experience and Core Web Vitals as part of ranking systems, especially on mobile (Google – Core Web Vitals & Page Experience). Pages that load slowly or react sluggishly can lose visibility.

Common performance issues:

  • Large, unoptimised images.
  • Heavy scripts and third-party plugins.
  • Poor hosting performance.

Use tools such as PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse, both recommended by Google, to diagnose performance bottlenecks (Google – Measure page experience).

6.2. Not mobile-friendly

Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily uses the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking (Google – Mobile-first indexing). If your website:

  • Is not responsive,
  • Has text that’s too small,
  • Uses elements that are hard to tap or navigate on phones,

it may rank poorly, particularly on mobile search. Google provides a Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check this (Google Mobile-Friendly Test).

6.3. Broken links and errors

Technical SEO guides from Search Engine Journal, Moz, and others highlight common issues:

  • Frequent 404 errors on important pages.
  • Misconfigured redirects (temporary instead of permanent, chains, loops).
  • Duplicate versions of the site (http/https, www/non-www) without proper canonicalisation.

Such issues can confuse search engines and dilute ranking signals across multiple URLs.

7. Over-Optimisation, Spam, or Manual Actions

7.1. Keyword stuffing and manipulative tactics

Google’s Spam Policies for Google Web Search make clear that practices like keyword stuffing and link schemes violate guidelines and can lead to ranking demotion or exclusion (Google – Spam Policies).

Risky behaviours include:

  • Repeating “SEO consultant” or “why is my website not ranking” unnaturally many times on a page.
  • Buying links from low-quality networks.
  • Hiding text or links (e.g., white text on a white background).

7.2. Manual actions and security issues

If a site violates guidelines or is hacked, Google may apply a manual action or show security warnings. These are visible in the Manual Actions and Security Issues sections of Google Search Console, as documented in Google’s help resources (Google Search Console Help – Manual actions).

If your rankings suddenly disappear, checking for manual actions or security problems is essential.

8. Competition and Keyword Difficulty

Sometimes a site is well-built but still doesn’t rank because the target keywords are highly competitive.

According to Ahrefs’ keyword difficulty research:

  • High-volume keywords often require significant authority (backlinks) and top-tier content.
  • Brand-new or low-authority sites might have to start with long-tail and more specific phrases.

If you’re trying to rank a relatively new .co.za site for broad, global terms like “SEO consultant” or “digital marketing”, you’ll be up against international agencies, large platforms, and long-established websites.

A more realistic approach is to:

  • Target location-modified terms (e.g., “SEO consultant Pretoria”, “digital marketing services Johannesburg”).
  • Publish detailed guides and case studies around niche topics your ideal clients care about.

9. How to Systematically Fix “Why Is My Website Not Ranking” Issues

Bringing everything together, here is a practical, priority-based checklist aligned with the best-practice frameworks above:

  1. Verify and audit indexing in Google Search Console
  2. Fix crawl and index barriers
    • Review robots.txt and meta robots tags to ensure important pages aren’t blocked (Google SEO Starter Guide).
    • Create and submit an XML sitemap.
  3. Improve your technical foundation
  4. Upgrade your on‑page SEO
    • Write unique, descriptive title tags and H1 headings for each page (Google – Snippets).
    • Structure content with clear subheadings and internal links.
    • Map each key page to specific target keywords and intent.
  5. Create high-quality, intent-matched content
    • Develop in-depth guides answering core client questions (e.g., “Why Is My Website Not Ranking”, “How to Choose a Digital Marketing Consultant in South Africa”).
    • Avoid thin or duplicate content (Moz – Thin Content).
  6. Build authority and local relevance
    • Earn backlinks through useful content, partnerships, and relevant mentions (Ahrefs – What Are Backlinks?).
    • Set up and optimise a Google Business Profile for local visibility (Google Business Profile Help).
    • Ensure consistent NAP details across reputable South African and industry directories, in line with local SEO best practices highlighted by BrightLocal.
  7. Stay within Google’s guidelines
    • Avoid spammy tactics and regularly review Google’s Search Essentials and Spam Policies (Google – Search Essentials, Spam Policies).
    • Check GSC for manual actions or security issues if rankings drop suddenly.

By systematically addressing crawlability, technical health, content quality, relevance, and authority—using tools and guidance from Google Search Central, Moz, Ahrefs, Search Engine Journal, and other reputable SEO resources—you move from asking “Why is my website not ranking?” to seeing gradual, measurable improvements in search visibility and organic traffic.

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