Poor search rankings? First distinguish between not being indexed and ranking below expectations

If a website “cannot be found in search,” first determine whether its pages have not been indexed or can appear in search results but are not ranking as expected for target keywords. In the former case, check whether the pages have been discovered and whether crawlers are blocked. In the latter, review keyword selection, content, competition, and backlink quality. Knowing only how long the website has been running or how many SEO measures have been implemented is not enough to identify the cause, nor does it justify concluding that the site has been penalized.

Check indexing status first, rather than just paging through search results

Semrush’s 2020 explanation recommends using Google Search Console to inspect a specific URL: a page that has not been indexed cannot appear in search results, while an indexed page is eligible to appear but is not guaranteed a desirable ranking. This is a diagnostic approach offered by the article, not a promise about how long ranking will take.

• If a page has not yet been discovered, consider requesting indexing.
• If technical issues such as robots.txt blocking crawlers exist, fix them first.
• If you suspect a manual action, check the relevant report. The article describes this as rare, so low rankings alone do not justify that conclusion.

Turn “not ranking” into a question that can be investigated

When asking for help, provide at least the website and target page URLs, target keywords, search engine used, indexing check results, changes already made, and observation period. Forum replies also point out that without knowing which website is involved, it is difficult to identify the problem among the many possible variables.

For example, in a discussion at the time, the operator of a stock trading software website reported being unable to find the site among the first 400 results for “stock trading software,” even though it ranked first for the brand term “DDAmanda.” These results should not be conflated: being findable for a brand term does not mean a website will also rank well for a generic product term. This account is also insufficient to establish that the entire site was unindexed.

Once indexed, check whether the targeting and content are appropriate

A 2024 article on Neil Patel’s website recommends analyzing search results for primary keywords: Are the top-ranking websites relevant to your industry? What unique insights can you offer? Do you have access to experts who could strengthen the content? Poor targeting or content on the same site competing with itself may also warrant attention first.

Another article on the same website, discussing programmatic content, notes that lower-than-expected traffic may be related to poor rankings and suggests reviewing keyword strategy or strengthening data, visual content, and insights. These are possible avenues for improvement, not a guarantee that “adding content will improve rankings.” The article also cautions that once traffic arrives, you still need to monitor whether it generates inquiries or sales.

Check where links come from, not just how many there are

In another forum case, a respondent questioned the relevance of a website’s link sources and noted that many anchor texts repeatedly included “packers and movers.” This suggests that diagnosis should examine link sources, relevance, and anchor text distribution rather than just the total number of links.

However, these assessments concerned a specific website. They cannot be generalized into a universally safe ratio, nor are they sufficient to establish that a penalty has been imposed. Before making changes, check whether your own links actually have similar issues rather than copying the case-specific recommendation to disavow large numbers of links.