9 SEO Mistakes Holding Back Your Rankings (And How to Fix Them)
Most websites lose rankings through preventable mistakes. Here are 9 issues I find during audits, with fixes you can implement today.
1. Missing or Poor Title Tags
The mistake: Pages with duplicate titles, missing titles, or keyword-stuffed titles over 60 characters.
Why it matters: Google uses title tags to understand page topics and display results. Poor titles waste ranking potential.
The fix: Write unique titles under 60 characters for each page. Include your primary keyword naturally. Format: Primary Keyword | Secondary Benefit | Brand.
Does Google use title tags? Yes. Title tags remain one of the strongest on-page ranking signals Google uses to match pages to queries.
2. No XML Sitemap
The mistake: Sites lacking sitemaps or submitting outdated sitemaps to Google Search Console.
Why it matters: Sitemaps help search engines discover all your pages efficiently, especially new content or deep pages.
What is a sitemap? A sitemap is an XML file listing all important URLs on your website, helping search engines crawl and index your content systematically.
The fix: Generate an XML sitemap through your CMS or tools like Screaming Frog. Submit to Google Search Console and update monthly.
3. Ignoring Internal Links
The mistake: Pages with no internal links, or random linking lacking strategic intent.
Why it matters: Internal links distribute ranking signals and help search engines understand content relationships and page importance.
What are internal links? Internal links connect pages within your own website, creating navigation paths for users whilst distributing PageRank toward high-priority pages.
The fix: Link related content together. Link from outer content to service pages. Use descriptive anchor text matching target page topics. Read more about internal linking strategy.
4. No Backlinks Strategy
The mistake: Assuming content alone builds rankings without external validation.
Why are backlinks important? Backlinks signal authority and trust to search engines. Quality backlinks from relevant sites validate your expertise and improve rankings substantially.
The fix: Create genuinely useful content others want to reference. Reach out to industry sites with data or insights worth citing. Focus on quality over quantity.
5. Poor Metadata Implementation
The mistake: Missing meta descriptions, duplicate descriptions, or descriptions over 160 characters.
Meta data meaning: Metadata includes title tags, meta descriptions, and other HTML elements describing page content to search engines and users in search results.
The fix: Write unique meta descriptions between 140-160 characters for each page. Include primary keywords naturally and create compelling copy improving click-through rates.
6. Wrong Domain Extension for Market
The mistake: UK businesses using .com domains when targeting British customers.
.com vs .co.uk - difference in SEO and UX: .co.uk domains signal UK relevance to Google, improving local rankings. .com works globally but lacks geographic specificity British users trust for local services.
The fix: Use .co.uk for UK-only businesses. Use .com for international businesses. Use ccTLDs matching your primary market.
7. Missing Schema Markup
The mistake: Sites lacking structured data helping search engines understand content context.
How to get rich snippets - what is schema for websites? Schema markup is code helping search engines understand content meaning. Rich snippets display enhanced search results (ratings, prices, FAQs) improving visibility and click-through rates.
The fix: Implement Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQ, and Article schema where relevant. Validate using Google's Rich Results Test.
8. No Hreflang for International Content
The mistake: Multiple language versions confusing search engines about which version to show which users.
What is hreflang for SEO? Hreflang tags tell search engines which language and regional version of a page to show users based on their location and language preferences.
The fix: Implement hreflang tags if you serve different regions. Specify language and country codes. Include self-referencing tags and reciprocal links between versions.
9. Not Indexing or Indexing Wrong Pages
The mistake: Important pages blocked by robots.txt or noindex tags. Low-value pages wasting crawl budget.
Why is my website not on Google? Common causes: robots.txt blocking, noindex tags, manual penalties, new domain without backlinks, or technical issues preventing crawling.
The fix: Check Google Search Console coverage report. Remove noindex from important pages. Add noindex to thin pages. Request indexing for priority URLs.
What Should You Fix First?
Prioritise based on business impact:
- Immediate fixes (Week 1): Missing sitemaps, robots.txt issues, noindex problems
- Quick wins (Week 2-3): Title tags, meta descriptions, schema markup
- Strategic work (Month 1-2): Internal linking, content gaps, backlink strategy
Most sites have 5-8 of these issues. A technical SEO audit identifies which problems affect your specific site and prioritises fixes by impact.
How Many Issues Does Your Site Have?
Run a quick check:
- View source on 3 random pages - are title tags unique and under 60 characters?
- Search "site:yourdomain.com" - does Google show all your important pages?
- Check 5 service pages - do they link to related content naturally?
Found issues? Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation identifying your highest-impact fixes.