SEO Ranking Drop: What Is It and Why Does It Happen?

SEO Ranking Drop: What Is It and Why Does It Happen?

Have you noticed a change in your keyword rankings recently, aka a SEO ranking drop? Were you hoping it was temporary and that you would quickly get back to the top spot? Have you searched for a Google algorithm update and found nothing?

As you may know, many factors contribute to keyword rankings, so it can be difficult to pinpoint just one reason why your rankings may have dropped. Here are some of the main reasons why we tend to see fluctuations in our rankings, as well as some of the things we can do to get back to the top quickly.

These reasons are also the reasons why SEO is never “done”: SEO optimization is an ever-evolving process: keeping up with your competitors is essential to ensure you have the best chance of consistently ranking #1.

1. Backlink Volume and Quality
It’s helpful to think of backlinks as a form of review or recommendation. The more recommendations a site has for a keyword, the more trustworthy the site is in Google’s eyes. The more trustworthy the site is, the more likely Google is to recommend that site to its customers. If you don’t have as many high-quality backlinks as some of your competitors for Google search, this could be one of the main reasons why your rankings have dropped.
Solution: Link building is one of our main lines of service for a reason, as building quality backlinks at scale is essentially impossible to do on your own. If you are our client, this will be one of the best ways to set yourself up for success if you notice fluctuations in your rankings. We have built relationships with editorial networks, journalists, website owners, etc. and guarantee you quality and effective backlinks to their site. If you don’t have a SEO agency to turn to, it’s time to contact us!

2. Quality on-page content
The old saying “content is king” exists for a reason. Content, of course, is very important in achieving and stabilizing high keyword rankings.
Google has the entire Internet to analyze and read! It is important to make the specific themes of our content very clear to Google, on each individual page. Without clarity, your page will become outranked by more targeted and optimized pages, which will surpass it in Google’s SERP.

Solution: SEO content optimization is obviously the key to making your content sing, not only to readers, but to Google. Make sure you follow SEO content creation best practices. At Ottobix, as part of SEO campaigns, we can help you write or optimize previously written content, to make Google understand what the theme is and what keywords it should be ranked for.
3. Quality content on the domain
It may seem like a strange metaphor, but websites are like human bodies. If you want your body or website to be in tip-top shape, you have to keep it active. You can’t go to the gym once and miraculously be in great shape.

Google prefers active websites to inactive websites.

Google doesn’t know if you’ve gone out of business, are off-season, or are focused on a rebranding strategy for the next quarter. All Google knows is that you have very few pages with quality content and you haven’t published a new blog in a few months.
Solution: There’s no better time than now to start writing quality articles that serve your customers and are also optimized for Google. Create a content calendar and commit to publishing a new quality blog every two weeks (at least). If you need more help producing this content, let us know.

4. Maintain a technically clean and organized site
Following the metaphor above, if backlinks and content are like going to the gym and eating well, maintaining a technically clean and organized site is like sleeping all night.

Too many metaphors? Okay, enough.

In any case, Google’s priority is to understand your individual pages and your domain as a whole. If you have too many dead ends (404s), too many detours (redirects), or other technical issues that prevent Google from easily navigating your site and understanding the relationships of each URL, Google will stop crawling it.
Solution: Our technical audits are performed in the first month of our partnership because fixing these items is critical for your site and stabilizing keyword positions. Some of these recommendations can take time to clean up if you have an older or larger site, so getting started quickly is key. Our recommendations should be prioritized if we want to see stable, high-ranking keywords.

5. Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization occurs when multiple pages compete for the same theme. This can be difficult for internal marketing teams to diagnose. The pages may seem distinct to you as an expert in your particular industry, but if Google doesn’t understand the distinction, keyword cannibalization may occur.

This is especially common among niche businesses and their websites. If you have a technical product that a layperson wouldn’t easily understand, you are more likely to experience keyword cannibalization. When Google sees two pages on a domain that target the same topic, it will split the authority. Ultimately, you end up with two pages that rank poorly for a keyword. You may even see keywords change positions drastically due to keyword cannibalization.
Solution: We look for these types of issues in our preliminary audit, but they can always pop up later. Let us know if you think you might have some keyword cannibalization on your site. We’ll be happy to investigate and make recommendations to fix the issue.

6. Internal Links
The more internal links a page has, the more important the page is to Google. The more important the page appears to Google, the more likely Google is to rank that page highly. The great thing is that you control all the internal links on your website!

Solution: Find ways to incorporate more internal links in your blog posts to your landing pages. Refer to our keyword research and use your landing page keywords as anchor text. Be careful not to over-link a blog post. We recommend 3-5 internal links in each blog post.
7. Making Changes to a Page
When we see keyword fluctuations, it’s often associated with someone making changes to one or more pages. As we said before: backlinks, content, internal links, and more all factor into keyword position rankings. Any changes that alter these elements could impact the keyword’s position in Google.

Solution: Check to see if there have been any changes to the previously ranked page, especially content changes. Have there been any changes to the URL or website structure? Have you added more pages or blogs on the domain that could be cannibalizing? Have you deleted old posts that linked to that page? Let us know and we can help provide next steps to stabilize your keyword rankings.

8. Competitors
Unfortunately, the number of first page positions in Google is limited. If competitors start increasing their SEO efforts, they become a threat to dethrone you.

SEO is a battle and sometimes your competitors can beat you.

You never know when they will start investing in SEO.
Solution: If you notice competitors running circles around you, we can run a competitive analysis on certain keywords that we’re seeing fluctuations on to see how you stack up against your competitors and what you need to focus on to regain dominance over them.

9. Google Algorithm Changes
Google is constantly making small changes to their algorithm, sometimes multiple times a day. Remember that Google is a business. To keep their users, they need to produce the best search product on the market.

This means that the pages that rank #1 need to best match the intent and desire of the customer when searching for a keyword.

Just like we marketers run A/B tests, they also change the rules of the game. Google will sometimes change their interpretation of a keyword search to see if customers stay on those pages longer than previously ranked pages. In addition to your competitors and you, Google is constantly changing the factors that affect rankings.
Solution: The last thing we want to do is be shortsighted or overreact to changes. At Ottobix, we monitor keyword ranking changes, as well as broader industry and topic changes on Google.

SEO is a long-term game: if you’re looking to increase your ranking, contact us in the dedicated section for a free strategic consultation.