Why Your Static Site Isn't Ranking (And How to Fix It in 48 Hours)

You built a fast, beautiful static site. The code is clean. Mobile-friendly? Check. SEO tags? All there. But Google still won't rank you.

Sound familiar? I've been there. Here's what I learned the hard way—and how to fix it.

The Trap: Indexing vs. Ranking

Most devs confuse these two:

• Indexed = Google found your page and added it to the search index.
• Ranked = Google displays your page in search results for relevant queries.

You can be indexed but ranked at position 47. That's useless.

The Real Problem: Authority

Google uses three signals to rank you:

1. Relevance (your content matches the search query).
2. Technical quality (fast, mobile-friendly, no errors).
3. Authority (other sites link to you).

Most new sites nail #1 and #2 but fail at #3. That's why you're invisible.

The Fix: Backlinks (But Smart)

You don't need 100 backlinks. You need 3-5 quality backlinks from trusted sources.

Here's my playbook:

1. Dev.to (Fastest Win)

Write a technical article about your niche. Link back to your site naturally. Dev.to has high authority; Google trusts it. One article = one backlink.

2. Product Hunt

Launch your site/project on Product Hunt. Include your domain in the description. If you get upvotes, you get visibility + a backlink from a high-authority site.

3. GitHub Awesome Lists

Find relevant "Awesome" lists in your niche. Add your project/site with a description. Boom—backlink from GitHub (DA 95+).

4. Guest Posts

Pitch a small blog or newsletter in your industry. Write one article, include a link to your site. Takes 2 hours, worth it.

5. Forum Participation

Answer questions on Reddit, Stack Overflow, or niche forums. Link to your site when relevant. Not all count as backlinks, but some do.

The Timeline

• Day 1-2: Publish on Dev.to + Product Hunt.
• Day 3-7: Google crawls these sites and finds your links.
• Day 7-14: Google recalculates your authority and re-ranks you.
• Day 14+: You should see movement in Search Console.

Real Example

I launched a static site portfolio. Day 1: position 47 for my brand name. After one Dev.to article + Product Hunt launch, I hit position 3 in 10 days. Position 1 came after a second article + GitHub link.

The Lesson

Don't wait for organic backlinks. Be strategic. Create content, share it on high-authority platforms, and let Google do the math.

Your site is good. It just needs to be known.

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Next steps?

• Publish your first article on Dev.to (this week).
• Launch on Product Hunt (this month).
• Add your project to 2-3 GitHub Awesome Lists (this week).

Track your progress in Google Search Console. You'll see the difference.

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💬 Building a static site or bot? Reach out via Tismodev for a free audit or consultation.