Oct 16 2024
12 reasons your page won’t rank – even though it’s optimized

What could be the matter if your perfectly optimized post isn’t ranking? Is the problem that your site is not on Google, or is something else going wrong? What is keeping your content from reaching that coveted #1 position? In this post, we’ll discuss many possible reasons why your page is not ranking, even though it’s optimized.

We’ve divided the possible issues you might be having into four sections:

Pro tip

Quick question: how’s your internal linking? If your content is optimized but not ranking, or Google is ranking the wrong pages from your site, it could be because you need to improve your site structure or fix your orphaned content. We’ve made some really neat SEO workouts to help you check and remedy these kinds of issues — check them out and fix those issues now!

Indexing and crawl issues

The first few points on the list all deal with indexing and crawl issues. Put simply, you can’t rank if your page or site is not on Google in the first place. If you find these topics confusing, you might want to read up on how Google works and how to start with SEO.

1. Your site/page is not on Google

If you need help determining whether your site is on Google, you can use the site: search operator in Google. Type site:yoast.com, and you’ll see a list of pages for that domain. If you type in the full URL of a specific article, you should see only one search result return. If you see your pages, this means that Google knows about your site and has put — at least some of it — in its index. Once you discover that your page is in the index, but you think it is not performing well, you might want to dig deeper.

an example of a site index search on google with yoast.com showing thousands of pages indexed
The site: search operator helps you find your site in Google’s index

How to fix it

Check your WordPress Reading Settings. For the Search Visibility option, if you’ve ticked the box ‘Discourage search engines from indexing this site’, that’s the most likely reason your site is not on Google. If that’s the case, uncheck that box and click to save your changes. If the problem is that only some specific pages aren’t showing up on Google, then you might want to review your Search Appearance settings in Yoast SEO. Go to the ‘Content Types’ tab and ensure your settings are correct.

2. Your site/page is still too new

If your site or page is new, it might simply be a matter of chilling out and checking back in a little while. There are many moving parts in getting your content crawled, indexed and ranked. Sometimes, it takes days or maybe even weeks for Google to finish its discovery process.

How to fix it

If you check and find your site is not on Google yet, you can install Yoast SEO and submit the generated XML sitemap to Google Search Console to help Google discover your website. You can also use the URL Inspection tool in Search Console to determine how specific pages are doing. It tells you exactly how Google crawls and views your site.

3. Your content is noindexed

One of the most common reasons Google does not index your site or a specific page is that it has been noindexed inadvertently. Adding noindex meta robot tags to a page tells Googlebot that it can crawl the page but that the results can’t be added to the index.

How can you check if your page is noindexed? That’s easy; simply open the page and view the source code. You’ll find the code below somewhere at the top of the page. This tells search engine crawlers that the page’s content shouldn’t be added to the index, thus keeping it from ranking.

How to fix it

It happens! Even we occasionally make a mistake and inadvertently noindex a post. Luckily, it’s an easy fix. We wrote about how to set a piece of content back on the right track with Yoast SEO.

4. Your site/page is blocking Google with robots.txt

You might have told Google not to index your content, but it’s also possible you’ve told Google not to crawl your site at all! Blocking crawlers in a so-called robots.txt file is a surefire way never to get any traffic. Blocking robots is easier than you might think. For instance, WordPress has a Search Engine Visibility setting that does its best to keep crawlers out once set to Discourage search engines from indexing this site. Uncheck this to make your site available again.

this is the search engine visibility setting in wordpress without a checkmark
See that this option isn’t inadvertently checked

WordPress uses the noindex approach described above to handle the indexing of sites via the Search Engine Visibility setting. It does have a warning that it’s up to search engines to honor the request.

Besides telling WordPress to block search engines, it might be that other technical issues generate crawl errors, preventing Google from crawling your site properly. Your site’s web server could be acting up and presenting server errors, or buggy bits of JavaScript in your code trip up the crawler. Make sure Google can crawl your site easily.

How to fix it

If your robots.txt file is blocking Google from crawling your website (or parts of it) and you want to change that, then you’ll need to edit the file. You can follow this guide to edit your robots.txt file.

5. You must enhance your index coverage

Ensuring that Google indexes your web pages is essential to succeed. Index coverage refers to the number of your site’s URLs included in Google’s search index. Even the most optimized content may not appear in search results without comprehensive index coverage.

To identify the issue, you must examine the Index Coverage report in Google Search Console. This tool categorizes your pages into various categories and explains why pages are not indexed. If you notice many pages falling under “Error” or “Excluded,” it’s time to investigate further. One of the most common errors is ‘Crawled – currently not indexed’ in Search Console.

How to fix it

Ensure your XML sitemap is current and accurately represents your site structure. Please submit it to Google Search Console to help Google find your pages. Review and resolve any crawl errors such as 404s, server errors, or redirect issues. These errors can prevent pages from being indexed. Pages with low-quality or duplicate content might be excluded from the index. Focus on creating unique, valuable content that provides genuine user engagement. Use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing for crucial pages not yet indexed. This tool also provides insights into how Google perceives your page.

