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Why Can’t I Rank? A Guide to Overcoming Top SEO Challenges
By Nick Nelson If you are struggling with your SEO results right now, believe us: you are not alone.
The search landscape has been thrown into a state of complete turmoil, and brands are feeling the effects. SERP volatility is running rampant amid the converging impacts of AI, algorithm updates and changing user behaviors.
As a result, many publishers have seen long-held SEO rankings disappear, and have encountered new levels of difficulty showing up on page one for searches they might have easily won in the past.
This has real business consequences. Share of search correlates to share of market. If your brand is not showing up when potential customers are searching for topics and pain points that relate to your solutions, it can be a dire indicator for your growth outlook and competitive position.
Worry not! At TopRank Marketing, we help clients navigate the evolving challenges of SEO on a daily basis. Here’s a rundown of some of the most commonly observed root causes behind these negative trends, and how we’re advising clients to adapt and thrive.
What’s happening: AI Overviews and SERP features crowding out organic listings.
It’s one of the most disruptive trends in search and everyone is feeling the effects. Research from Advanced Web Ranking found that AI Overviews are appearing in about 12% of search results and are pushing organic listings down the page by an average of more than 900 pixels. Meanwhile, Featured Snippets show up in 17% of search engine results pages (SERPs), and in some cases — most often in the Health niche — both of these features appear.
All of this means that even if your brand is ranking highly in a given SERP, you still might find it considerably more difficult than before to earn a click-through. Studies show that CTR drops have been pervasive in this new environment.
(Source: Seer Interactive)
If you’re noticing this trend, it’s one sign that AI’s arrival in search is affecting your performance. Other indicators include: reduced time on site and increased bounce rates, shifts in traffic patterns for informational queries, or growing disparity between impressions and clicks.
What to do: Strategically adapt your approach to search visibility.
Our agency has been heavily focused on helping brands adapt their SEO strategies to account for this shift. Key actions include:
Audit your AI search presence to understand where your brand shows up in AIOs, and identify key rankings impacted by AI responses.
Assess vulnerabilities and opportunities, viewed through a lens of strategic prioritization.
Develop a data-informed strategy with tailored approaches to visibility enhancement.
Implement for short- and long-term success — adapt content formats and messaging to appeal to AI and human audiences alike
What’s happening: Not enough topical authority to become a distinguished information source.
One of the biggest changes in Google’s algorithm over the years has been more of a focus on the overall authority of a source, versus strictly evaluating a specific page. Search engines want to point their users to trustworthy resources, with a broader track record of focusing on the subject matter at hand.
As Semrush explains, “Topical authority builds confidence …read more
Source:: Top Rank Blog
