Digital Marketing

Google Search Console (GSC) is an essential tool in our arsenal for enhancing SEO and boosting website performance for our clients. It provides us with direct insights from Google, allowing us to understand how websites appear in search results, track keyword performance, and identify areas for improvement. By using this data, we can make informed decisions that improve a website’s visibility, resolve technical issues, and ultimately drive more organic traffic. In this guide, we’ll explore how we leverage GSC’s features to elevate our clients’ SEO strategies, ensuring they stay competitive in the ever-changing digital landscape.

Monitor Website Performance and Improve Content

Monitoring website performance through Google Search Console (GSC) gives us valuable insights into how well specific pages perform in search results. One key metric we focus on is the combination of high impressions but a low average position. This indicates that while Google is showing the page in search results frequently, it’s appearing lower than competitors’ pages, making it less likely for users to find and click on it. Essentially, Google recognizes the page’s relevance to a search term but ranks other content higher.

How We Use It: For pages with high impressions but a low average position, we dive deeper into why competitors might be outranking us. We analyze the top-ranking content for that keyword—looking at factors like content depth, structure, use of visuals, and user engagement elements such as internal links or FAQs. Once we identify what’s working for those top results, we enhance our content to provide even greater value. This could mean adding more comprehensive answers, updating statistics, embedding videos, or creating infographics that provide a richer user experience. Our goal is to make our content better than the competition, ensuring it offers the most relevant and thorough information for that search query.

Example: For example, if a client’s page on “best roofing materials for cold climates” has high impressions but is stuck on page two, we’ll review the content that ranks in the top spots. If those pages include detailed comparisons, user reviews, or recent data, we’ll update our client’s page to match or exceed that level of detail. This might involve adding a new section on recent roofing trends, customer testimonials, or a comparison chart of different materials’ durability in cold weather.

Fix Indexing Issues and Submit Sitemaps

Ensuring that all valuable content on a website is properly indexed is essential for achieving good visibility in search results. Indexing issues can occur due to technical errors, duplicate content, or even pages that are blocked from being crawled. If key pages aren’t indexed, they won’t appear in search results, which can significantly limit a website’s reach, even if the content is highly relevant to users’ queries. Google Search Console provides tools to monitor these indexing challenges and ensure that Google understands which pages are most important.

Explanation: Ensuring that all valuable content on a website is properly indexed is essential for achieving good visibility in search results. Indexing issues can occur due to technical errors, duplicate content, or even pages that are blocked from being crawled. If key pages aren’t indexed, they won’t appear in search results, which can significantly limit a website’s reach, even if the content is highly relevant to users’ queries. Google Search Console provides tools to monitor these indexing challenges and ensure that Google understands which pages are most important.

How We Use It: We regularly monitor the indexing section in Google Search Console to identify any pages that are “Discovered but not indexed” or “Crawled but currently not indexed”. When we find pages with these issues, we investigate the potential causes—such as insufficient internal links or technical errors. We then make necessary adjustments, like improving the page’s content structure or adding more internal links to increase its visibility. Additionally, we use the Sitemaps feature in GSC to submit or update sitemaps whenever new content is published or existing pages are refreshed. This helps ensure that Google is aware of these changes and crawls the pages promptly.

Example: For a client launching a new service page, we may find that the page is not appearing in Google search results, even though it is relevant and valuable. By submitting the sitemap with the new page in GSC and enhancing internal links from other relevant pages, we can prompt Google to crawl and index the page more quickly. If issues persist, we may also request a re-crawl directly through GSC to speed up the process.

Analyze Page Experience and Improve User Engagement

Page Experience is a set of signals that Google uses to evaluate how users perceive the experience of interacting with a webpage. It goes beyond just content, incorporating Core Web Vitals, mobile-friendliness, HTTPS security, safe browsing, and no intrusive interstitials. Google prioritizes pages that load quickly, are secure, mobile-friendly, and free from disruptive elements like pop-ups. These factors collectively ensure that a user can interact with a website in a smooth, secure, and enjoyable manner, making it more likely that they will stay on the page and engage with its content.

