Artist Website Hated By Google

 Late last year, I was asked to take a look at British artist Mark Alexander's website to see if I could work out why it was not ranking in Google for some simple terms.

Despite making huge changes to the site and working on everything I could think of, Google still hates it. As of September, the site does not show anywhere for 'Mark Alexander artist' 'Mark Alexander art' and combinations of these terms. However, he settles nicely on the second page for the more broad term 'Mark Alexander'.

For the record, there are no problems in Search Console or Lighthouse and I have even implemented some changes recommended in a Google post I initiated.

Now I understand for a term like Mark Alexander artist there will be some competition - mainly from galleries, museums, and his social media profiles. However as you can see from the image below, I have been to the depths of the SERPS and found nothing.

I mean nowhere! Seriously. This appears as though it is some kind of shadow ban. However, why does it rank in its correct position for 'Mark Alexander'. If I was a detective, I'd say this was my toughest case to crack of all time.

The thing is, I am not an expert on this type of thing. My background is in SEO content. I've always been interested in user intent. What does the person searching for something, actually expect to see? For Mark Alexander artist, my guess would be that any searcher may expect to find his Wikipedia page; some gallery pages showcasing some of his most famous exhibitions; his social media accounts (although he does have a Knowledge Panel for this term) and eventually (fanfare!) Mark Alexander's artist homepage or at the very least his biography page. 

Even writing this, from a blog I very rarely use, I fear this post will appear in the rankings. Obviously not high but it will be somewhere...unlike this site. In the next blog, I'll describe how I found the site, late last year and explain some of the things I did to help it ranks. Any thought off anyone with more knowledge than me is appreciated.