i launched a site two months ago, the domain is four months old. it won’t rank for even basic keywords like ‘software for ’—and the business is pretty niche. i’ve done seo before, and in the past, my sites would start getting some traffic after a month, but this one is stuck.
i’ve worked on on-page seo (meta descriptions, keywords, page structure, etc.), written content (6 blog posts, 2 public, 4 scheduled), submitted the site for indexing, and added it to my company’s social media accounts. i also shared it in some groups, which gave a short traffic spike, but nothing after that.
the biggest challenge is backlinks. i know directories used to work, but now they’re often seen as spam, so i’ve been cautious. i submitted to a few niche directories and general review sites like g2. i’m also working on guest posts and trying to get listed on comparison sites that mention competitors.
what else should i be doing to get at least one keyword to rank and start driving some traffic?
backlinks are key here. you need real links from relevant sources, not just social profiles or self-created listings. for b2b/tech/saas, i’ve seen success with:
reaching out to bloggers and experts for reviews
partnering with other businesses for co-marketing
getting listed on software marketplaces or cloud partner directories
offering free trials in exchange for case studies or testimonials from industry influencers
actual pr, not just press release submissions
don’t just post links on social media; that won’t help. but if you can get people in your niche to talk about and link to your site, that will move the needle.
google looks at more than just backlinks. make sure your site structure is clean, load times are fast, and your pages are actually indexed. also, seo takes time, so don’t expect instant results.
Johan said:
google looks at more than just backlinks. make sure your site structure is clean, load times are fast, and your pages are actually indexed. also, seo takes time, so don’t expect instant results.
sounds like you’re on the right path. make sure you have google analytics and search console set up, and check if your site is actually indexed.
you probably need more pages and more links. how many pages does your site have, and how many are indexed? sometimes a site needs a certain amount of content before google starts taking it seriously. try searching ‘site:yoursite.com’ to see what’s actually indexed.
Floyd said:
have you submitted your site to google and bing search console?
this can speed things up. use search console’s url inspection tool and manually submit pages for indexing. also, create a spreadsheet and add all your urls there so you can keep track.
Floyd said: @Terryanne
and don’t forget to submit your sitemap so google can find all your pages.
submitting a sitemap doesn’t guarantee faster indexing or better ranking. google already knows about most sites, and sitemaps are just a way to help them understand your structure better.