Although stats say we all spend most of our screen time on social media, when we need something specific we usually rely on search engines, such as Google and Bing.
The “science” that allows websites to be present on Google is called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), and while focusing on it is very important, you should keep in mind that guaranteed SEO results are not possible most of the times.
I really do understand when people visit a Search Engine Optimisation company and ask to be at the top position on Google for a wide spectrum keyword, but this is not always possible. For example, we did rank some websites at the top of the SERPs we targeted, but it only happened after a lot of work, time, and money invested and it’s a non stop work because rankings are subject to changes every single second. In other words, websites can go up and down on Google anytime.
This is the reason why we would never dare to tell our customers we can deliver “guaranteed SEO results” — nobody can because of the same nature of search engines and world wide web.
That being said, your next question would likely be: why is guaranteed SEO impossible, more in detail? Let me explain: here are a few reasons.
You have competitors
While you improve your on-page SEO, make your website faster, and build links, others are doing the same. Everything can happen when so many things around you change online.
Especially on generic keywords, there is a high competition, which makes ranking on top very hard for everyone.
Of course, there’s no need to worry if you can’t get there immediately: no matter how hard you try, just keep working, and if your content is valid and genuine and you keep improving your SEO techniques, you will be rewarded.
One suggestion in this case might be: see what works for your competitors, analyse it, learn it, and then do it better!
There might be technical issues
Technical issues could involve anything: from a malconfiguration that gives you an error 500 to a slow response due to limited bandwidth, or your host’s hardware is just a bit obsolete. All these scenarios affect your placement on search engines, and while sometimes you can work to improve it, other times there is nothing you can do apart from accepting that Google gives priority in the SERP to fast websites. Imagine a crawler attempts to scan your website while it’s down: that could be a problem for your SEO.
Downtimes, slow servers, bad configurations, and so on, do not let professionals always guarantee SEO results, in spite of the efforts. This is because stuff like this can happen anytime and, even though your website is first in some search results pages, there’s risk you could have a temporary or permanent penalisation. At that point, it will be up to your SEO specialist to try and solve the problem.
If your hosting is having frequent problems and causing your website downtimes, you might want to look for a better hosting (and guess what, we do offer hosting packages).
Negative SEO
You don’t know how toxic is a backlink until you get suddently penalised. You may do a lot of work on-site, but what happens off-site influences your results exactly in the same way. The only difference is you can’t control everything that is off-site, which makes you temporarily vulnerable to negative SEO.
In order to limit the damages, check your backlinks frequently, and ask the webmasters to remove their links, if they are toxic (e.g. via a disavow file).
The algorithm changes continuously
Last but not least, we must mention Google’s algorithm, the automatic system with which Google decides what you see in the SERP. It used to be called Panda, Penguin, an after other cute animals, but it always will be the “nightmare” of any SEO consultant.
Now it doesn’t even have a name anymore. It’s just the algorithm. And it changes monthly, weekly, daily, and maybe hourly without any notice or official communication. Algorithm makes guaranteed SEO impossible.
What can you do?
SEO must be an ongoing activity, you have to keep up. Nevertheless, there is something you can do in order to roll with the punches and limiting the damage: keep in mind that the algorithm changes are always meant to reward websites that offer well written content with accurate information. Open a blog section, write fresh and accurate content, offer solutions to common problems among your audience, and you could even benefit from algorithm changes!
Your hosting infrastructure is also something you should consider: are you happy with your current plan? The loading page speed is an important factor, especially if your users come mainly from mobile devices. Also, a good hosting will avoid frequent disruptions and those technical issues that may affect your positioning on search engines.
Don’t forget to keep up with your competitors: see what they do, and do it different and better!
If you are looking for a company dealing with genuine SEO that can help your business be more visible, do not hesitate to contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