Google Search Console helps you understand why pages are not indexed

Technical issues affecting ranking

Is your page/website indexed but not ranking? Then, technical problems need to be checked.

6. You’re not ranking because your site has technical issues

Your website needs to meet certain technical benchmarks if you’re going to rank on Google! Loading speed, or how quickly your pages load, is important. Security and hosting quality are important too, and that’s not all. You can read about all the essentials in our article: things everyone should know about technical SEO.

If your post doesn’t appear in the search engines, technical issues could prevent it from appearing in the search results completely. You could have conflicting plugins causing problems, and we’ve also seen some themes that prevent Google from indexing your site. And, while Yoast SEO takes care of many technical issues under the hood, it should be set correctly to do that properly.

How to fix it

The fix you need will depend on the technical issues your website is having, and we can’t cover everything here. You might want to check the following points:

  • Ensure all your Yoast plugin settings are correct
  • Check that you’re doing things the right way to keep loading times down
  • Make sure your site is set to https:// and your security certificates are up to date
  • Upgrade your hosting plan
  • Check your plugins and/or theme aren’t causing problems.

If your technical SEO looks good and your site is indexed, you must dig deeper to discover the problem. Keep reading!

7. You’re being penalized for breaking SEO rules

If Google catches you using shady SEO techniques that it doesn’t allow — e.g., sneaky tactics like buying links or stuffing keywords into hidden text — your page or site can be penalized. When you’re already putting in the effort to make a good website and quality content, it’s counterproductive to try. Even when everything else on your page is perfect, if you’re doing something that Google doesn’t allow, you will have problems ranking (or appearing in the Google search results).

Most of these things are common sense, so you probably don’t need to worry if you’re not trying to trick Google or spam people. However, a few things used to be common SEO practices that can now lead to issues — check out our article about SEO myths for more examples of bad SEO practices to avoid.

How to fix it

You can check whether Google has flagged your page for these problems in the Manual Actions tab in Google Search Console (GSC). If you’re still new to using GSC, you might want to check out our introductory article. If you find an issue under the Manual Actions tab, read this help article to learn more about what it means and how to fix it.

Linking issues that affect ranking

A good internal linking structure and quality backlinks are important if you want to rank high. Google crawls the web, following each link it finds, so if your links are lacking, it can cause problems with ranking.

8. Your site doesn’t have a proper internal linking structure

Another reason your content doesn’t appear in the search results is that a crucial part of your SEO strategy is not in order. Don’t underestimate the importance of site structure – the internal linking structure – for your SEO strategy. Having a clear site structure leads to a better understanding of your site by Google. If your internal linking structure is poor, chances to rank high are lower – even when your content is well-optimized and awesome. 

How to fix it

Start adding those links! Make sure that your important posts and pages have the most internal links to them. But don’t randomly add links: make sure you add relevant, related links that add value for your users.

You can use the Yoast SEO orphaned content filter to find posts without incoming internal links. Yoast SEO Premium will help you even more by offering helpful linking suggestions as you write. In addition, if you use Yoast SEO Premium, you get various other AI features, like Yoast AI Optimize, that help you do the hard work. And if you really want to improve your site structure, check out our site structure training — which is also included in Premium!

Pro tip: Take care of your orphaned content and internal linking the easy way with our SEO workouts, available in Yoast SEO Premium.

Read on: Site structure: the ultimate guide »

If you just started with your website, your content won’t instantly rank. Not even if you have optimized everything perfectly and every bullet in Yoast SEO is green. To rank, you’ll need some links from other websites. After all, Google has to know your website exists. 

How to fix it

Creating incredible content is a good way to get links to your pages. High-quality content attracts clicks from readers who might share the content far and wide via social media. All this helps to get those links. Of course, you can do more to get links in a natural, non-spammy way: here are fifteen ways of getting high-quality backlinks.

To get (more) backlinks, you can reach out to other websites. You’ll need to do some PR or link building. Ask them to mention your site or talk about your product and link to your site. You can also use social media to get the word out! Learn all about link-building strategies in our All-Around SEO training!

Content and keyword issues affecting ranking

If everything else is as it should be SEO-wise, then your page or site is not ranking might be related to your content or keywords.

10. Your page is great, but there’s too much competition

Usually, a page doesn’t rank because there’s simply too much competition. If you optimize your content for competitive keywords and keyphrases, such as [cat behavior], [robot vacuum cleaner], or [real estate agent], chances are high that you won’t rank for that term. 

Check the results pages for your keyword to determine if this is the problem. Do high authority sites like Wikipedia or Amazon dominate the first page? Do you see many sites already firmly established themselves in this niche? Probably, your site doesn’t have the authority that these other sites have (yet). So you can optimize all you want, but unfortunately, that’s not enough to rank high in the search results if your niche is too competitive. 

