Effective marketing today requires an SEO strategy. Consumers rely on search engines like Google to get answers to questions and make decisions throughout the day. However, consumers rarely ever find businesses by searching for specific business names. Rather, they search for information, products, and services, and they come across businesses that provide it. You might think that with a website and a few directory listings, consumers can easily find your business on Google—but can they? If you search for your business on Google, are you able to find it? If you can’t find your business on Google, read on to learn about some culprits that could be burying you in search engine results pages.
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Why Doesn’t My Site Appear on Google?
There are a number of reasons that could explain why you can’t find your business on Google. Take a gander through this list and see what kindsof adjustments you may need to make.
1. You’re not optimized for crawling
Search engine optimization isn’t just about meeting searchers’ needs. In fact your first priority is to optimize it for crawling so that search engines can index it and serve it up to searchers. If you don’t have keywords in these places on your webpages, Google will have a hard time indexing you, and users with finding you.
• Title Tags: This is the title of your pages or post, and the first piece of information Google collects to “read” it.
• Meta Content: This is the brief snippet that appears on search engine results pages and further describes your page to search engines
• URL: The URL is the unique address for each page or post
• Alt Tags: Alt tags create a text alternative of photos that Google can read them
2. You’re not emphasizing location
When people search for products and services, they commonly type in [industry, product, service] + [their city or town]. If your website does not make your business’s location loud and clear to search engines, you’re less likely to be found this way. It will also throw your website into the larger industry bucket, rather than your local area, making it even harder to rank.
3. Your website is not mobile-friendly
Make sure your website is responsive or mobile-friendly. Google loves to provide websites to users that are easy to use and meet their needs. If your website crashes, loads slowly, or functions poorly on mobile devices, Google will want to hide it to protect its users from a poor experience.
4. Your website is not user-friendly
Having a working website is not enough. Users need to be able to move around on it easily and intuitively. Google can detect poor navigation structure through its users’ behavior. Make sure your website is optimized for seamless navigation and longer engagement. Otherwise it will get buried under competitors’ websites that are more user-friendly.
5. You’re not targeting keywords effectively
Each page on your website should target a different keyword, and the keywords should be placed into the body of the page naturally. If you can’t find your website when you type relevant search terms into Google, make sure the page associated with that keyword has accurate, up-to-date, useful information.
The keywords that you should use are ones that your customers are going to be most likely to look for. To find this, it’s best to put yourself in the shoes of your customer and figure out what they would search for based on their priorities and experiences. For more information on how to use local keywords and keyword tools, check out this post.
6. You don’t have a Google My Business Listing
Google My Business is one of the quickest and most effective ways to get found on Google, particularly for location-based searches. If you haven’t created and claimed your Google My Business listing, you need to do so now! The more Google can learn about your business, the more comfortable it will be in ranking you high in results. Set up and optimize your Google My Business listing asap, where you can also collect Google reviews, which can further help with your ranking and visibility.
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7. You’re not on Google Maps
Even if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, being on Google Maps is essential for getting found on Google. If you can’t find your business on Google Maps, it’s time to create a Maps listing. If you do find your business but don’t have access to it, you’ll want to claim it. Only once you’ve claimed your listing can you make edits and updates.
8. You’re lacking in positive reviews
Getting listed in online directories isn’t enough. It’s important to be getting positive reviews regularly. The better your reputation is on review sites like Yelp, the more Google will know it can trust you and rank you higher in its results.
Having a website and directory listings is only the first step in ensuring that you can easily find your business on a Google search. If you want to stay visible despite your competitors’ efforts and the volume of content online, optimize your online presence with the tips above. Once you can easily find your website on Google, you can rest assured that potential customers can find it too.
For more help with showing up on Google, check out our Google My Business Knowledge Center.
Kristen McCormick
Kristen is the Content Marketing Manager for ThriveHive, where she geeks out daily over SEO, organic traffic, and A/B testing. When she's not equipping business owners and marketers to get their name out there through effective content, she's out pedaling the streets of Boston on her beloved bike.
