The Reason You Aren't Ranking (It's Probably Not a Problem With Your Site) - Episode 138

The Reason You Aren't Ranking (It's Probably Not a Problem With Your Site) - Episode 138

From Grumpy SEO Guy by Grumpy SEO Guy

January 28, 2026 · 15 min · Season 1 · Episode 138

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of website authority in SEO rankings and clarifies common misconceptions about ranking factors.

Sorry the mic sounds weird. No idea what's transpiring. Please help keep this podcast free: https://www.patreon.com/grumpyseoguy Principles covered: Beginners don't understand that a big part of SEO has nothing to do with YOUR website. SEO is not something YOU do to YOUR website. SEO is not a checklist. The 4 things you need to rank. When two websites have perfect on page, who ranks? The one with greater authority. Website attributes are the MINIMUM to even be considered to rank. There are very few things you can do to your website to make you rank higher. PROBABLY the reason you are not ranking is because you do not have enough authority compared to your competition (assuming everything else on your site is correct). SEO is like a race. Just because you improve doesn't mean you're going to rank higher. Things that won't help you: dwell time, site loading speed, good content. Mentioned episodes: SEO Is a Competition, Not a Checklist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZo8Cdt3PnI 4 Things You Need to Rank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3L7tAil0Bg Is This Lower Authority Website Actually Outranking This Higher Authority Website…

People in this episode

Host: Grumpy SEO Guy

Topics covered

  • SEO
  • website authority
  • ranking factors
  • digital marketing
  • search engine optimization

Keywords

  • SEO
  • website authority
  • ranking
  • digital marketing
  • search engine optimization
  • dwell time
  • backlinks

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: SEO Is a Competition, Not a Checklist, 4 Things You Need to Rank, Is This Lower Authority Website Actually Outranking This Higher Authority Website?, 4 Reasons Backlinks You Built Didn't Work, EEAT, Content, Dwell Time - not ranking factors

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