How to fix it

If you want to rank for highly competitive terms, try a long-tail keyword strategy. Write content that targets related long-tail keywords and phrases before tackling the competitive keywords. If these long-tail articles start ranking, you can also rank for more competitive terms. Such a strategy requires long-term efforts, but in the end, it will pay off.

Read more: Why you should focus on long tail keywords »

11. Low-quality content or wrong type of intent

Another reason your content isn’t ranking is that it doesn’t match the intent of people searching for your keyword. Search intent is important for search engines: do people want to buy something, go to a specific website, or seek information? Even if you’re targeting a more long-tail keyphrase, if your content doesn’t match the dominant intent of searchers, search engines won’t show it in the results because it won’t be what people are looking for.

Let’s look at a few examples. Say you’re a dog trainer who wants to rank for puppy training services, so you optimize for [training your puppy], with transactional intent in mind. But if you look at the search results, you’ll see that there are informational videos, and all the results explain how to train a puppy yourself. So, searchers have informational intent. This can work the other way around, too. If you’ve written a step-by-step guide for your blog on making garden decorations, aiming to rank for [flower garland garden decoration], you may have trouble ranking for that term if people just want to buy that, not make it themselves.

Remember that not every search term has one dominant type of intent. Also, it isn’t impossible to rank with content for differing intent. Still, it can be worthwhile to look into this if your optimized content doesn’t rank in the search engines.

How to fix it

Unfortunately, you don’t have the power to change the intent of search engine users. But you can adapt your content strategy. If your optimized content isn’t ranking, look at the search results (use private mode) and analyze what you see. Is one specific type of result dominant? Are there images or videos? Which related queries are shown? This is where your opportunities are. If you find primarily informational intent for a query, you can write content to get people to your site, establish your brand as a reliable source of information, and stay top of mind when people want to buy something. If you find a lot of images in the search results, you may need to focus more on image SEO. Consider what you see on the results pages when determining your SEO strategy.

12. Your content lacks uniqueness

Even well-written and optimized content might struggle to rank if it doesn’t stand out. Search engines prioritize content that offers a unique perspective or provides additional value compared to existing articles on the same topic.

Check the search results for your target keywords and examine the top-ranking pages. Does your content offer something different or more insightful? If your page presents similar information in a comparable format, you may find it difficult to climb the rankings. With the advent of generative AI, we’ll see a wave of mediocre sameness appear in the search results. If you publish the same stuff, search engines won’t bother with it.

Generative AI can help create content but needs help maintaining quality and relevance. While AI can quickly produce large volumes of content, we should prioritize quality over quantity. You should make sure that the material is original and valuable to your audience. AI-generated content might be repetitive or lack diverse perspectives. It’s essential to refine it with your unique insights or expert opinions.

Additionally, the content should always align with your audience’s needs and search intent, as AI may not fully capture human nuances. Always comply with search engine guidelines regarding AI-generated content to avoid potential penalties or indexing issues. You can enhance your content strategy while preserving its integrity by using AI as a supportive tool rather than a standalone solution.

How to fix it

Quit simply; add unique insights and views. Add your own voice and incorporate original research, case studies, or expert opinions to set your content apart. Keep your content fresh with the latest information, trends, or data to maintain relevance and uniqueness. Encourage comments and discussions to build a community around your content, making it more dynamic and engaging.

Is your optimized content still not ranking?

Multiple reasons could prevent a post from ranking. Have you optimized your post correctly with Yoast SEO? Then, the most common cause is likely to be that the competition in a niche is too fierce. Unfortunately, SEO is a long-term strategy. You need to work hard and be patient. In the meantime, you can tackle many other aspects of your SEO (site structure, link building). Try to focus on all website optimization aspects and be the best result. It will pay off eventually!

Read more: Rank tracking: why you should monitor your keywords »



Edwin Toonen

Edwin is an experienced strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he worked for a top-tier web design magazine, where he developed a keen understanding of how to create great content.

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Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Jan 19 2024
Content clusters: What are they and do you need them?

Content clusters, or topic clusters, can be a great tool to show Google you have authority on a specific topic. When done right, a content cluster strategy can get you a higher position in the search results and grow your business. But what is a content cluster, and how do you ensure you’re doing it right? In this blog post, we’ll walk you through it so you can decide whether this content strategy fits your website!

Structuring your content into topic clusters can take time and effort. However, regardless of how new your website is, it’s worth your consideration. If you’re starting, this can be a great basis to structure the content you create for your website. If you already have content but need help with SEO, this strategy can help you organize your content and improve your rankings.

What is a content cluster?

A content cluster is a group of pages and posts focused on a particular topic. It has one page where the main topic is explained, also known as a pillar page, and loads of other pages on more specific parts of that topic. You can compare these pillar pages to cornerstone articles if you’re familiar with cornerstone content. These are your most important pages focused on a central topic that links to all your other content on that subject.

Although similar, content clusters and their pillar pages go one step further than cornerstone content. It’s a way to structure your content and pages with it. Structuring your content in the right clusters helps you establish authority on that subject. It shows Google and your site visitors that you have lots of knowledge on that topic. When you do this right, your content clusters will be a strong basis for your content SEO and help your rankings.

