Over the years, search engine optimization (SEO) initiatives have needed to change to keep pace with Google’s constant algorithm updates. You’ve probably experienced this yourself over the years. One day, your pages are ranking well on search engine results pages (SERPs), and then suddenly, for no reason at all, everything goes away.
This isn’t something only you’re dealing with. Many website owners need to readjust their strategies to keep pace with the latest ranking variables or updated guidelines surrounding site structure or performance requirements.
Why It Happens More Frequently Today
There’s a good reason Google has decided to change its search engine algorithms regularly. In most cases, Google is simply trying to improve the search engine experience for its users.
These updates give them the time necessary to reduce online spam, increase security, and ensure that whenever users look for something online, they’re able to locate what they need with as little friction as possible.
Why Do SEO Rankings Fluctuate?
Search engines aren’t static repositories for websites. They’re highly dynamic, with web crawlers and their support algorithms shifting constantly, impacting SEO rankings, sometimes from one hour to the next.
Below are some of the primary reasons why SEO rankings can fluctuate over time:
Google Algorithm Updates
Google has always relied on various indexing algorithms, which play an important role in helping to rank various web pages based on various factors (some known and some unknown). Because the platform continuously tries to innovate and provide users with a unique and helpful experience, these algorithms regularly change over time, adapting to new types of search behavior and supporting technologies.
While not all of Google’s algorithm changes significantly impact SEO rankings, some of them - typically their “core updates” - can see considerable changes in page rankings (for good or for bad). Although Google tries to be proactive about notifying web owners when these types of changes roll out and the potential changes they can cause to rankings, this isn’t always the case.
Competitor Activity
Whenever you create new content for your website, you’re directly or indirectly competing with tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of other websites all trying to rank for the same keywords as you. If one of these competitors with more authority than your own starts building similar content and getting high-authority backlinks to it, there’s a strong possibility you’ll start seeing dips in your rankings.
Even if competitors aren’t trying to rank for the exact keywords as your own, if the topics they’re writing about are similar to yours and they share semantic keywords with your content, they may still have an edge over your own.
Content Changes on Your Site
Once you’ve achieved certain SERP rankings for various web pages, these can change pretty regularly over time. While external factors like your competition are one reason for these ranking shifts, another reason could be certain changes you make to various elements of your site, especially when it’s related to content.
This can happen when you start refreshing the content currently on your website or start adding to it significantly. Why you might think that adding more information will only improve your rankings, several ranking factors can come into consideration, and rankings won’t always increase when taking this approach.
Technical SEO Issues
The technical health of your website can also affect your SEO rankings day to day. For example, if your site's structure is lacking, making it harder for Googlebots to search for, crawl, and index it, your rankings could suffer.
One of the primary technical SEO issues many websites suffer from is lower speed and performance. When web pages take longer to load or a website isn’t designed to support mobile devices, this can actually harm site rankings. Other common technical SEO issues can include broken links on a website or issues with the accuracy of the site's submitted XML sitemaps.
Backlink Profile Changes
Website authority changes over time and is another variable used to decide the ranking of your webpages on SERPs. This authority is directly impacted by the number and type of backlinks to your website from other sites. In general, the more sites that link to your own, the better; however, sometimes, they might actually hurt your rankings.
Getting too many links back to your website from spammy sites can make your site less credible and can pull your rankings down over time. In these cases, you may need to use Google’s Disavow tool so that these links don’t count against your rankings.
Search Intent Shifts
Google is always trying to find new ways to engage users while giving them better search experiences. An important part of this evolution is moving away from simple keyword and phrase matching to actually identifying the intent behind certain search types.
Because of these changes, the way web pages appear on SERPs can change. This includes featured snippets or video carousels showing where traditional page links used to exist. These new features can push your rankings further down in the list than they used to be. Another element that has impacted rankings recently is Google’s introduction of AI Overviews, which is another above-the-fold element that changes the position of traditional search engine results.
Personalization and Location Factors
Today, Google uses more than just your search queries to look for relevant results. It can also leverage specific things tailored to the users, including past search history or geographic location. This means that even if you’re running A/B testing to see how your rankings appear, they can actually look different depending on the user’s own browser.
As Google’s algorithms continue to become more advanced, they’re also trying to be more predictive about a user’s news before providing results. To achieve this, they leverage browsing habits, search preferences, and any other information provided to them to improve search experiences.
Seasonal Trends
SEO rankings can often also change due to the seasonality of different search trends. People's search habits tend to adapt over time based on different seasons, holidays, or trending topics. This can impact the rankings of web pages focused on specific areas.
It’s also important to keep in mind that at certain times of the year, other companies may choose to launch various marketing campaigns designed to improve their rankings around certain key terms. This can also impact where and when your pages show up for specific keyword phrases.
When Should You Worry About Ranking Drops?
It can be normal to see your SEO rankings change from time to time. This is normal and nothing to be worried about. However, dips in your rankings can mean there are some areas of concern worth investigating further.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term Drops
Short-term drops in rankings aren’t something to be overly worried about. These often happen over the first few 3-6 months of indexing a new page as Google shifts around rankings. Typically, if your page disappears for a short period of time, it will bounce back within a short period of time.
If rankings drop significantly longer, typically more than 4-6 weeks or even a couple of months, chances are there are some larger issues causing the decline. When these situations arise, it's crucial to look deeper at your website metrics and find potential reasons why these drops in rankings could be occurring.
Panic Indicators: What to Look For
While not all SEO ranking changes should make you panic, there are some red flags to look out for that could point to bigger issues you need to address. Some of the panic indicators to look for surround your target keyword rankings. If these start taking a nose dive, and the trend seems to continue, this could be a major warning sign that you don’t want to ignore.
