Do Your SEO Keyword Rankings Fluctuate? Here’s Why and What to Do
You finally start to see new keyword rankings in Google’s top search results pop up. Then suddenly, they disappear a lot faster than it took to get up there on page one. You start to panic. Have you forgotten the warnings of your SEO professional that keyword ranking fluctuations are a normal part of the process?
Don’t get worried or frustrated, or think something is wrong. The good news is that in most cases, this sort of ranking fluctuation is perfectly normal. The search engines work behind the scenes to determine a website’s natural place in the order of things. Sometime that can take some time to settle down.
30 Second Summary:
- Keyword ranking fluctuations happen all the time. It’s normal.
- Keywords rankings in Google naturally go up and down as your website is adjusted and as competitors change their websites, along with personalized search based on history and location.
- Keyword rankings in Google also change because of algorithm updates, search engine penalties, and spidering issues.
- Take a long-term, best practice approach to SEO with frequent audits and content updates to help stabilize your keyword rankings and search visibility.
SEO is a long-term strategy with it’s natural ups and downs. As a business owner, you likely receive a variety of email sales-pitches telling you that you can get first page search engine results in a short amount of time. Or, they tell you that your website is not performing well on the search engines, and they can very quickly turn this around for you.
It can be easy to get caught up in this offer, while questioning your current SEO efforts.
Unless you are going for obscure or unpopular keywords (that are not being widely searched by your target audience), ranking well on the search engines does take time. For some very competitive industries and keywords, this can be months, or even years of working a well-strategized SEO plan. And, just because your website may get to the illusive page-1 ranking, doesn’t mean it will stay there forever.
Keyword ranking fluctuations (as upsetting as they can be) are to be expected.
In this article we’ll help you understand why keyword rankings change all the time, how to avoid keyword ranking fluctuations, and share several helpful pointers for the avid and nervous keyword ranking checker.
Top 6 Reasons for Keyword Ranking Fluctuations
1. Your Website or Content is New
When you publish a new website or new piece of content, Google will test-drop you into the search results, in a variety of different positions. Google even has people who help index content by hand. This means they manually look at a website’s content and how it matches a particular search query.
New content is especially prone to keyword ranking fluctuations and can even jump on and off the results until the search engine can determine the most natural fit for a specific result.
How to Overcome This? Continue to create good content that is based on what your user is looking for. By determining your authority in the industry, your website content will speak for itself and you may find the fluctuations lessen.
Content really is KING. After all, the job of a search engine is to deliver the top related pages to a specific query.
2. A Google Algorithm Update is at Work
Google makes minor updates to their algorithms on a regular basis. Even the most minor change in their programming can sometimes result in keyword ranking fluctuations. Then, there are the bigger algorithm updates that can sometimes work amateur SEO professionals into a frenzy. They can even sometimes catch the most experienced SEO professionals off guard.
Over the years, the major algorithm updates that have wreaked the most havoc on search results include:
2009 – Vince – While Google explained Vince was a minor algorithm update, the Vince update seemingly favoured big brands and some small businesses reported a negative long-term impact on their positioning and traffic.
2010 – May Day – This update was targeting long-tail keywords and content. Websites with thin content were hardest hit.
2011 – Panda – About 12% of search results were hit by the Panda update. Panda targeted content farms and weak, thin content. Additional Panda updates have happened in the years since.
2012 – Penguin – Penguin targeted websites that were over-SEO’d. Websites that had poorly written, keyword-stuffed content were hardest hit.
2014 – Pigeon – Pigeon saw some drastic search result changes for local query results.
2018 – Medic Core Update – Health and wellness sites were reportedly hardest hit, but change in results affected queries in all verticals.
2019 – BERT Update – Rumoured to affect 1 in 10 searches this Google update was meant to help the Search Engine better understand long conversational queries.
How to Overcome This? First, a website built on a foundation of good SEO principals is best set to withstand algorithm updates. While no website is immune from keyword ranking fluctuations, your content and website should be built with your user in mind following Google Webmaster Guidelines. This helps because it will mean your website likely will not include many of the things that Google penalizes (spam, too much advertising, over optimization, thin content etc.).
3. You’ve Gotten a Search Engine Penalty
Break the rules and you can be penalized. Generally speaking, Google will let you know within your Google Search Console when you’ve been assessed a penalty. Overcoming a search engine penalty can be quite time consuming so it is best to play by the rules.
How to Overcome This? Keep an eye on your Google Search Console so if you are ever assessed a penalty you can begin the recovery process right away. Ideally, if your website is built by experienced professionals and is based on a sound SEO strategy, the chances of being assessed a search engine penalty are low.
4. New Players in the Game – Competition!
A new related business may open up shop, or an old business may take on a new SEO strategy. Chances are, if your website ranks well, overtaking your website will be their goal. A good SEO professional will analyze what all the competitors are doing as well, and then strive to keep your website on top of the game. Staying ahead of your competition regardless of minor keyword ranking fluctuations is possible with a continuous SEO strategy.
How to Overcome This? Your ongoing SEO maintenance should include competition research. This way, you can keep an eye on the new players to the game and stay one step ahead. Once again, if you can continue to publish quality content that your target visitors want, you will have a head start over newcomers to the game.
5. Google is Having a Hard Time Crawling Your Website (ie. Spidering Issues)
If Google has a hard time accessing and spidering your website, you may notice keyword ranking fluctuations.
One reason for this is poor unreliable hosting where your website is not always accessible.
Another reason is blocking the Search Engines entirely. For example, some website platforms such as WordPress, there is a button “Do Not Index” and this can be for the page or the entire website. Many SEO professionals has found this button turned on, generally from an inexperienced web developer who was building ‘live’ and forgot to turn the button off once the site was released to the general public.
