+ Website problems
Website not ranking on Google? Here's why, and what we do about it
When customers search for what you do, they should find you. We work out what is holding your site back, whether that is technical, content or authority, and fix it in order of impact.
How to tell you have this problem
A quick way to check is to search for your main service and your town in a private browser window.
- You don't appear on the first page for your main service in your area.
- Competitors with a thinner offering show up above you.
- Google Search Console shows few impressions, or pages marked as not indexed.
- Nearly all your enquiries come from paid ads or referrals, and they stop when the ads do.
- Organic traffic in your analytics is flat or falling year on year.
What causes it
No keyword focus. Pages written about the business rather than the words customers type into Google, so there is nothing clear for Google to match.
Technical barriers. Pages blocked from indexing, broken redirects, duplicate pages, or a slow mobile site that is harder to crawl and rank.
Thin content. One page trying to cover every service, or short pages that say little a customer couldn't find anywhere else.
Little authority. Few reputable sites link to or mention yours, so Google has less reason to trust it over an established competitor.
A neglected Google Business Profile. For local searches, an incomplete profile with few reviews keeps you out of the map results.
What it costs you
When you don't rank, every enquiry has to be paid for. Ads work, but the moment you stop paying, the leads stop too, and in competitive categories each click can be expensive.
Organic search works differently. A page that ranks keeps bringing in people who are actively looking for what you sell, month after month, with no cost per click. And the longer a competitor holds those positions, the more reviews, links and history they build, and the more work it takes to pass them.
How we fix it
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Step 1
Audit what Google sees
We crawl the site, check indexing in Search Console, and compare your pages with the ones that outrank you. This is where technical SEO problems show up.
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Step 2
Match each page to real searches
We research the terms your customers actually use, give each page one clear topic, and rewrite titles, headings and content through on-page SEO.
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Step 3
Build local and off-site authority
We tidy your Google Business Profile and directory listings with local SEO, and earn links from relevant NZ sites through link building.
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Step 4
Report on what moved
Monthly reporting shows rankings, organic traffic and the enquiries that came from search, so you can see what our SEO work is doing for the business.
What you can check yourself
- 1. Set up Google Search Console (it's free) and check the Pages report for anything marked as not indexed.
- 2. Give every page a unique title tag that says what the page offers and where, such as "Roof repairs in Hamilton".
- 3. Claim and complete your Google Business Profile: categories, service areas, hours and photos.
- 4. Ask your most recent happy customers for a Google review.
- 5. Fix broken links and pages that return a 404 error.
+ Case studies
Real results
Projects where we took on the same kind of problem. Each one links to the full case study.
What our clients say
Real results from real businesses. See why clients trust us with their digital growth.
"I couldn’t recommend Jason and Lucid Media highly enough. I’ve had around 10 websites developed over the years, and Jason is by far the best web developer I’ve ever worked with. He is incredibly hard-working, efficient, knowledgeable and very easy to deal with. Nothing was ever a problem, communication was excellent, and he genuinely knows what he’s doing. What impressed me most was how quickly he got things done while still paying attention to the details. The whole process was straightforward and professional from start to finish, and all for a very reasonable price. If you’re looking for someone to design or develop a website, I would highly recommend Jason and Lucid Media. I’ll definitely be using him again for any future development work. If there were 10 stars I'd be giving it to them."
"Jason took the time to understand our vision and business needs, translating them into a stunning, user-friendly website. Communication throughout the project was seamless. We highly recommend Lucid Media to anyone looking for top-notch web design services. Their talent, dedication, and customer-focused approach make them a standout in the field."
"We've been working with Jason from Lucid Media and couldn't recommend him more. He's been a fast communicator, proactive, and always willing to help. Jason goes above and beyond with providing recommendations and support. The websites he's built and implemented for us have been excellent. He has captured our business perfectly and ensured that it is user friendly on both desktop/mobile. Fantastic service!"
