/ SEO diagnostics
Why isn't my website ranking on Google?
The 10 real reasons small business websites don't rank — and how to diagnose which one is yours in under 30 minutes.
/ 01
The short version
If you've built a site, waited months, and still can't find yourself on Google, one of ten things is almost certainly wrong. Most are fixable in a day. Some need a rebuild. Here's how to tell which.
/ 02
The 10 real reasons (in order of how common they are)
In roughly the order we see them on client audits:
- • You're too new — Google needs 3–6 months of crawling before it takes a new site seriously.
- • You have zero backlinks — no other site links to you, so Google has no signal you exist.
- • Your pages target keywords nobody searches (or that huge national brands own).
- • Your title tags and H1s don't include the phrases you actually want to rank for.
- • Your site is technically blocked — noindex tag, robots.txt disallow, or missing sitemap.
- • Your content is thin — under 300 words per page, or duplicated from other sites.
- • Your Google Business Profile isn't set up, so local packs skip you entirely.
- • The site is painfully slow on mobile (LCP over 4 seconds).
- • Your domain has a bad history — spammy owner before you bought it.
- • You're actually ranking — but on page 3 for terms you don't check.
/ 03
The 30-minute diagnostic
Do these five checks in order. Stop when you find your answer.
- • 1. Google: site:yourdomain.com — if nothing shows, you're not indexed at all (technical block).
- • 2. Google Search Console → Pages report — look for 'Not indexed' reasons.
- • 3. Search your exact H1 in quotes — if you appear, you're indexed but not competitive.
- • 4. Check ahrefs.com/backlink-checker for your domain — under 10 referring domains = link poverty.
- • 5. Run pagespeed.web.dev on your homepage — mobile score under 50 is a ranking drag.
/ 04
What to fix first
Technical blocks (noindex, robots, sitemap) take an hour and unlock everything else. Do those first, always.
After that: rewrite title tags to match what people actually search for. This one change moves more sites into the top 20 than any other single fix.
Then start earning links — one relevant local mention a month beats a hundred spammy directory submissions.
/ 05
Want a human to look at yours?
We're a small Colchester studio. Send us your URL and we'll tell you honestly what's wrong, what to fix first, and whether it's worth paying anyone to do it. No sales call gauntlet, no 30-slide deck.
If the fix is small, we'll tell you how to do it yourself. If it's bigger, we'll quote it plainly.
/ FAQs
Common questions
How long until a new site ranks?
3–6 months for niche/local terms with basic SEO in place. 12+ months for competitive commercial terms.
Will paying for SEO fix this?
Only if the SEO agency is fixing the actual problem. A £500/mo 'SEO retainer' spent on generic blog posts when your site is noindexed is money burnt.
Should I just start over?
Rarely. 90% of ranking problems are content + links, not the platform. Rebuild only if the site is technically broken beyond repair.
Not sure which one is you?
Send us your URL. We'll tell you honestly which of these applies and what to fix first — no sales pitch.
Get a free look →