How to Overcome This? Keep a close eye on your Google search console to determine what pages are being spidered. As you publish new content, ensure that content has a home on a page of your website that is regularly spidered so Google has an easier time reaching it. Having clean navigation is also key.
As for the “Do Not Index,” mistakes happen. So, if you have a web developer working on your website, this should be the first thing you check when website updates or content additions go live.
6. Personalized Search Will Also Affect Your Ranks (Location, Behavior, etc.)
Often, a user’s search results are specific to their location and their past behaviour. This can make it difficult to ascertain where you rank for your target audience. You may find you have keyword ranking fluctuations depending on the user. You can get a broad overview of your general ranking within Google’s Search Console. However, it doesn’t depict the entire story.
For instance, for localized searches, often results will appear that are close to your location. If you have frequented a particular website many times, that website may appear in the top results when you search. As a general rule, your goal should be to average in the top results but not get too worried if certain users do not see your website where others do.
We’ve heard reports of unscrupulous SEOs using this type of search to their advantage when reporting or holding client meetings. Because they work on the website often, the website will show up high on the search results. Note – if you’re in a meeting with your SEO professional, ensure they’re using an incognito window.
How to Overcome This? Open an incognito window with your browser cache cleared whenever you wish to check on your results personally. This will give you the best understanding of where you rank for the general public. If you do not wish for search engines to collect data on you, use an incognito window for your searches whenever possible.
How to Avoid Keyword Ranking Fluctuations?
Keyword rankings are in a constant state of movement, especially beyond page two or three. When new websites or content is launched, generally they will move around the search results for some time before eventually settling into a natural position. Movement from this stage is slow-going.
The websites in the top positions in search results are generally employing some form of SEO strategy. They have the added benefit of having been there longer and usually have good content that web visitors like.
With patience, a solid multi-channel marketing campaign, sound SEO strategy, excellent content, ongoing content edits, and even more excellent content, you can eventually find your own website in the top positions.
Once there, you should expect minor keyword ranking fluctuations but the last thing you want is to fall back down out of the SERPs. Your ongoing SEO strategy will help keep you where you belong, in the top of the search results.
1. Conduct Ongoing SEO Edits
It is tempting to leave good, top-ranked content as-is to avoid any potential fall; however, your visitors’ search queries will see subtle changes over time and it is important your content stays up-to-date with the most popular queries. Do not take on SEO edits in an unorganized manner though. There needs to be a strategy and a reason to make even minor adjustments to content. Your visitors should be the top priority.
2. Apply Technical Maintenance
Site speed, user-flow, and spidering should all be part of an ongoing maintenance program. A site that is performing at its best technically will stand a better chance of avoiding negative keyword ranking fluctuations.
3. Do More Than Just SEO
While organic search traffic may bring in the most targeted traffic to your website, you’d be remiss to rely solely on this form of visitor. Display advertising, offline advertising, pay-per-click keyword advertising, and social media etc., can all nicely round out your visitor chart.
4. Create New Content Often
Your website should have a sound content development plan including ongoing edits and publishing new, fresh resources for your visitors. Ongoing Keyword research will help determine what information your target visitor is looking for and can help assist you in creating a content development calendar.
5. Monitor Google’s Search Console
A lot of information can be had with regular monitoring of Google’s search console. You can see patterns in keyword ranking fluctuations and what content is performing well, as well as any other technical issues.
6. Check Google Analytic Data
Google Analytics can provide a wealth of information for those so-inclined to study the numbers.
7. Employ Regular SEO Audits
There are a variety of tools that can help you audit your own website and content. SEMRush, WooRank, Web.Dev all provide important insight.
Key Takeaways for the Frequent Keyword Rank Checker
- Keyword ranking fluctuations are to be expected as well as the traffic you receive from them. This is why it is important to embark on an ongoing SEO program that consists of regular keyword research, market research, continual content edits, and a solid content marketing plan.
- Patience is a key trait when it comes to Search Engine Optimization. Determination is also important. When you can stay the course of the strategy, even in the face of keyword ranking fluctuations, you will come out the other side in victory.
- Following SEO best practices will help your website survive once it makes it to the top of search results. It is important to remember that just because you get to the goal, the job is not finished. There will always be competitors vying for your spot so it is important to stay ahead of the curve.
- SEO is a long-term lead generation and marketing approach. Along the way you will run into gains and setbacks plus wins and numerous keyword ranking fluctuations. It is not a straight line, but rather a windy road to get to the top of the rankings. If you are looking for quick gains, you may find those with long-tail keywords; however generally speaking, for quick leads, SEO will not be your marketing platform of choice.
- It is important to have a decisive SEO strategy that incorporates a variety of keyword phrases. While you’re working on the more competitive keywords, you can be seeing faster wins on long-tail keywords. In fact, sometimes the cumulative traffic generated from these highly specific keyword searches can overtake the traffic from the ‘big-win’ keywords you are dreaming of.
- Don’t lose hope. As keyword ranking fluctuations are inevitable, it’s best to trust your experienced SEO professionals to understand what to look for and how to stay the course.
- Check out this helpful MOZ article for more information about How to Overcome Keyword Ranking Fluctuations.
Need Help With Your Keyword Rankings in Google?
At 1st on the List we can help pinpoint the cause of fluctuating or unstable organic keyword rankings and implement a solution to earn better, more stable keyword rankings for your website. Please contact our SEO Content Specialists by submitting a contact form inquiry.
Editors Note: This post was originally published in December 2018 and has since been completely revamped and updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
