Over the years, search engine optimization has emerged as the backbone of digital marketing. Despite the fast results of paid advertising and personalization of email marketing, organic SEO continues to go strong. A robust SEO strategy can make your website visible by taking it to the top of search rankings and helping it sustain its position.

What goes into crafting a result-oriented SEO plan? That’s a question with hundreds of answers because different approaches work for different websites. There’s no proven formula for a successful ranking strategy, which adds to the complexity of SEO.

Challenges and Complexities of SEO

With SEO, things are not as simple as they sound because search ranking algorithms change often. Did you know that Google updates its algorithms 500-600 times a year? Apart from minor updates, the major ones can shuffle rankings unexpectedly. 2023 has already witnessed two big algorithm updates, first in March and then in August.

The sheer number of ranking factors is another factor adding complexity to SEO results. You may cover areas like speed, responsiveness, backlinks, and content. But hundreds of other factors may go wrong, pushing your website down. Even the best SEO plans can fail at the outset or stop working after a while. Knowing what can go wrong can help you deal with the situation.

Here are some reasons your website may fail to rank even with a robust SEO strategy:

Overlooking Search Intent

When potential buyers look for a brand, product, or service on search engines, they have a specific intent in mind. Your SEO strategy may follow your target audience, but what if it isn’t focusing on search intent? You cannot expect results without creating content to match their intent and address their needs.

Search intent determines the most relevant keywords to optimize your content for higher ranking. Here are the four types of user intent:

• Informational: When people search for information, “how-to” content pieces get the best traction.
• Navigational: Searchers want to check a specific website, product page, or service page.
• Commercial: Users with commercial intent search and visit websites to do market research.
• Transactional: Users want to close a transaction, such as buying a product or service.

Missing Out On Local SEO

SEO isn’t just about ensuring outreach to a country-wide or global audience. Missing out on local SEO can affect your overall search ranking.  Consider the example of Columbus, a growing mecca for small businesses. The competition is stiff in this market, regardless of the domain. Unless you have a website ranking on top, you won’t be visible among hundreds of competitors.

Additionally, you should have a well-optimized Google Business Profile to appear among top local searches. A Columbus SEO company can help you cover both aspects. These elements play a crucial role in ensuring sustainable search rankings. The good thing about collaborating with a local SEO provider is that they have a foresight of competitor strategies and market factors.

According to ForeFront Web, your rankings may suffer when competitors have a better SEO strategy. Alternatively, it may happen when your website does not represent the search criteria well enough. A comprehensive, long-term strategy addressing local and global ranking factors can be a savior.

Lack of Enough Inbound Links

A healthy inbound link profile translates into a high ranking in search engines. Seasoned SEO marketers often emphasize the value of natural backlinks from high-quality, relevant sites in this context. For a layman business owner, the number of links matters more, but the truth is that quality is paramount to a healthy backlink profile.

Not having enough high-quality backlinks from relevant sources can lead to a drop in rankings despite a robust SEO plan. Search engines will hardly bother about a site not linking to other sites in the same industry. At the same time, it lowers your chances of attracting referral traffic through other websites in your niche.

There are no shortcuts to building better inbound links for a stronger profile and higher ranking. You should groom your profiles, reach out to niche leaders, publish articles online, review industry products, and comment on others’ blogs. Most importantly, stay consistent with these efforts and avoid black-hat practices because they can lead to penalties.

The Bottom Line

With SEO, there is no proven way to succeed, even when you have a foolproof plan aligning with best practices. Things may still not work for your website, and you may notice it slipping down search rankings despite your hard work and consistency with SEO.

Dig deep to understand the reason for the dip and address the issue to maintain your ranking. Also, keep a close eye on algorithms because even the best strategies can lose relevance with an update. The best piece of advice to sustain and thrive is to constantly track, measure, monitor, and improve your SEO strategy.