Most websites have more than one content cluster. You will probably want to show your expertise on a few different topics. These clusters will remain part of your content strategy, as you want to update its content and add new pages or posts. For example, when there’s a new trend in your field or when you encounter a new user question on that subject.

Examples of content clusters

Let’s make this concept a bit more tangible. We’ll show you two examples of websites that use content clusters to structure their content. The first example is the ultimate guide to remote work by Zapier. This page is an index for al Zapier’s different remote work content, categorized using subtopics. There isn’t any other content on the page, so it’s focused on giving you an overview of their content on remote work. You can click on the topic you want to know more about.

Screenshot of Zapier’s pillar page on remote work

We’d like to show you another example, as topic clusters come in many forms. This one is a page on fast fashion and why it’s bad by Good on You. This one is different as this website has chosen to already feature the most important content on the page itself. Below that (and throughout the text), they link to other pages where they dive deeper into a subtopic of fast fashion.

example of content cluster by Good on You
Screenshot of Good on You’s pillar page on fast fashion

When should you use content clusters?

As said before, you can use content clusters to structure content. Of course, there are other ways to structure your content that can also be a great choice for your website. So, how do you know if this is the way to go? Topic clusters are a great option for websites that still need building authority in their field. They make it possible to rank for less competitive, more specific keyphrases, also known as long-tail keyphrases. You might be tempted to focus on your main keywords, but these less competitive keyphrases will likely drive some initial traffic to your website.

When you’ve set up your most important content clusters and gained some traffic, probably through your long-tail keyphrases, you will also see your overall rankings increase. As a result, this will help you rank for your main keywords as well. Google is starting to see you as an authority in your field. Which will, in turn, help with the rankings of all your individual pages. In addition, using content clusters makes it easy for Google to understand the hierarchy of your website and how your content is connected.

Google wants you to show off your expertise

Google and other search engines want to provide users with the best content. The content will answer their questions and help them find what they want.

The more quality content you publish on topics in your field, the more different keywords you can be found for. The more content, the more Google can link to each other to understand your website. And the more authority you can build on that those topics. This is becoming more important, with Google focusing on E-E-A-T and helpful content guidelines when they judge website content. This acronym stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness and needs to be part of your content strategy.

How to create content clusters

So, knowing how to get started is good if you consider using content clusters on your website. The first step is figuring out what your pillar pages will be. What are the main topics you want to write about? Where does your expertise lie? To give you an example, at Yoast, our main topics are all in the field of SEO. So, our content clusters could revolve around keyword research, SEO copywriting, technical SEO, e-commerce SEO, and site structure. To name a few. Take the time to figure this out, as this will be an important part of your site structure.

1. It’s time for keyword research

To figure out what your main topics are, we always suggest conducting proper keyword research. What’s great about keyword research is that it will also give you loads of inspiration for the other content in your content clusters, which you will link to from your pillar page. After deciding on your pillar pages, plan for your long-tail keyphrases and add a few to every pillar page.

2. Think about the layout of your pages

An optional step I want to mention here is involving your UX designer when you have a first overview of what you want your pillar pages and other pages to look like. Thinking back to the examples, you can choose many styles for your content clusters. Do you want to create pillar pages that give an overview of all the other content, or do you already want it to show content on the main topic? We would suggest having content on the pillar page as well, as you also want these pages to rank for your main keywords, but of course, that’s up to you. You might have another strategy in mind. Just think about design and UX to make these pages accessible for your site visitors. You’re not just doing this for our good old friend Google.

3. Let’s start writing

When you know what your content clusters will look like, it’s time to start writing. Don’t underestimate this part. Start with your main pillar pages and build from there. Prioritize which content clusters must be set up properly first and take it from there. Unfortunately, there won’t be a moment when you’re done with your content clusters. This will be a continuously evolving part of your website, which calls for regular updates to keep your content fresh and interesting. But there will be a moment when you can take a step back, look at what you have so far, and be proud of the content you’ve created. That shows your expertise on the topics closest to your business.

4. Don’t forget your internal linking

An essential part of this strategy is the internal linking. Internal linking means adding a link to one page on your website to another. This is how you form your content clusters and how Google knows what content is related to each other. Here are a few things you should keep in mind:

  • Always link to your pillar page from the other pages in the content cluster
  • Use the pillar pages to link to the (most important) pages in the content cluster
  • Avoid linking too much to other (pillar) pages outside of the content cluster

Internal linking is how users navigate your content. It’s also how search engines determine what content is related to each other and what the hierarchy is. If you handle this properly, Google will understand the most important content. This can prevent keyword cannibalization and the wrong page ranking for the wrong search terms.

Don’t worry about it too much; most comes down to common sense. Keep the clusters and hierarchy of the content in mind when you decide what pages to link to each other. Your pillar pages should be at the top of the hierarchy in their cluster, which should be reflected in your internal linking. Of course, other content in your cluster can link to each other and even to content in other clusters. Don’t go overboard with this; use it to strengthen your clusters, not link everything to each other.