How We Use It: We use the Page Experience insights in Google Search Console (GSC) to assess how our clients’ websites perform across these criteria. For instance, we monitor Core Web Vitals to ensure that a site loads quickly and remains visually stable. We also verify mobile usability to ensure the website is easy to navigate on smaller screens, and check for HTTPS encryption to maintain a secure connection for users. If we find areas that need improvement—like pages with poor mobile usability or non-secure connections—we work closely with our development team to implement changes that enhance the overall page experience.

Example: If a client’s website shows poor mobile usability due to elements like buttons that are too close together or text that is difficult to read on a small screen, we adjust the layout and make the design more responsive. For HTTPS issues, we ensure that all resources on the site are served securely, preventing “Not Secure” warnings that can deter users. Additionally, if interstitials are disrupting the user flow, we adjust them to be less intrusive, aligning with Google’s guidelines for a better user experience.

Disavowing Bad Backlinks in Conjunction with Semrush

Backlinks, or links from other websites pointing to your site, play a crucial role in determining domain authority and overall SEO performance. High-quality backlinks are seen by Google as endorsements of your content, helping to boost your website’s credibility and rankings. However, not all backlinks are beneficial—links from spammy, irrelevant, or low-quality websites can damage your reputation with Google. Such harmful backlinks can result in lower search rankings, as they can make Google view your site as associated with untrustworthy content. Disavowing these bad backlinks allows you to focus on cultivating valuable links that enhance your site’s authority, ensuring that Google only considers quality signals when assessing your site.

How We Use It: We use Semrush to conduct a thorough backlink audit, identifying potentially toxic links that could negatively impact our clients’ rankings. Once harmful links are identified, we compile a disavow file that lists these unwanted backlinks. This file is then uploaded through the Disavow Links Tool in Google Search Console, signaling to Google that these links should not be considered when evaluating the website’s authority. This combined approach ensures a clean and healthy backlink profile, focusing on quality rather than quantity.

Example: If a client’s website suddenly experiences a drop in rankings, a deep dive into their backlink profile might reveal a surge of low-quality links from spammy websites. By using Semrush to pinpoint these toxic backlinks and disavowing them through Google Search Console, we help the client regain their ranking potential, allowing Google to focus on the more credible links pointing to their site.

Google Search Console is an invaluable tool for optimizing our clients’ SEO strategies. From improving content for better user engagement to ensuring a clean backlink profile, GSC allows us to make data-driven decisions that enhance search engine visibility. By leveraging these insights and combining them with other powerful tools like Semrush, we can continually adapt our strategies to keep our clients ahead of the competition and ensure their online presence thrives.

If your website isn’t ranking well on Google, it can be frustrating, especially if you’ve invested time and effort into creating content and optimizing your site through search engine optimization and digital marketing strategies. Several factors can prevent your site from ranking well in search results. Below, we’ve outlined 11 common reasons your website may not be performing and how to fix each issue.

1. Poor Keyword Targeting

Reason: Targeting the wrong keywords—or focusing on keywords that are too broad—can severely limit your website’s visibility on Google. Broad keywords like “windows” or “shoes” are highly competitive, meaning larger, more established websites are likely to dominate those search results. This makes it difficult for Google to recognize your website as relevant to user searches. Even if your content is well-written, if it’s targeting overly competitive or vague keywords, it will likely be outranked by more specific or authoritative sites.

Additionally, if the keywords you’re using don’t align with user intent, Google may see your page as irrelevant, causing it to rank lower. For example, if users are searching for specific solutions and your content is too generic or doesn’t address their needs, search engines may prioritize other pages that better match those search queries. In short, failing to optimize for the right keywords can lead to missed opportunities, low-quality traffic, and reduced conversions.

2. Lack of Fresh Content

Reason: If you’re not consistently updating your website with fresh, relevant content, Google may crawl it less frequently, leading to lower rankings. This highlights the importance of fresh content, as search engines view regularly updated sites as active and current. When your content becomes stale, it signals to search engines that your site may no longer be relevant, which can result in decreased visibility. Fresh content not only helps Google prioritize your site but also keeps your audience engaged, especially in industries where information evolves rapidly. By consistently publishing new material, you give your website more opportunities to rank for new keywords, attract backlinks, and stay competitive in search rankings.

Moreover, Google’s Freshness Algorithm emphasizes recent content for certain search queries. If your competitors are consistently posting fresh material, their sites are likely to rank higher for relevant terms, even if your content was once top-ranking. Failing to keep your content updated can result in your site becoming less visible, particularly in dynamic industries where trends or information evolve rapidly.

