We’ve been in digital marketing long enough to know that SEO isn’t something you should take lightly or just “do.” It’s 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 can help 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 unchanged.
- Google Search Console shows a list of indexing errors you don’t know how to fix.
- You’ve requested indexing on key pages that remain invisible in search results.
- Despite your efforts, organic traffic still feels out of reach.
The good news? You can take action today! Here are common SEO blockers that you can confirm on Google Search Console (GSC) or an equivalent tool, and how to fix them:
1. Duplicate Sites and Improper Redirects
The most severe SEO issues arise from poorly configured redirects and duplicate sites. When crawlers don’t know which domain or page for SEO attribution, your rankings suffer. Additionally, a broken site is a red flag for crawlers and customers that your website is not legitimate.
Fixes:
- 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.
2. Duplicate Content
Search engine crawlers penalize websites with the same content across multiple pages or subdomains. While some duplication is normal, such as product listings or blog tags, major duplication issues can dilute your SEO value for key pages.
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 credit those pages with SEO juice instead of your main site.
Fixes:
- Force Redirects: Use server-level configurations to direct all subdomain traffic to your root/primary domain.
- Update Your Sitemap: Clearly declare the primary domain to search engines through your sitemap.xml.
- Update Robots.txt: On subdomains, 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.
3. Thin or Poor Content
Search engines want to provide 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.
Fixes:
- Eliminate Orphan Pages: Remove irrelevant content or ensure any orphaned pages are internally linked in another article.
- Review On-Page Copy: Revisit your headers, metadata, and body content. Make it informative, compelling, and keyword-rich.
- 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
Sometimes it’s not a mistake—it’s just a matter of time. Even after fixing issues, you’ll need to wait for search engines to catch up.
Fixes:
- Give It Time: It may take a week or more for updates to reflect in search results.
- Use Search Console: Submit your latest sitemap.xml and request page URLs 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 best practices.
Final Thoughts
Getting your SEO strategy right starts with a strong web design framework and smart digital marketing. If you’ve been frustrated by slow growth or inconsistent search visibility, now is the time to act.
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.
Let Uplancer 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 and start winning in SEO, web design, and digital marketing.