Are content clusters for you?

That’s it for now! We hope this blog post has given you some insight into what content clusters or topic clusters are. But also whether they’re a good fit for your website and what they can do for your SEO. The main thing to remember is that your content should be structured in a way that’s helpful for your site visitors, and this is another way to help you do that. Are you considering using content clusters on your website? Or are you already using them? Let us know in the comments!



Camille Cunningham

Camille is a content specialist at Yoast. As part of the Search team, she enjoys creating content that helps you master SEO.

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Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Jan 16 2024
Why you should use a focus keyphrase only once

Your focus keyphrase is the keyword(s) you want your post or page to rank for. If you’re particularly eager to rank for a specific keyword, you’ll probably be tempted to optimize many articles for that keyphrase. But, that’s not what a focus keyphrase is for! You should only use it once. But why? And what if you desperately want to rank for that particular keyphrase? Don’t despair: we’ll tell you all about it in this post.

Table of contents

Having an orange or red light for the previously used keyphrase check in Yoast SEO? Here’s what this check does and how to turn that light green.

Don’t compete with your own articles

Why shouldn’t you use your focus keyphrase more than once? Because you don’t want to compete with yourself for a position in Google. This phenomenon is also called keyword cannibalization. By optimizing two different articles for the same focus keyphrase, you’re telling Google two things: that both are suitable for people searching for that keyphrase, and both should appear in the search results.

While having two articles rank for the same keyphrase isn’t necessarily impossible, you’ll find that it’s still very hard. Your site needs to have a lot of authority, especially if you want your two articles to appear in the top ten search results for the same query.

What if you already rank with one article?

If one of your articles already ranks, you may have enough authority to try and rank with a second one. However, if you’re not already ranking for a focus keyword, never use it twice! Instead, update and improve your original article. Then write another post that covers a slight variation of the keyword.

Do you think you might be cannibalizing your own content? Here’s how to fix keyword cannibalization.

Ranking for your desired keyphrase

What do you do if you want to rank for a particular keyphrase? Imagine you’re starting an online store for horse feed. You probably want to rank for [horse feed]. Seeing as you’re just starting, that’ll be pretty hard. You might think you need to optimize all your posts for [horse feed], but as we’ve just seen, that’s definitely not the case.

So what should you do? Your keyword research will give you some ideas about which other terms to target.

Content for your blog

If you have a blog – which we advise you have! – you could write an awesome, long cornerstone article about all the different aspects of feeding your horse well. Next, you should optimize this article for the term [feeding your horse] using our Yoast SEO plugin, and mark it as cornerstone content in our plugin.

In the Yoast SEO sidebar you can mark your content as cornerstone content

You’ll need to write a lot of posts, each covering a different aspect of your ‘head’ term. For instance, you could write and optimize articles for focus keyphrases like [best type of hay for your horse], [pasture management], [feeding thin horses], [feeding sport horses] and so on. These are called long-tail keywords.

If you link from these long tail articles to your ‘head term’ article about [horse feed], you’ll be telling Google which of your articles is the most important. This will help you with ranking your most valuable article. At the same time, you’ll also be attracting traffic for those long-tail articles.

Content for your store

So, what if you have lots of product pages for a type of horse feed? Let’s say you have a big assortment: feeds for thin horses, fat horses, feeds for sport horses etc. Should you optimize all your product pages with feeds for thin horses for [feeds for thin horses]? Nope. In this case, it makes more sense to optimize your category page for this term instead of all your individual product pages.

Can you use a focus keyphrase more than once?

Of course you can, but in most cases it’s not a good strategy to achieve great rankings for a keyphrase. If you want to rank for a keyphrase, dive a bit deeper into a topic. See what questions people have. Could you write long-tail articles about those questions?

Also, look at the other search results. Who is your competition, and what do they show? How can you distinguish yourself from them? When you’ve written your content, embed your articles in a kickass site structure to increase your chance of ranking!

What does the previously used keyphrase check in Yoast SEO do?

One of the assessments of the SEO analysis in the Yoast SEO plugin is the previously used focus keyphrase check. This assessment checks if words from your keyphrase were previously used in another keyphrase for other posts or pages on your site. If you’ve used it for another post or page, you’ll get a red light. Why? Because you should optimize only one page for a specific keyphrase!

What to do if you already used your keyphrase more than once?

If you click on the link next to the red bullet, it will guide you to the other article you’ve written about it. Take a good look at the articles. Check which one performs best in the search engines, or gets the most traffic. Keep that article, or merge the best aspects of both articles in the one that ranks highest. The free Yoast Duplicate post rewrite and republish feature can help you with that!

If you just found out you’re aiming for the same keyword or keyphrase with multiple articles, it might pay off to audit your content to find possible cannibalization issues. Fortunately, Joost has written a step-by-step guide on how to find and fix keyword cannibalism on your website!

Want to learn how to choose your focus keyphrase well?