Additionally, fresh content gives you more opportunities to optimize for new keywords, attract backlinks, and engage your audience, which all contribute to higher search rankings. If your website isn’t keeping up with regular content updates, it may fall behind in the competitive race for visibility, engagement, and organic traffic.

3. Slow Page Load Speed

Reason: Google prioritizes websites that load quickly because page speed is directly tied to the user experience. Slow load times lead to higher bounce rates, meaning visitors are more likely to leave your site before it fully loads, especially if they’re on mobile devices or have slower internet connections. When users abandon your site quickly, Google interprets this as a poor user experience, negatively impacting your rankings.

In fact, slow-loading pages can increase the likelihood that users will never return to your site, harming engagement metrics like session duration and page views per visit—factors that are also considered by search engines when ranking websites. Beyond just rankings, slow load times affect your site’s overall performance by reducing conversion rates and user satisfaction.

Google has emphasized the importance of site speed in its Core Web Vitals update, which focuses on improving loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. Websites that fail to meet these standards are penalized, meaning if your site loads slowly, you’re not just frustrating visitors but also reducing your chances of ranking higher in search results. Optimizing for speed, therefore, is essential for both maintaining a good user experience and improving your search engine rankings.

4. Mobile Unfriendly Design

Reason: Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it primarily ranks and indexes your site based on its mobile version. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you’re less likely to rank well, regardless of how well your desktop version performs. Since the majority of users access websites via mobile, a site that doesn’t function smoothly—whether it has slow load times, difficult navigation, or poor responsiveness—creates a negative user experience, resulting in higher bounce rates and lower engagement. Google interprets this as a sign that your site isn’t providing value to mobile users, leading to lower rankings.

Furthermore, Google’s Core Web Vitals update emphasizes the importance of mobile performance factors like load speed and visual stability. If your mobile site doesn’t meet these standards, you risk a drop in search rankings. To improve, ensure that your site is responsive, loads quickly, and provides an intuitive, seamless experience for mobile users.

5. Weak Backlink Profile

Reason: Backlinks—links from other reputable, authoritative websites to your own—are one of the most important ranking factors for Google. When high-quality websites link to your content, it signals to Google that your site is credible and valuable, essentially acting as a vote of confidence. The more high-quality backlinks your site earns, the more Google trusts your site’s authority in its niche. Without a strong backlink profile, your website will struggle to rank, especially for highly competitive search queries where other sites are being recognized for their credibility through their backlinks.

However, not all backlinks are equal. Links from trusted, authoritative websites like established news outlets, industry leaders, or high-traffic blogs carry significantly more weight than links from low-quality or spammy sites. Google’s algorithm evaluates both the quality and relevance of the backlinks to your website. If your backlink profile consists mostly of low-quality links, or worse, spammy ones, it could negatively impact your ranking. In competitive industries, where your competitors may already have strong backlink profiles, it becomes even more challenging to rank if your site lacks quality backlinks. Building a robust and trustworthy backlink profile is crucial to establishing your site’s authority and improving its ranking in search results.

6. Poor On-Page SEO

Reason: On-page SEO refers to the optimization of elements directly within your website, such as meta tags, headers, image alt text, and internal linking. Neglecting these essential components can severely affect how search engines understand and rank your content. Each of these elements provides important clues to search engines about the relevance and structure of your website, helping Google and other engines determine where and how your pages should rank for specific keywords and queries.

For instance, meta tags—like the meta title and description—are key indicators for search engines to understand the content of your page and match it to relevant searches. Without clear, well-optimized meta tags, your site may struggle to appear for targeted keywords. Similarly, headers (H1, H2, etc.) help Google identify the hierarchy and importance of information on your page, allowing the algorithm to prioritize content more effectively. Poorly structured headers or missing header tags make it harder for search engines to index your content properly, often resulting in lower rankings.

Image alt text is another crucial aspect of on-page SEO. Not only does it provide context to search engines about the images on your page, but it also improves accessibility for users with screen readers. Failing to include alt text on your images leaves a gap in the information search engines use to understand your site, which can negatively affect your SEO.