"Jason and his team have been fantastic to work with from the initial website design and with the ongoing maintenance. They built us a really professional and well-designed site that represents our business well. It is nice to know someone reliable can manage our website and make sure it stays ranking on Google."
"We recently wanted to bring our idea for an app to life and Jason has been amazing to work with on this project. He worked quickly and efficiently, turning our ideas into reality. His expertise made the process smooth, and implemented any changes really quickly until things were working just as we needed. We're thrilled with the final product and will continue working with Jason on future projects."
"Working with Jason @ Lucid Media on our website was a great experience from start to finish. Jason brought our vision to life with creativity and professionalism. The design is clean and modern, and the functionality is exactly what we needed. Highly recommend to anyone looking for top-tier web design and development."
"Jason and team at Lucid Media were absolutely great in delivering our company's e-commerce website. It was a great experience from start to finish - and even beyond! I would especially like to highlight the clear communication, willingness to make changes and tailoring the end product to our needs, throughout the entire process. Best of luck in the future and I'm sure we will be working with Lucid Media again soon!"
"Jason has been awesome to work with over the last few months. Whenever we've had any sort of issue with our website, he is extremely prompt in resolving it. Very professional and helpful, I highly recommend."
"Jason created our JunkBoss company website from start to finish. He always responded immediately, shared great ideas, and the final site looks spectacular!! Highly recommend to anyone looking to get their website done."
"Working with Lucid Media was an excellent experience from start to finish. They took the time to thoroughly analyse our previous website, understand our product, and align with our company goals. The results were outstanding: clean, strategic, and exactly what we needed to elevate our brand presence."
"I had a call with Jason and was so impressed by how in-depth it was. He really listened, understood where I'm at, and gave me a clear action plan that I can actually use. It was practical, straightforward, and made me feel confident moving forward with my ads. I couldn't recommend working with him enough."
"Jason was a delight to work with. He turned my vision into my dream website for my business in a matter of days. His service and support is unmatched. I am truly, blown away."
"Working with Jason from Lucid Media has been an absolute game changer for my social media presence. His strategies have helped increase engagement, improve reach, and bring a more polished and professional edge to my social platforms."
"I have been working with Jason from Lucid for a year now and he is absolutely brilliant, honest and reliable. His client first approach has meant his work is always on time and to a high standard. Most of all he actually gets the results he says he will."
"I had Lucid Media do some SEO work for us and I'm super impressed with the results. Jason also took the time to educate me deeply on the topic so I didn't feel like everything was smoke and mirrors like I have had with previous agencies."
"Jason has been awesome in the work he has done for us - he is fast, very responsive and professional. Would highly recommend!"
"Huge shoutout to Jason for putting together my real estate website. The site looks clean, professional, and easy to use. He made the whole process super simple and stress-free. Would definitely recommend him to anyone needing a website."
"We hired Jason for our business after having a bad experience with minimum effort and minimum results with another agency. Since being with Lucid and then tidying up our landing pages, and Google Ads and getting new leads running, our CPA dropped by 66% and lead quality increased 2 to 300%. This change was not only almost immediate but has been consistent for the last few months. He has a total depth of knowledge and a desire to get the absolute best outcomes as demonstrated by his consistent and detailed updates."
"Very happy with our experience with Jason. Felt he was really acting in our best interests and went beyond what we were expecting him to achieve. Would highly recommend his services."
"When the finance company I manage, Fee Funders, changed ownership, Lucid Media took over all aspects of our IT and technology, and the impact has been outstanding. Jason quickly learned our legacy systems and implemented critical changes."
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what people ask us about this. If yours isn't here, ask it below.
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Problems that often come with this one
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Losing to competitors online
Competitors show up first, look more credible, and win work that should be yours.
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No leads from your website
The site gets visitors, but the phone doesn't ring and the forms stay empty.
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Slow website
Pages take too long to load, and visitors leave before they see what you offer.
Find out what's keeping you off the first page.
Tell us about your site. We'll look at what is causing the problem and come back with a plain-English plan for fixing it. No obligation.