A solid keyword strategy is indispensable if you’re aiming for your website to rank high. You should investigate which keywords you’d like to rank for, research what the competition is doing, then write excellent copy about your focus keyword. If you want to learn how to thoroughly perform keyword research for your website, read our ultimate guide to keyword research, or try our keyword research training; it’s one of the many courses you’ll get access to with Yoast SEO Premium!

Read more: Why and how to export your focus keyphrases with Yoast SEO Premium »

Marieke van de Rakt

Marieke was Head of Strategy and former CEO at Yoast. She is no longer part of Yoast, but during her time at our company she wrote a lot. Topics that she loves writing about include SEO copywriting, site structure and readability.

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Ecommerce MGMT 0 Comments
Dec 28 2023
Make a great website menu for your users and SEO

Website menus are one of those things you take for granted — until you encounter a really bad one. In the ideal scenario, users get an instant overview of what a site has to offer, and they can reach all the important stuff with just one or two clicks. In the worst case, users end up frustrated and unable to find what they’re looking for. This post will walk you through the basics of menu design and help you understand which options will work best for your site.

Your website’s menu is important because it helps users navigate your site. Sure, sometimes a user will arrive on the page they were looking for straight from Google. But usually, your visitors will want to look at various pages on your site. Or they land on your homepage and will need to navigate to the right page from there. That’s why your menu should be available on every page, and ideally, you would even have a sticky menu. Meaning that it scrolls down with the content to make sure it’s always in view. That way it doesn’t matter where your users are: they’ll always be able to find what they need.

Besides the essential navigation function of a menu, it’s also a neat way of letting users know what your site has to offer. You can think of it like a banner on each page, saying “This is what we do”. Make the most of that opportunity!

A great site menu should include links to the most important parts of your website. So it’s up to you to figure out what to put in it. But whatever content you decide to include, it’s essential to keep your menu usable.

One of the worst things you can do is overload your menu with too many links. This will make it look cluttered, and users will need to work hard to find what they need. Depending on your choice of menu design, some of the links could end up inaccessible if you have too many. For instance, if you’re using a drop-down menu, users might struggle to access links that appear off-screen.

Do: be selective or use alternative navigation options

The best option is to be selective about what you include in your menu, but for larger or more complex sites this won’t be possible. Luckily, there are lots of other solutions to a crowded menu. One solution is to create hub pages or categories, and add these to your menu instead. Then users can navigate to the relevant category or hub, and find their way to more specific content from there.

A second solution is to add sub-menus; these are additional menu options which only appear when the user hovers or clicks on a particular menu area. Sub-menus can be handy, but they can also become cluttered and difficult to use. So if you do use sub-menus, do so in moderation.

The third option is to include a search bar as part of your navigation menu. That way, if a user can’t see what they’re looking for in your menu, they can search your site for what they need. A search bar is a great feature to include, whether your menu is too cluttered or not. But do take some time to configure your search function well, because otherwise it won’t really help.

Tip: Yoast SEO Premium includes an Algolia integration you can use to improve your site search results. Using it will help push your most important content to the top of the results. Give it a go!

It’s easy to forget about mobile users when you’re using a desktop computer to build your website. But that’s the last thing you want to do, especially when it comes to your site menu design. A menu that looks good and works well on desktop might be completely unusable on a phone or tablet. Now that more and more people are using mobile devices to go online, it’s really important to consider menu design for both desktop and mobile.

There are two options for creating a menu that works on both desktop and mobile. You could add a responsive menu with a layout that adapts to the screen size being used. Alternatively, you can create a specific menu for the mobile version of your site. Whichever solution you choose, test it out on a few different screen sizes to make sure the end result is user-friendly.

There are loads of different menu styles to choose from. Hamburger menus, drop-down menus, and sidebar menus are a few well-known examples. There are also some very abstract and creative menus out there. However, the way that you implement these styles has a big impact on the overall impression and usability.

Here are some of the more standard options:

If you have a simple website and only one or two online goals, it makes sense to opt for a minimalist menu design. For example, Behance is a ‘network for showcasing and discovering creative work’, so it doesn’t need a complicated menu. They only include 3 menu options: ‘Discover’, ‘Livestreams’, and ‘Jobs’. This lets the user focus on the search field and the creative works being displayed instead.

Some sites use a more minimalist menu style to cater to their mobile users. A hamburger menu (which looks like this: ☰) is a popular minimalist choice for mobile sites as it takes up a very small amount of screen space. For instance, on the mobile version of Joolz.com there are three simple icons to help users navigate: search, shopping cart, and a hamburger menu. Clicking on the hamburger menu expands it to show a list of their product categories. Solutions like this work really well on mobile devices.

An image of a minimalist style site menu on Joolz.com

Classic menus are probably the simplest to work with. These focus on selecting the main categories or areas of the site and use buttons with text labels to guide users to the right place. A horizontal navigation bar is the most common type of classic menu. Sometimes menus like this have a few drop-down options below the main menu items, too. WordPress.org uses a classic menu design on its desktop site. Two of the menu items have a drop-down button to show more options: ‘Support’ and ‘Get Involved’.