Lastly, internal linking helps guide users and search engines through your website, providing pathways to related content. Without internal links, search engines may struggle to discover and index important pages on your site, leading to missed ranking opportunities. Proper internal linking also ensures that your site’s link equity—essentially, the value passed from one page to another—flows effectively across your site, boosting the overall SEO performance of each page.

7. Thin or Low-Quality Content

Reason: Google prioritizes content that provides real value to users. Pages with thin content that lack depth or are stuffed with irrelevant keywords signal to Google that the page is not genuinely useful. As a result, such content will struggle to rank. Google’s algorithms, particularly the E-A-T guidelines (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), favour comprehensive, well-researched content over pages that focus solely on keyword manipulation.

Moreover, keyword stuffing or creating pages with little useful information leads to poor user experience, resulting in high bounce rates, which further harms rankings. Thin content frustrates users and causes them to leave your site quickly, signaling to Google that your page isn’t providing value. On the other hand, high-quality content keeps users engaged longer, positively impacting search rankings.

8. No HTTPS/SSL Security

Reason: Websites that lack HTTPS encryption (instead using HTTP) are flagged as insecure by modern web browsers. This warning can immediately erode user trust, as visitors may be hesitant to interact with or share sensitive information on an insecure website. In a world where online privacy and security are top concerns for users, the absence of HTTPS signals that a site may be vulnerable to security risks, such as data breaches or hacking attempts. As a result, users are more likely to leave a site flagged as insecure, leading to higher bounce rates, which can negatively impact your SEO performance and overall credibility.

Google also factors security into its ranking algorithm and actively prioritizes websites with HTTPS encryption in search results. Since 2014, Google has confirmed that HTTPS is a ranking signal, and sites with HTTPS tend to perform better in search rankings than their HTTP counterparts. By securing your site with an SSL certificate, you not only improve user trust and experience but also send a signal to Google that your website is secure, which can positively influence your rankings. Failing to make this upgrade may result in your site being ranked lower, especially when competing against secure websites.

9. Technical SEO Issues

Reason: Technical SEO issues like broken links, missing sitemaps, crawl errors, or improper indexing can significantly hinder Google’s ability to properly crawl and rank your website. If your website has broken links—links that lead to non-existent pages—Google may struggle to navigate your site, reducing the chances of your content being indexed. This also creates a poor user experience, as visitors may encounter dead-end pages, leading to increased bounce rates. Similarly, a missing or poorly configured sitemap can make it difficult for search engines to find and understand the structure of your website, which can cause certain pages to be left out of Google’s index entirely.

Crawl errors—instances where Google’s bots are unable to access certain pages—also prevent important content from being discovered and ranked. These issues often arise from poor internal linking, incorrect redirects, or server issues. Additionally, improper indexing can result in entire sections of your site being excluded from search results. When Google can’t properly crawl and index your site, it significantly reduces the visibility of your pages, ultimately harming your search rankings. Regularly checking for and resolving these technical issues is essential to ensure your website is fully accessible to both users and search engines, improving your chances of ranking higher.

10. Lack of Service or City Pages

Reason: If your business relies on local SEO to attract customers, not creating dedicated service or city pages can result in missed opportunities for local search traffic. Local SEO is critical for businesses that provide services within specific geographic areas, such as contractors, medical practices, or retail locations. Google prioritizes local results for queries with location intent, such as “plumber in Toronto” or “best coffee shop in Vancouver.” If your website lacks city-specific or service-specific landing pages, Google has fewer signals to understand where your business operates and what services you provide, which may cause your site to rank lower or not show up at all for local searches.

Dedicated service pages allow you to target specific keywords related to your offerings, improving the chances of ranking for those services. Meanwhile, city pages focus on geographic-specific keywords, which are essential for capturing local search traffic. Without these pages, Google may not associate your website with relevant local queries, making it difficult for potential customers in your area to find your business. Moreover, Google My Business listings and localized content that directly reflect your services and location are crucial components in boosting your presence in local searches.

11. High Competition

Reason: In highly competitive industries, it can be challenging to rank well, especially if your competitors have stronger SEO strategies or higher domain authority. Businesses operating in competitive niches, such as law, finance, or healthcare, often face stiff competition from established websites that have been building their online presence for years. These competitors typically have extensive backlink profiles, authoritative content, and long-standing credibility with Google, which helps them maintain high rankings. If your website is newer or lacks a robust SEO strategy, you’ll find it difficult to outperform these established competitors.

