We’ve been in digital marketing long enough to know that SEO:
- Isn’t dead, which is contrary to what every clickbait article says.
- Isn’t something you should take lightly or just “do.”
SEO is the foundation for everything digital, shaping how your website performs, how your audience finds you, and how you stand out against your competitors. When everything else is equal, SEO becomes the deciding factor that helps you outrank others and capture more organic traffic.
Many small businesses come to this realization too late, after months of wondering why their organic traffic just isn’t growing. Maybe you’ve experienced this:
- You’ve written dozens of blog posts based on gut feeling, but website traffic remains stagnant.
- Google Search Console shows a list of indexing errors you don’t know how to fix.
- You’ve repeatedly requested indexing on key pages, but they are still not indexed.
- Despite your efforts, organic traffic feels out of reach.
The good news? You can take action today by working with a digital marketing agency!
Here are common SEO blockers that you can confirm on your Google Search Console (GSC) or equivalent tool, and how to fix them:
1. Resolve Duplicate Sites and Improper Redirects
The most severe SEO issues arise from poorly configured redirects and duplicate sites. Your rankings will suffer when crawlers don’t know which domain or page for SEO attribution. Additionally, a broken site is a red flag for search engines, and your website will be penalized for it.
The Fix:
- Enforce Domain Redirects: Use server settings to ensure everything redirects to your main domain.
- Update Configuration Files: Ensure consistency across your .htaccess, nginx.conf, or other server files.
- Apply 301 and 404 Redirects: For subdomains and web pages that have moved, set up permanent redirects to their correct URL or 404 redirects for deprecated pages.
- Remove Redirect Loops: Avoid unnecessary redirects that confuse crawlers and hinder indexing. Some redirects are more obvious than others (infinite redirects that break your site), so make sure to monitor your redirects. You can do so in the network tab in the developer console of your web browser.
2. Reduce Duplicate Content
Search engines can penalize websites using the same content across multiple pages or subdomains by diluting SEO attribution. While some duplication is normal, such as product listings or blog excerpts, major duplication can flag your domain as spam.
For example, if your primary site is example.com, but your subdomains (like www.example.com or app.example.com) also host similar content, search engines might index those pages and credit them with SEO juice instead of your main site.
The Fix:
- Force Redirects: Use server-level configurations to direct all subdomain traffic to your root/primary domain.
- Update Your Sitemap: Clearly define your primary domain to search engines through your sitemap.xml and use consistent URL structures.
- Update Robots.txt: On unwanted subdomains for indexing, use noindex or Disallow: / to tell crawlers to skip them.
- Canonical Tags: Implement these on every page to indicate which URL is the master copy/should receive SEO attribution.
3. Avoid Thin or Poor Content
Search engines want to serve users with helpful, relevant, and engaging content. If your website doesn’t meet those standards, you’ll struggle to rank. You’ll likely see “Crawled – currently not indexed” on GSC for valid URLs. This is a tougher SEO problem; sometimes the best answer is to edit your content or remove the article entirely.
The Fix:
- Eliminate Orphan Pages: Remove irrelevant content or ensure any orphaned pages are internally linked from another article.
- Review On-Page Copy: Revisit your headers, metadata, and body content. Make it informative, compelling, and keyword-rich. Do not keyword stuff or lean heavily on generative AI spammy content because search engines are good at detecting both.
- Check for Repetition: Avoid duplicating content ideas that already exist elsewhere on your site. Search engines can easily pick up on this.
4. Time Delays in Indexing May Prevent SEO Progress
Sometimes it’s not a mistake and is just a matter of time. Even after fixing issues, you’ll need to wait for search engines to catch up.
The Fix:
- Give It Time: It may take weeks or more for updates to reflect in search results pages.
- Use Search Console: Submit your latest sitemap.xml and request page URLs directly for indexing to speed things up.
5. Crawlers Get Stuck
One hidden issue is hitting a quota limit with crawlers. If your crawl requests spike unexpectedly or drop off despite regular content updates, something might be wrong. Note, larger sites are more prone to this issue.
Fixes:
- Audit Redirect Rules: Redirect loops can trap crawlers. Use tools like Screaming Frog or server monitoring to identify and fix them.
- Review Schema Markup: Poorly implemented schemas can confuse search engines. Use structured data validators, such as Google Rich Results Test, and follow search engine best practices.
Final Thoughts
Getting your SEO strategy right starts with a strong web design framework and smart marketing. However, SEO isn’t just about keywords; it’s about performance, clarity, structure, and a user-first approach to your entire web presence. From duplicate content to crawl errors, every detail matters for your customers.
Let Uplancer, a top digital marketing agency in Columbus, help you turn your website into a high-performing asset. Whether you’re dealing with SEO headaches, want to improve your digital marketing, or need web design support, our team is ready to guide you to measurable results.
Contact Uplancer today to turn your SEO woes around and into organic success.
