7 Reasons why your SEO Campaign isn't Working

There are few things that are as disheartening as seeing your site being virtually absent from search results after spending time and money on an SEO campaign.

As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, SEO isn’t an exact science and even though you can do everything to increase your chances, there’s no guarantee that you’ll always be able to rank. However, there are occasions when you’re actually the one to blame. In this article, we’re going to give you a few possible reasons why your site might be underperforming.

You Haven’t Put Enough Effort in

SEO is not just another marketing method that you should pile up over the others you’re actually using. Every marketing strategy should have SEO at its core. You can’t do some SEO here and there and expect to get consistent results. SEO is something that you constantly have to work on and tweak. And there’s never going to be a time when you’ll be able to let it run on autopilot.
If you have bad SEO, to begin with, trying to use strategies like link building or blogging will be futile. So, if you want to get any type of return on investment on your SEO, you have to commit to it completely.

You’re not Working with the Right Team

Yes, while we ultimately want to see visible results when doing any kind of SEO efforts, this shouldn’t be the only factor when choosing an agency. Some may be able to help you rank for a few of the keywords you wanted, but if the cost-benefit isn’t worth it, this isn’t really a success. No matter how many great inbound links you get, if you don’t get positive returns, then all your efforts are in vain. So, if you’re feeling like you’re pouring money down the drain, then maybe you should consider looking for another team.

Your Inbounds Links are Terrible

It’s still crazy to see how many people think that the quantity of inbound links is still the best way to get better rankings. But having too many links can actually work against you in this day and age. Not all links have the same importance, and not all will be able to help you rank higher.
And knowing who is linking to you and having a clear picture of your linking profile is more important than ever. One or two bad links to your site won’t hurt much, but if there’s a recognizable pattern of bad inbound links, you will end up getting penalized, either through Google’s algorithm or manually. This could potentially either remove your site from Google’s results temporarily or permanently.
This is why you have to learn how to make link audits and disavow bad links to your site. You also have to learn the difference between a good and a potentially harmful link. If you want to disavow bad links to your site, you’ll have to get a list of the links in question and submit them to Google’s disavow links tool.

Your Content is Horrible as Well

Content is the lifeblood of the internet and you will be penalized if you don’t give your readers exactly what they’re looking for. Bounce rates these days are used as a metric to determine a site’s quality, which wasn’t the case not too long ago. Bounce rates are the number of people who leave or “bounce” out of your website without exploring more than one page. If your site looks good, has good navigation, performs well and runs properly on all platforms, then there is no reason for you to have high bounce rates. In this case, your content might have to be re-examined to see if it really fits your audience’s needs.

You Have the Wrong Priorities

SEO demands that you focus on multiple things at once and if you don’t know how to prioritize your efforts, you might end up wasting time on segments of your strategy that aren’t working.
For instance, if you spend too much time trying to get new followers on social media and are constantly making news updates, you might be neglecting methods that could be more efficient. For instance, you could be trying to reach out to other publishers in your niche to get a guest post published on their platform. Just having one viral piece on a prominent blog will do much more for your SEO than having a few more followers on Facebook. Know what’s important and put your all into it, then you could even completely outsource the small stuff to a third party.

Your Site Doesn’t Convert

Having visitors coming through search engines isn’t the end goal when it comes to SEO. At the end of the day, if your site isn’t converting your visitors into customers or potential leads, then your overall strategy is failing. Make sure that your site is easily navigable, uses concise, but effective copy, has clear and simple calls to action, and has a few trust signals as well.

You’re not Patient Enough

At the end of the day, it could very well be possible that you’re actually progressing, but you just had unrealistic expectations about the results you were going to get. Having a negative ROI is completely normal when you’re just getting started. So, if it's only been a few months and the floodgates haven’t opened yet, be patient and keep putting more effort into your SEO strategy.
Others may have a tunnel vision of what it means to have a successful SEO strategy. Sure, conversions and leads are nice to have, but what about building brand awareness, authority, and trust? These are all things that will benefit you in the end as well and shouldn’t be neglected when evaluating your SEO results.

Conclusion

Not being able to see results after doing everything right can be difficult, but if you’re the cause, make sure that you right your wrongs and be ready to completely overhaul your SEO strategy if needs be.