Sometimes you may find your website ranking for unrelated keywords. It is a common frustration of course for site owners. John Mueller from Google addressed the issue lately and said that if the site is pulling in traffic for untargeted queries, it is time to refine the titles and content for better clarity.

Mueller responded to a LinkedIn query from Álvaro Pichó Torres. He suggested two main approaches. It is either to ignore the unexpected rankings or improve the overall content.

The advice of Mueller was clear. He said that blocking Google with noindex or robots.txt is not the best solution. He recommended making the title and description more precise. Sometimes pages rank for unexpected queries and this cannot be always controlled. However, it does not impact the rest of site’s rankings negatively.

The advice sheds light on a critical aspect of SEO and it is about content clarity. Ambiguous titles and descriptions may lead to site ranking for queries that might not align with the target audience. Refining the elements can better signal to search engines about the content. It will thereafter ensure the right kind of traffic.

Mueller also highlighted an important point. He said that sometimes the unintended rankings can’t be helped. It does not harm the overall performance of the site. In fact, it is a hidden opportunity. It is a chance to expand reach and possibly tap into a new audience segment that was not considered earlier.

Hence, it is suggested to prioritize clear and specific content to attract intended audience. It is to note here that stressing too much over every unexpected ranking may not be helpful. It is all part of the complex and ever-evolving landscape of SEO. Simply embrace the quirks of search engine behavior. Use it to your advantage, if possible. Do note that every click is a chance to make a connection.