Could Google Be Ranking Low-SEO Domains Higher Than Optimized Ones?

Seeking Advice
1

Hello everyone,

I’ve been handling SEO for a client who started with one location and grew to several. As we expanded, our SEO strategy included editorial content, structured data, keyword optimization, and more. This approach led us to increase traffic to 260,000 visits per year in two years, ranking well for many keywords.

However, we’re facing a challenge with ranking for the keyword combination ‘Dentist + [City]’ for each of our locations. Despite our efforts, local dentists with minimal SEO (and website optimization) are ranking higher than us.

We have strong backlinks, good optimization, and all external factors in place that should help us be in the top 5 at least. But that’s not happening.

Do you think it’s possible that Google might intentionally rank non-optimized sites higher in specific fields like this to meet user intent? For example, Google might assume that real dentists wouldn’t focus much on SEO optimization.

I know it sounds far-fetched, but we’ve consulted other SEO professionals, freelancers, and colleagues, and no one can explain what’s going on.

Would love some insights.

2

Time for the unpopular opinion

There are so many factors to consider here.

Do you think Google ranks “low-SEO” domains higher than optimized ones?

The term ‘optimized’ is often overused. People think optimization involves a long checklist of things, but that’s not necessarily the case. For example, I’ve seen content rank well even without a unique image, meta-description, or OG tags. These things might improve user experience but don’t guarantee a high ranking.

So if a page ranks well without those factors, it could just mean those factors aren’t the real drivers behind rankings.

If you believe in keyword density or stuffing, that’s a myth. Adding metadata like schema, title tags, images, etc., can help, but they don’t really affect ranking directly.

Hidden SEO Factors

External factors should put us in competition for top 5, but no.

The top-ranking pages might be from content agencies following the same checklist, and while these factors don’t directly determine ranking, they don’t hurt either. I’ve worked with clients who hired separate content writers, SEOs, and backlink providers who contributed to the rankings.

Do you think Google intentionally favors non-optimized sites for specific fields?

In my opinion, only a few key elements actually influence ranking. Having a meta-description or title tag won’t be the deciding factor.

Google can rank non-HTML files like PDFs, for example, and they do well in search results.

So, if your content is solid, it will rank well, even without images or meta-data. The pages ranking in the top 10,000 may have schema, titles, and other metadata, but they don’t necessarily make the cut because other factors are more important.

3

It’s difficult to give advice without looking at the on- and off-page SEO for your site, but for local searches, Google sometimes prioritizes sites that feel more local rather than high-authority domains. A small dentist site might appear more personal and approachable, which aligns with what users might expect when searching for local services.

4

@DanielBlogs
Thanks for your reply.

Yes, we’re doing everything we can to make it local—GMB profiles, NAP data on each page, structured data, city-specific content, and so on. But I wonder if our strong domain might actually be causing issues. Our blog with 125k traffic is on the same domain as our local pages, and it’s optimized for a national audience.

5

@Jony
You might be doing this already, but just in case it’s useful: having the city name in the URL can help with ranking for local searches.

6

@Jony
NAPs help verify a business, but they don’t directly impact rankings. Google either uses the data or doesn’t.

I don’t believe Google is using AI to search for ‘hidden’ information like geo-location data. If it’s not part of their core ranking factors, it likely isn’t being factored in.

7

@LizCampbell
They’re not ranking factors per se, but they help Google understand the site better. I used them to emphasize that we’re a dentist in this specific location.

8

Jony said:
@LizCampbell
They’re not ranking factors per se, but they help Google understand the site better. I used them to emphasize that we’re a dentist in this specific location.

I think you’re overestimating how Google uses location data. Google doesn’t search for or use geo-location information the way you might think. SEO is about critical thinking, not assumptions or myths.

9

You mentioned that your client has expanded recently, so it’s possible that other local dentists have been around for much longer. Google might take their long-established presence into account through links, mentions, reviews, etc.

10

@Maggymodel
Interestingly, the new location keywords work fine, but it’s mainly the original location that’s struggling. When we had only one practice, we ranked #1 for years. But after moving everything to a sub-directory, rankings dropped. We’ve already checked the redirects.

11

From my experience with local SEO, Google tends to prioritize genuine local signals like reviews, citations, and proximity over technical SEO. Building a strong local presence through community engagement and patient reviews could help improve your local rankings.

12

@Gregory1
Thanks for your input!

We built a custom plugin to show GMB reviews directly on our site, and Google immediately replaced our meta description with reviews data.