An image of a classic style menu on wordpress.org

Another classic menu style is the sidebar. You can see this kind of menu in action on Google Maps. Usually, these kinds of menus can be opened using a hamburger menu button and closed again using the ×-button. This is a great way to offer full-screen content, as the menu is hidden most of the time.

An image showing the expanded sidebar menu in Google Maps

Mega menus are a kind of drop-down menu, but instead of having a single column of links under each main menu item, there is space for multiple columns. These menus are popular with larger and more complex sites, as they offer space for many more links than other menu styles. So in theory, you can be less picky about which links to include. Right?

Well actually, this supposed benefit can be the downfall of mega menus. Even though all the links can fit in there, including too much content in your menu can be overwhelming for users. That being said, if you limit yourself to a moderate amount of menu links, a mega menu can be a great option for your site.

On asana.com you can see they’re using a mega menu with a manageable number of links below each main menu item:

An image of the mega menu on asana.com

An example of a very full mega menu can be found on the World Food Program desktop site. In this case, the drop-down menu shows a list of countries, so users will still be able to navigate this menu quite easily. But just imagine if all these links were about different topics. Then users would struggle to find what they need, as if they were rummaging around in a messy drawer.

An image showing a very full mega menu on the World Food Program website

Other navigation options

You can do a lot with your site menu, but it’s not the only navigation option. Many sites add extra navigation links to their site header or footer. You’ll often see options to log in or change the site language in these spaces. However, if you do choose to add footer links you must disable infinite scrolling, or your users will never be able to reach the footer.

Another possibility is to create a sitemap page that users can access. This shows a structured list of all your site’s pages. These are becoming less popular than they once were, but they can still be a powerful tool for site navigation.

Does your site menu influence SEO? Sure it does! You’re unlikely to get a lot of internal linking benefit from adding items to your menu. But there are other ways your menu can benefit your SEO, and that benefit has to do with how users experience your site.

If users can’t find what they’re looking for, they’re likely to leave more quickly and not come back to your site again. Google can pick up on those kinds of signals. So a great menu can help your SEO, albeit in an indirect way.

As a general rule, it’s a good idea to keep your menu as simple as possible. Especially for smaller sites and those just starting up, a classic or minimalist-style menu should work great for you. If you have an enormous site you’ll need to think harder about what your users need to see, and how best to display that content.

Once you have a design you’re happy with, it won’t hurt to ask a few people to try it out and give you their feedback. If you’re really serious about making your site menu usable, you could carry out task-based user testing. Either way, make sure your website menu works for your users and provides them with a great experience!

Read more: Holistic SEO: Improve every aspect of your website »



Camille Cunningham

Camille is a content specialist at Yoast. As part of the Search team, she enjoys creating content that helps you master SEO.

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Sep 21 2023
6 questions about redirects for SEO

A redirect happens when someone asks for a specific page but gets sent to a different page. Often, the site owner deleted the page and set up a redirect to send visitors and search engine crawlers to a relevant page — a much better approach than serving them annoying, user-experience-breaking 404 messages. Redirects play a big part in the lives of site owners, developers, and SEOs. So, let’s answer a couple of recurring questions about redirects for SEO.

1. Are redirects bad for SEO?

Are redirects bad for SEO? The answer is no; redirects are not inherently bad for SEO. However, it is crucial to implement them correctly to avoid potential issues. An improper implementation can lead to problems such as losing PageRank and traffic. Redirecting pages is necessary when making URL changes, as you want to preserve the hard work invested in building an audience and acquiring backlinks.

To ensure that redirects are implemented correctly and effectively, consider the following best practices:

  • Use the appropriate redirect type: The most commonly used redirect for permanent URL changes is the 301 redirect. This informs search engines that the original URL has permanently moved to a new location. By using a 301 redirect, you can maintain the ranking and relevance of the old URL and seamlessly redirect users and search engine crawlers to the new URL.
  • Update internal links: When you implement redirects, updating any internal links on your website that refer to the old URLs is important. This ensures visitors can navigate to the correct pages and search engines can properly index the new URLs.
  • Preserve user experience: Redirects should aim to provide a smooth user experience. Avoid excessive redirect chains, which can slow page load times and frustrate users. It’s also important to redirect users to relevant content that aligns with their intent. For example, if a page has been permanently removed, redirect users to a relevant alternative rather than a generic homepage.
  • Monitor and test redirects: Regularly monitor your redirects. Check for errors or issues, such as broken redirects or redirect loops. It’s also helpful to periodically test the redirects to ensure they function as expected.

2. Why should I redirect a URL?

By redirecting a changed URL, you send users and crawlers to a new URL, minimizing annoyance. Whenever you perform any maintenance on your site, you are taking stuff out. You could delete a post, change your URL structure, or move your site to a new domain. You must replace it, or visitors will land on those 404 pages.