Another thing to track is your organic traffic numbers, especially to key pages you’re trying to rank for. It’s important to track these pages closely over time and look for any declining trends.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Analyze SEO Ranking Fluctuations
Step 1 – Identify What Was Impacted
When you start to notice a continued decline in your SEO rankings, it’s essential first to identify the main pages on your site that are experiencing the most significant impact. Benchmarking your rankings over time will make this process easier.
Once you’ve identified the pages, dial a bit deeper and look for the specific keyword ranking changes that have led to the largest declines. Sometimes, there can be a smaller, but more impactful decline in rankings, or your ranking changes could be a result of a large collection of less volume keywords that can add up.
Step 2 – Measure the Impact
After doing your initial research, start making a priority list of issues on which you want to focus your efforts. Then, start leveraging various SEO tools to look at your site's historical performance and the performance of certain keywords to give you a better picture of where your largest declines are. Then, you’ll want to compare your current rankings to historical periods in time to see what the overall trends look like.
When you look at the overall history of your search trends, you may be able to see that your declines may not look as bad as you thought when compared to your overall trajectory. However, in the event that your overall rankings decline over more extended periods of time, you may need to make certain optimization strategies a higher priority than others.
Step 3 – Determine the Cause
Once you have a clear picture of the areas of concern that need investigating, you can start to dig into them individually and determine their cause. A good place to start when starting this initiative is to look into any potential algorithm changes released by Google recently. These often cause rankings to change and could potentially be the culprit.
In the event that algorithm changes haven’t happened, start checking your website logs to see if you can find some correlations to any changes you’ve made and potential ranking shifts. You should also look at your backlink profile to see if there were any high authority links that you’ve recently lost or if you added lower-quality links to your portfolio.
Step 4 – Investigate Who Took Your Spot
Another place to look when your rankings start to drop is at the competitors who have taken over your spot. Tracking your competitors can often give you helpful insights into the reasons behind your ranking changes. Create a list of any of your main competitors and do a deep analysis of each of their pages to search for valuable clues you can leverage.
The first place you should look when doing competitive SEO analysis is at the content on competitors' websites. See if there are any noticeable differences in the length, quality, or structure of the content on your own site. Use SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to compare your backlink profiles or other on-page SEO elements, and make a note of the differences where you can make improvements.
Step 5 – Form a Recovery Plan
With everything put together, now you can start prioritizing SEO fixes as part of your recovery plan. If there are a variety of pages that need optimization, focus on the ones that impact your traffic volume the most.
Start by refreshing or expanding your content so that it’s relevant to what users are looking for. If you’ve lost any important backlinks, try to rebuild them by reaching out to website owners and inquiring about the opportunity to contribute to their blogs. This gives you the ability to provide them with highly engaging content for their readers in exchange for a link back to your own site.
As you implement your recovery plan, monitor your rankings over time to gauge the impact of your changes. Then, adjust your optimization strategies accordingly.
Proactive Steps to Prevent Future Drops
Continuous Site Audits
It’s important to stay proactive when keeping your SEO ranking in tact over time. To do this, you want to regularly audit you on-page and off-page elements, checking the quality of your content, ensuring the navigation is user-friendly, and maximizing the overall performance of the site. This includes running regular speed tests and ensuring you have a mobile-friendly site design.
Monitor Competitors Regularly
It’s important to stay on top of the competition and regularly monitor how others are ranking their sites in comparison with your own. Look at who your top competitors are for each of your highest-ranking pages and make sure you’re regularly auditing their own SEO approaches. Try to ensure your content offers more insight and expertise than what they offer and that your website provides a better overall experience to visitors.
Maintain Quality Backlinks
Make it a regular routine to check the quality of your backlinks and their sources. It’s important to ensure your backlink profile is made up of high-authority, credible sources. If you come across any suspicious or spammy-looking websites linking to your own, use Google’s Search Console to disavow any links you don’t want associated with your site.
Adapt to Algorithm Changes
Try to stay up-to-date on any current or upcoming Google algorithm changes that could potentially impact your SEO rankings. One way to do this effectively is to follow various SEO discussions on marketing blogs and SEO forums. These are a great way to get helpful industry insights you can use to improve your current site structure and prepare for any major core updates in Google Search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do algorithm-based drops last?
The length of time it takes for algorithm changes to impact search rankings can vary significantly. Smaller updates to your content might lead to smaller fluctuations lasting only a few days or weeks. However, drops resulting from significant core updates can be more persistent, sometimes requiring substantial website improvements to recover over several months.
Can ranking drops affect traffic significantly?
Yes, significant ranking drops, especially for high-volume keywords, can lead to a substantial decrease in organic traffic to your website. This can directly impact the amount of leads your generate and any revenue you’re able to bring in.
Can I predict future fluctuations?
While there’s no way to predict the exact timing or impact of every algorithm update, by staying informed about SEO best practices, monitoring industry news, and regularly analyzing your website's performance against your competitors, you’ll be more adaptable as these changes come up.
Is it normal to see daily ranking fluctuations?
Yes, it's normal to see minor daily fluctuations in your keyword rankings. Search engine results are dynamic and can change regularly as Google recrawls and re-evaluates other content pages. Small ups and downs within a few positions are usually not a cause for concern and happen with all websites.
What's the first thing I should do if I notice a sudden drop?
The first step after noticing a significant and sudden ranking drop is to check your Google Search Console account for any manual actions or security issues reported by Google. These can have an immediate and severe impact on your visibility in search results and require quick attention to resolve.