The best minds in the Digital Marketing Industry raised a point a couple of years back- Google is ranking websites based mainly on the searcher’s intent. With time, more and more people feel that is indeed the case. In such a situation, despite your best SEO efforts, you could find yourself in a spot where it is algorithmically impossible to have your website ranking on top during searches. But that does not mean you should give up on your SEO efforts, it just means that along with SEO, you also need to work on your organic exposure. Here are some scenarios where your SEO could fall short, and in that case, the solutions you can use.

Scenario 1: The keywords are too competitive

Everyone has faced this scenario one time or the other. Trying to rank a website and not getting any results simply because the keywords are highly competitive can be frustrating, but it doesn’t mean that you have to give up on these valuable keywords.

Solutions:
• Look up some influential blogs and reach out to these Bloggers and negotiate a deal where you sponsor their posts. Trying to get your website on top of the search list may take a lot of time and especially for new businesses that need to generate revenue, this is not ideal. Instead, when someone reads a blog on a related topic and there is a CTA button that diverts interested traffic your way, it’s a win-win situation for both parties and it wouldn’t even cost you too much.
• Another way around this is Guest Posting. Look for Blogs that are relevant to your Business and guest post on a site which already has a high-ranking. That way you are using that site’s SEO ranking to divert more traffic your way. Once again, remember to add hyperlinks or a CTA button to achieve your purpose. This is a mighty effective solution that can deliver big time results if executed properly.

Scenario 2: Hijacking ‘Brand Alternative Keywords’

Say your business or product falls in a category for which there are already multiple offerings out there and they have been in the game for a long time and are very successful. In this case getting your page to rank higher, even with the best SEO tactics, can prove a difficult battle.

Solutions:
• Being a large and dominating brand can have its cons as well. Consider this, an already established Brand and your business is providing the same service, but obviously there is a considerable difference in the fee. People will often search for things like ‘Best Alternative to Brand X’. In this case Google looks at Listicles to give the searcher results. So, reach out to Bloggers who write listicles on relevant topics and have a considerable following; negotiate a deal with them to have your Brand included in such a Listicle.
• Look for Brands with similar offerings and are established, but are closing down operations for some reason. This can take a little time, but if you do find something like this, you can use it to your advantage. Again, people are going to be looking for replacements. There are two ways to go about to make the best of this opportunity.
  
  There will already be popular replacements out there. Try to rank a page on the most popular replacement brand where the keywords ‘Replacement for Brand X’ are being used.
  
  And again, as mentioned, you can also go for the Listicle option as well. Find Bloggers who have authority and following in the relevant field and send them your pitch. Convince them that your Brand is deserving of a place in that Listicle.

Scenario 3: Trying to rank for ‘best keywords’

Say you are a Digital Marketing Agency and you are using keywords like ‘Best Digital Marketing Agency in NYC’. Now keeping in mind that Google shows results according to searcher’s intent, recent studies have shown that the searcher does not want to visit a website directly, instead they are looking for lists, from which they can take their pick.

Solutions:

You can still make use of that ‘best’ keyword, but in a different way. Working with the hypothesis that you are a digital marketing company in NYC, remember that there are a lot of searchers out there looking for ‘Best Digital Marketing Agencies in NYC’.

Again, in this scenario, you need to reach out to authoritative Bloggers on the relevant topic. Write them a chirpy message, saying that you are looking into whether they would consider hosting your site on their ‘Best’ list, give them a picture of why your business deserves to be there, and also add incentives for them that are profitable to them and that you can offer.

A useful tip for when your business has gained some footing

Say you have gained some authority in your industry now and searchers know your name. Here the thing to remember is that searchers look for reviews of the company first. In this case, you need to make use of social media influencers. Reach out to the ones who are successful and are relevant to the service/ product you are offering, and them review the same.

This again, is a great way to get some organic traffic diverted towards you. So these were some scenarios that Brands/Companies often find themselves in, and hopefully with the help of this article, you now have information handy on how to overcome these problems and get some organic traffic coming