Additionally, higher domain authority—a ranking signal that measures the credibility and relevance of your website—gives competitors an edge. Sites with a higher domain authority are more likely to rank well for competitive keywords because they have accumulated trust through quality content, backlinks, and user engagement over time. Even with a strong SEO strategy, breaking through the noise in a crowded space requires consistently producing valuable content, earning backlinks, and addressing both user intent and search engine algorithms.

By addressing these key issues, you can improve your site’s ranking and visibility on Google. Regular audits and continuous optimization are essential to maintaining strong SEO performance.

In the ever-competitive world of SEO, it’s crucial to make sure every piece of your content works together rather than competing against itself. One of the common issues that can arise when managing SEO for a website is keyword cannibalization. Let’s explore what keyword cannibalization is, why it can hurt your SEO, and, more importantly, how to fix it.

What is Keyword Cannibalization?

Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on your website are optimized for the same keyword or similar keywords. Instead of one strong page ranking highly in search results, several pages compete with each other, which can confuse search engines and lower the rankings of all involved pages.

For example, if you have three blog posts about “best energy efficient windows” all targeting the same keyword, they may end up competing for the same search queries. This can dilute the performance of all three pages rather than allowing one authoritative page to shine.

Why is Keyword Cannibalization Bad for SEO?

There are several ways keyword cannibalization can negatively impact your SEO strategy:

• Reduced Rankings: When search engines encounter multiple pages optimized for the same keyword, they struggle to determine which one is the most relevant. As a result, all of the competing pages may rank lower than they would have individually.
• Split Traffic: Instead of concentrating traffic on one page, keyword cannibalization splits that potential traffic across multiple pages, reducing the overall impact of your SEO efforts.
• Diluted Link Equity: Backlinks and internal links pointing to multiple pages on the same topic dilute the authority of each page. This means none of the pages will rank as well as they could have if all the link equity was focused on a single page.

How to Identify Keyword Cannibalization

Before you can fix keyword cannibalization, you need to identify it. Here are two methods to do so:

• Use SEO Tools: Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz can help you analyze which pages on your site are ranking for the same keywords. You can easily spot cannibalization when multiple URLs show up for the same search queries.
• Manual Search: Another method is simply searching your target keyword on Google and seeing how many of your pages rank for that term. If more than one page shows up, you may have a cannibalization issue.

How to Fix Keyword Cannibalization

Once you’ve identified keyword cannibalization on your site, it’s time to fix it. Here are some effective strategies to resolve the issue:

1. Merge Content If you have multiple pages targeting the same keyword, consider merging them into one comprehensive and authoritative page. This approach can create a more valuable resource for users and search engines, improving your chances of ranking higher.
2. Reoptimize Pages Assign each page a unique keyword or topic. By doing this, you ensure that each page targets a different aspect of your subject matter, helping prevent overlap and confusion for search engines.
3. Use Canonical Tags If you need multiple pages on similar topics (such as different product variations), applying canonical tags can inform search engines which page is the primary source. This ensures the preferred page gets priority in rankings.
4. Internal Linking Strategy Revise your internal linking to direct traffic to the most relevant page. This helps search engines understand which page is the most authoritative for a particular keyword and can help boost its rankings.
5. 301 Redirects If you have outdated or underperforming pages that are cannibalizing traffic from a stronger page, consider using 301 redirects to consolidate SEO value. Redirecting these pages to your main content page helps funnel all authority and traffic to the page you want to rank.

How to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization in the Future

The best way to deal with keyword cannibalization is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Here are a few tips to keep your content and SEO strategy in check:

• Conduct Thorough Keyword Research: Ensure that every page targets a unique keyword or topic to avoid overlap.
• Regular SEO Audits: Regularly audit your website’s SEO performance to identify any cannibalization issues before they become major problems.
• Use a Clear Content Hierarchy: Structure your content so that different topics are addressed on different pages. Consider using a pillar page strategy, where one broad topic page links to several more specific subtopic pages.

Keyword cannibalization is a common but often overlooked issue that can undermine your SEO efforts. By identifying and fixing cannibalization, you can improve your site’s rankings, consolidate traffic, and enhance user experience. Regular SEO audits and smart content strategies can prevent future cannibalization, ensuring your website performs at its best.