If you make small changes, like deleting an outdated article, you can redirect that old URL with a 301 to a relevant new article or give it a 410 to say that you deleted it. Don’t delete stuff without a plan. And don’t redirect your URLs to random articles that don’t have anything to do with the article you’re deleting. Lastly, don’t 301 redirect all your 404s to your homepage!

Bigger projects need a URL migration strategy. For instance, moving to a new domain or changing the URL paths. In these cases, you should look at all your site’s URLs and map them to their future locations on the new domain. After determining what goes where you can start redirecting the URLs. Use the change of address tool in Google Search Console to notify Google of the changes.

3. What is a 301 redirect? And a 302 redirect?

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect informing visitors and search engine crawlers that the requested URL has moved to a new destination permanently. It is the most commonly used redirect for permanent URL changes. When implementing a 301 redirect, you signal that the old URL is no longer in use and that the new URL should be accessed instead. It is important to note that with a 301 redirect, the old URL should not be used again in the future, as it signifies a permanent change.

On the other hand, a 302 redirect is a temporary redirect. This type of redirect is used to indicate that the requested content is temporarily unavailable at a specific address but will return at a later time. Unlike a 301 redirect, a 302 redirect suggests that the change is temporary and that the original URL may be used again.

You must consider the URL change’s nature when deciding which redirect to use. If the change is permanent and you have no intention of using the original URL again, a 301 redirect is appropriate. However, if the change is temporary and you plan on returning to the original URL, a 302 redirect should be used.

It is recommended to carefully consider the purpose and longevity of the URL change when selecting the appropriate redirect. If you are uncertain about which redirect you need, please read our article on which redirect to pick?

4. What’s an easy way to manage redirects in WordPress?

We might be biased, but we think the redirect manager in our Yoast SEO Premium WordPress plugin is incredibly helpful. We know that many people struggle to understand the concept of redirects and the work that goes into adding and managing them. That’s why one of the first things we wanted our WordPress SEO plugin to have was an easy-to-use redirect tool. I think we succeeded, but don’t take my word for it.

The redirect manager can help set up and manage redirects on your WordPress site. It’s an indispensable tool to keep your site fresh and healthy. We made it as easy as possible. Here’s what happens when you delete a post:

  • Move a post to the trash
  • A message pops up saying that you moved a post to the trash
  • Choose one of two options given by the redirects manager:
    • Redirect to another URL
    • Serve a 410 Content deleted header
  • If you pick redirect, a modal opens where you can enter the new URL for this particular post
  • Save, and you’re done!

So convenient, right? Here’s an insightful article called What does the redirect manager in Yoast SEO do, that answers that question. Or watch the video below!

5. What is a redirect checker?

A redirect checker is a tool to determine if a certain URL is redirected and to analyze the path it follows. You can use this information to find bottlenecks, like a redirect chain in which a URL is redirected many times, making it much harder for Google to crawl that URL — and giving users a less-than-stellar user experience. These chains often happen without you knowing it: if you delete a redirected page, you add another piece. So, you need to keep an eye on your redirects; a redirect checker is one of the tools to do that.

You can use one of the SEO suites, such as Sitebulb, Ahrefs or Screaming Frog to test your redirects and links. If you only need a quick check, you can also use a simpler tool like httpstatus.io to give you an insight into the life of a URL on your site. Another must-have tool is the Redirect Path extension for Chrome, made by Ayima.

6. Do I need to redirect HTTP to HTTPS?

Every site should use the HTTPS protocol, but be sure to redirect your HTTP traffic to HTTPS. You could get into trouble with Google if you make your site available on HTTP and HTTPS, so watch out for that. Google prefers HTTPS sites because these tend to be faster and more secure. Your visitors expect the extra security as well.

So, you need to set up a 301 redirect from HTTP to HTTPS. There are a couple of ways of doing this, and you must plan this to ensure everything goes as it should. First, the preferred way of doing this is at the server level. Find out what kind of server your site is running (NGINX, Apache, or something else) and the code needed to add to your server config file or .htaccess file. Your host will often have a guide to help you set up a redirect for HTTP to HTTPS on the server level. Some hosts have a simple setting to manage this in one go.

There are also WordPress plugins that can handle the HTTPS/SSL stuff for your site, but for this specific issue, we wouldn’t rely on a plugin, but manage your redirect at a server level. Don’t forget to let Google know of the changes in Search Console.

Redirects for SEO

There are loads of questions about redirects to answer. The redirect concept isn’t too hard to grasp if you think about it. Getting started with redirects isn’t that hard, either. The hard part of working with redirects is managing them. Where are all these redirects leading? What if something breaks? Can you find redirect chains or redirect loops? Can you shorten the paths? You can gain a lot from optimizing your redirects, so dive in and fix them. Do you have burning questions about redirects? Let us know in the comments!

Read more: How to properly delete a page from your site »



Edwin Toonen

Edwin is a strategic content specialist. Before joining Yoast, he spent years honing his skill at The Netherlands’ leading web design magazine.

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