New keyword simply not Ranking
-
Evening all, first post.
I'm currently ranking OK for a broad range of keywords - nothing at number 1 but some are on the first page. However, there is one particular keyword which simply refuses to get indexed. I've witnessed this behaviour before with another site where it appears at SERP 300 or so, then vanishes, comes back at 200 odd and then vanishes. Right now, it's not even ranking in any position. I'm using SERPFox for SERP position on Google.
I've had Moz analyse the content on page and it's getting an A. The article is about 2000 words, with good Title and page description and the keyword is appearing under 1%.
My question is, have you witnessed odd behaviour like this before where other keywords are ranking OK but an odd few don't even get indexed? I have a few links built to the URL and asked Google Webmaster tools to index the URL but still nothing. I have no penalties or anything to worry about.
The only other info I have is that this URL is on a brand-new domain but the previous domain has a 301 redirect with a page authority of 42 and a domain authority of 38 (not too high). And, everything else appears to be running along OK.
The point is, I have no expectations about the keyword ranking in a certain position but find it odd how the keyword keeps popping in and out of Google SERP.
The keyword has a difficulty of: 58%
Any thoughts appreciated. Robert.
-
Hi, I had another thought - the old posts are ranking fine on the new site after the 301 redirect. Some are slightly down but in the main, they are approx the same SERP position.
It's new posts which are having the difficulty. Are new posts on a new domain difficult to rank anywhere even with a 301 redirect passing authority through? The 301 is passing everything through to the new domain.
Getting really frustrated! As I say, I don't have an expectation of search position but this is good content which is being indexed but not being given any SERP position.
-
Thanks for the reply - not really!
The keyword is 2 words and 58% competitiveness according to Moz. Still not ranking at all.
Question I have is regarding the 301 redirect. This is a brand-new post and not a post which is being redirected via the 301. However, I would have assumed that the 301 would be passing domain authority through anyway.
As I said, I have no expectations in terms of SERP position - although I would have expected a top 50. But, the post is simply nowhere within Google at all. Not even appearing in any SERP position. It appeared and then disappeared and not appeared again for the last few days.
The post went live on November 22nd, it's now 12th Dec. I posted the SERPFox pic for anyone to look at. Interestingly, there's another new post which was posted on the 27th November which is doing exactly the same thing.
Everything else is ranking on the new site as it used to on the old site prior to the 301 redirect.
Arrggghhh, Rob.
-
Don't you just love SEO sometimes Robert?!
It is very frustrating when you think you have done everything right, but don't see the results you are expecting. Obviously, I don't know the full details of the keyword and the page you are trying to rank it on, but I don't think I have ever had what you have described having done what you have described.
Recently I have seen some odd bouncing around in SERP rankings, nothing very dramatic but bigger bounces then I would expect and negative ones at that when I would have expected positives. My only thought is I wonder, with the shake up in search by Google and the growing move to semantic search and away from a boolean keyword-based algorithm, whether this is the cause of such volatility of which we can expect to see more.
You mention 'keyword'. I know 'keyword' tends to be synonymous with what is more accurately a keyword phrase, but is the keyword you are trying to rank for just one word or a multi-word phrase? If one word, then I would expect to see a big swing in ranking results because in many/most cases how can you draw a semantic understanding of the searcher's intent through one word. I don't think it's linear, and although this is a generalisation, I think the longer your keyword phrase the less volatility.
I don't think the above is really an answer for you, but I hope it helps maybe in some way.
Peter
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Lost ranking after domain switch
I recently migrated from https://whitefusemedia.com to https://whitefuse.com. The website URL structure and content remained the same and I followed all the best practice guidance regarding checks on the new domain and appropriate 301 redirects. I have seen traffic drop by about 50% and the traffic that is still coming through is mainly coming through links still listed by Google under the old domain (https://whitefusemedia.com). Is this normal? Should I expect to see this bounce back, or is there anything I can do now to regain the rankings?
Technical SEO | | wfm-uk0 -
Keyword Density Clarification, Please
Does keyword density only account for the content-based text on the page or everything that can be crawled on the page? To illustrate, I'll use this forum page and the keyword Moz. Here's my incredibly short blog post: "Moz forum is very helpful, but I still can't figure out Moz analytics." Now, in terms of keyword density, is "Moz" only being counted twice for the times I mentioned it in my post (what I'm calling content-based text) or is "Moz" being counted 40-50 times for all the places it appears on this page. Thanks, Ruben
Technical SEO | | KempRugeLawGroup1 -
New Site maintaining rank on old URL's
Hi I have a new website going live which has a different page names etc i.e. the old site had pages that are ranking called aboutus.html and the new site is called about.php What is the best approach to maintain the rank and also on orphaned pages Many Thanks
Technical SEO | | ocelot0 -
New Website, New URL, New Content - What do we do with the old site? Are 301's the only option?
We've just built a new site for a client. They were adamant on changing the url. The new site is entirely new content, however the subject mater is the same. Some pages are even titled very similarly. Is is advisable to keep the old site running, and link it to the new site? Permanently, or temporarily? Do we simply place redirects from the old site the new? Old site was 30 pages, new site is 80 pages. So redirects won't be available to all the new pages. It seems a shame to trash the old site, it is getting some good traffic, and the content - although outdated is unique and of a high quality. Old url is 4+ yrs old, the new url is new. Some enlightened opinions would be greatly welcomed. Thanks
Technical SEO | | MarketsOnline0 -
One Keyword Penalty
Hi There, Quick question for everyone. Is it possible to get penalized a keyword level not page level. I have a site that only seems to be penalized on one keyword which is currently at page 22, whilst the rest are on page 1 or page 2. I came to the site late so I have no idea when the site lost its ranking for this keyword after a site redesign but the onpage is almost the same. Kind Regards Neil
Technical SEO | | nezona0 -
Multiple pages - Similar keywords
I'm working on a site with a parent page and two minor pages all dealing with the primary/root keyword "log siding" - How do I optimize all three pages without bastardization of the primary keyword? Parent page - keyword: half-log-siding and log-siding Child Pages (linking from the parent) cedar-log-siding and Pine-log-siding. They all feature "log-siding" and grade well for that keyword (as well as their own long-tail keywords), yet I think based on my rank tracking that Google is unhappy with the multiple pages all (seemingly focused) on log-siding. Any ideas how I can effectively target all the long-tail keywords within their respective landing pages and not draw a penalty from Google towards my parent page and the root keyword? Thanks, Bill
Technical SEO | | Marvo0 -
Good organic rankings but no shopping rankings
My site www.hair1direct.co.uk comes up well in the organic rankings but when I select shopping in Google it does appear. Why would this be? Thanks James
Technical SEO | | avecsys0 -
How important is keyword density?
Several leading experts say that keyword density isn't all that important. What do you think of keyword density? Do you incorporate it into your day to day activities?
Technical SEO | | nicole.healthline0