In 2026 the rules for web design changed significantly, with yet another heavy-handed core update from Google and the driving developments in AI.
This month, we’ll go through why your website might not be getting any traffic and what you can do about it.
When your website is crawled and indexed, there are 100s of factors that make for ranking. These are just a few of the “biggies” – there are hell of a lot more. If you need a professional to take a look, send me a message. I would love to help you.
Use of AI on your website
The content on your site should be written by a person, with zero AI intervention.
AI generated text, edits and images will rank your website lower because Google and other search engines are prioritising accurate, fact-checked and human content for a better user experience.
AI = fakery and Google wants to step away from deepfakes so they can rake the internet for real content.
Images should be your own where possible. Stock photos are considered too generic. You don’t necessarily need professional photos – just ones that are real. After all, people buy people.
In the last 5 years I have watched genuine human-written blogs and pages go from nought to sixty – even with grammatical issues or spelling mistakes. The real human experience is what gets rewarded. I also watched my SEO colleagues’ websites go from 1m views per month to zero because their content was made my AI, and Google moved the goalposts overnight.
Stick to writing your own stuff, it can be polished later.
Google business listings
If you run a local business, you will need a google business listing. This listing needs to be regularly optimised and carefully edited to avoid being suspended.
Gain as many genuine five star reviews as possible and regularly add photos and videos of your work.
Do not abuse the system and try to add other locations if you do not have physical shops to link to. Reinstating a suspended account is a nightmare.
Search intent is flawed
Search intent is the concept that drives a person to carry out a google search. You could call it the “goal” of the user.
This is more than keywords – it’s all about matching the right content with the user’s needs.
- “best pizza oven” → probably researching options
- “buy “1965 Shelby GT350R” → ready to purchase
- “how to fix a leaking tap” → wants instructions
- “afternoon tea near me” → wants a local business immediately
If your website pages don’t accurately reflect and feed this back into the loop your website will fail to show up on the first page of results. A professional web and SEO expert will be able to resolve this for you. It’s typically a combination of issues concerning keywords and page structure.
Your website doesn’t have enough pages
Back in the day (circa 2013) a one page website could do wonders. SEO doesn’t work like that anymore. You will need at least 5-10 website pages and a regular blog to compete locally.
Blogs will need to be optimised by a professional, so make sure you invest wisely. Again, AI is null and void here. If you use ChatGPT to write or even edit blogs for you, the site will tank as a consequence.
DIY design & branding
We all have to start somewhere in our businesses. If you have built your own website, or had it set up by a “friend” as a favour, it’s time to upgrade. Your site can be re-designed and improved by the right person so you don’t have to “start again” with a new one.
You may like the design you have, but google might not. Web design is about appeasing google, who in turn are trying to appease genuine users (and shareholders, but that’s another story entirely).
It could be the information on your site is outdated or information is in an illogical order (this is easily done, so don’t feel bad if you fall into that category).
Your site might be gasping for a full restructure to ensure each SEO box is ticked off. There might be headers in the wrong places, or perhaps the phone numbers and email addresses aren’t linked up the way they should be. There are a whole host of issues that can make search engines index you lower and lower.
Your site might not be inclusive
1-2 years ago Google decided it would heavily prioritise websites that have been made disability-friendly. This means they can be read with software for people with sight impairments. If your website has not gone through this upgrade, your visitors could be dropping on the basis that your competitors HAVE taken this step, and are therefore ranking higher.
Regular updates and changes
Has your site has laid dormant for a long time? Search engines love to see a website is being regularly updated. A blog is a great way to tick this box. If you website hasn’t been touched in months or even years, now is a good time to get the job done.
One massive overhaul is a good way to get the old gal chugging along again. You will need to keep chipping away, which is where paid monthly support brings so much value.
The best way to get blog writing done, is get a years worth (12 blogs) ready ahead of time and schedule them. on the same time, and same day of the month each month. Aim to solve problems, answer questions and provide instructions. Thats what makes them valuable to search engines.
Zero marketing effort
Even the biggest companies in the world are constantly advertising. They know that being well-known isn’t enough. You have to reserve a budget for marketing and drive traffic to a call to action.
Your business may have gotten away with a low marketing efforts until now. This has changed for a lot of companies. If you have noticed leads drop off a cliff recently, this could be part of your problem.
Social media effort is now considered an SEO contributor. You will need to post valuable content regularly (again, no AI). If your competition is posting more than you, you can bet your bottom dollar they are being seen by more people. Good social media drives visitors to your website. Invest in someone who “gets” it.
Don’t assume you can do a few months of marketing and then drop it down the line. Every month you don’t advertise is a month of leads lost to someone else.
Weak SEO
When I am hired to handle a website, it’s either a website that has never had organic SEO implemented, or a site that was built by a company who promised the world and couldn’t deliver.
If you had SEO implemented and it didn’t work, you need a second option. Weak SEO practices from years gone by (like keyword stuffing, spam backlinks and duplicate location pages) and other elements of poor-practice are still carried out by some SEO wannabes.
They don’t have their finger on the pulse and resort to cheap tactics to rank. It doesn’t work like that now – so many practices that used to be common and “normal” are now obsolete. If your website isn’t getting any hits, consider changing providers.
Remember, noone can guarantee your site ranks at number 1 on search engines, if they do, run away!
I hope this blog has helped you. If you need an SEO pro to upgrade your website, give me a call. Let’s talk about your company.
About the Author
Catherine Jarvis Clothier is a digital marketer and online presence specialist living and working in Kent, UK. She has worked in unusual UK businesses for over 10 years across the South of England, particularly in automotive and therapy-based enterprises. Catherine specialises in social media, SEO and web design. She can be contacted here for online business consultations.
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