Why is my website not ranking in Google? How can I improve my website ranking?

It’s a common misconception that by creating a website for your business that you’re going to appear at the top Google search results. However, there are thousands of websites just like your vying to be seen by potential customers. To claim a top spot takes a significant amount of time and effort just to rank anywhere on the first page of Google searches, hence why digital marketing companies like Fly High Media exist.  

I’m going to let you in on a few secrets today (Don’t tell my boss) on how to get your website to rank in Google and also talk about why ranking in Google is so hard to achieve. 

For me, there are three main reasons why your business may not be ranking in Google. Firstly your website is too small, there’s not enough content or backlinks, so basically your website has low authority. Secondly, because you are new to the scene, the new kid in class shall we say, no one really knows you or trusts so you have to sit at the back of the class and keep your head down.  Finally, there’s so much competition that unless you have a very niche and desirable business then you just get crowded out by other sellers.  

So on to the interesting part where I can give you some handy tips. Google needs to be able to trust your website and if there’s too little content this is going to be difficult. It’s like going on a dating site and seeing one picture and a sentence describing someone, compared to ten pictures, a video, and a full-blown blog about someone, who would you trust more? You need some authority. 

Content is KING, a three-page site doesn’t cut it. Google is unlikely to care about you (sorry but the truth hurts) and when ranking sites in your ‘category’ eg ‘Hairdressers in Manchester’ you’re going to feature on page 99. So in order to aid your rankings, you need to build your website. A website that is large with extensive content on each and every page, packed full of information using those keywords you want to rank for, is going to help.  

Moving on let’s talk about being new on the scene. It’s hard for absolutely anyone who’s new to being online, especially if you’re doing everything yourself. Being new means that Google needs to get to know your website content. Google will need time to crawl your site (go through your website with a fine-tooth comb) to determine how much ‘authority’ you have and determine how much it can trust your content and then it will rank you accordingly.  

Finally, as you will be aware Google‘s reach is pretty big, there is a LOT of stuff out there. So more than likely you’re not going to be the only one online in your business sector, sometimes there can be hundreds if not thousands of websites you’re competing against to get in front of your customers’ beady eyeballs. 

It’s more than likely that if you’re new to online anyway you’re not going to have a very large online customer base therefore unless you’re being searched for with your exact, and I mean your exact, company name you’re unlikely to be found. It’s worth knowing that if people are searching for you within the first few days of you setting up your website, even with your exact business name, you may not appear, but don’t panic. This is because Google hasn‘t yet reviewed your site to determine your content, level of trustworthiness and authority, you should show up in a few day’s time, they’re speedy guys over there at Google.  

Back to competitors, search engine optimisation (SEO for short) is your only solution which is where people like us come in, you need to build some solid SEO foundations to gain visibility, which can be achieved in a multitude of different ways. Take a look at the Fly High Media Knowledge Base section on our website, there is lots of practical and actionable information around SEO. Alternatively, you could always just contact me to discuss how we could help you. 

Using social media can also be an incredibly powerful method for marketing to your target audience, depending on your audience of course. There are many different platforms:, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tiktok and Snapchat to list just a few. Posting good quality content and timing it just right can help to build a profile for your business and capture valuable customers. Again take a look at the Fly High Media Knowledge Base on if you’d like to read more about social media marketing. 

This leads us nicely into my last point, Facebook Ads, and Google Ads. These both work well, even for lower budgets. You can run Facebook and Google Ad pay per click (PPC) campaigns on a daily basis. Naturally, the more you invest in the campaigns the more you get out, providing you’re managing it correctly. Our blogs on PPC has some useful articles. 

Whatever tactic you do decide on to improve your website rankings just make sure you stay consistent. Review what has worked well and what hasn’t worked and go from there. Constant reviewing, learning, and adaptation are needed for successful online marketing. 

If you want to have a chat with me about how Fly High Media can help you with your SEO or other digital marketing, then please email or phone on 0151 528 9502 or 0161 818 4645.