How to Know if your SEO Strategy is not working and Why it’s Failing

 

The faster a website recognizes its SEO strategy is not working, the quicker a resolution can be found. Even if you’re with an experienced SEO digital marketing agency that you trust, it’s important to measure and acknowledge when a strategy is underperforming. There are no guarantees when it comes to SEO and sometimes, failure happens. Here are some ways to gauge if there are issues ongoing with the agreed-upon strategy.

 

Decreasing organic traffic over time

 

SEO strategies live off of spurring organic growth. If you’ve noticed a trend of organic traffic decreasing, there may be a problem. Check your stats over the last 12 months. A good SEO strategy will create an upward trend on organic traffic. If there’s a drop in traffic, you may have issues with your strategy, a competitor may have moved in with a better strategy, or there may be other issues going on.

 

Decreasing organic traffic in a few days or less

 

An immediate and dramatic drop in organic traffic is a sure sign an SEO strategy is no longer working. In some cases, this is a sign that a shortcut was used to manipulate Google into a higher search rank than is preferred. When/if Google discovers you’ve done anything that’s designed to manipulate its algorithm, there’s a good chance you’ll be penalized. For this reason, never compromise on SEO, using bad or unethical techniques. Eventually, you will be found out.

 

Keyword rankings are falling at a steady rate

 

Check your keyword rankings regularly. If they’re dropping steadily, there’s a problem. If they’re fluctuating day to day, this is normal however pay attention to the trend. If everything’s trending downward over time, you may need to produce better content optimized for those keywords, build around new keywords, or there may be technical modifications to make. Remember, your keyword should be in the title, opening paragraph, and used naturally throughout content.

 

You’re not ranking for the best keywords

 

If you’re not ranking on the best keywords, you may be wasting part of your strategy. SEO is about getting to rank #1. If you’re not somewhere towards the top, a strategy becomes a failed experiment.

 

Conversion rates are low and/or not improving

 

If your SEO strategy is bringing leads to your site but they aren’t converting, it may or may not mean strategy issues. SEO strategies should bring in the ‘right kind’ of traffic. If you’re attracting visitors but they’re not ‘qualified leads’, it may be indicative of your keywords not being strong enough. Be sure to use keywords that your potential customers are using in online searches.

 

Content is too thin

 

Always go for quality over quantity. Thin content doesn’t work. For example, a 600-word article is always better than 2 articles of 300 words each. Google’s algorithms are all about user experience. If Google thinks you’re trying to cheap out on the customer with low quality, short content, your SEO strategy is not going to work. Put your focus on building the highest quality content that is long enough to make a difference.

 

These are just a few of the signs that an SEO strategy is not working. If you’ve noticed any of these signs and others, consider auditing your overall marketing approach and making a change. Speak with a representative at Unlimited Exposure today to begin making the changes you need to make to get to the highest quality SEO strategy, generating the highest return possible!