Why Keyword Ranking Fluctuate?
-
Hi All,
I have a shoes website and I am working on it from last four months. I am targeting four main keywords but I have some issues with ranking.
First one is that keywords ranking fluctuate many time a day but they remain on the same page.
Second one is that these keywords remain on the same page for 2 to 3 week and than suddenly they drop down in the ranking.
Please help me regarding these issue.
Waiting for replies.
Thanks
-
Just following-up to make sure you have your personalization turned off if you are checking your rankings manually. See Takeshi's answer below.
-
Yes, and too much tweaking can cause problems. IMO
-
Sounds to me like you're seeing these rankings, then you're trying to 'tweak/optimize' these same pages to go higher in the ranking and so those 2-3 weeks are w/ index A and then your new 'tweaked' page Index A version 2.0 gets indexed and throws you into a new ranking/tailspin
-
Like I said, rankings are always changing. Always. Accept that no matter what you do, your rankings will fluctuate, whether your site is four months old or four years old.
As for the rankings drop, it's impossible to say without more specifics. The most common reason these days for rankings drops is over-optimized anchor text, but again it's impossible to say without more specifics.
Assuming it's not a penalty, just focus on creating better content or building more links. That's SEO in a nutshell. If you are able to attract lots of high quality links, Google will tend to rank your site higher and keep you there. Likewise, if your site provides a great user experience and great information, Google will want to show the site to more of its users. Great content also tends to attract great links.
Figuring out why one keyword went up or down a position is not possible given how many factors there are, and is typically not a good use of your time. Focus on the big picture: build a quality site and build links.
-
Takeshi Thanks for you response.
But why the same thing is happening from last four months and domain is also four years old.
Also answer the second question please.
-
Make sure you have personalization turned off. Switch to incognito/private browsing mode on your browser, and make sure you are not logged into your Google account, as these can change rankings. Even what computer you use and your physical location can impact rankings.
Also, keep in mind that rankings fluctuate all the time. This is especially true for new sites, as Google tries to figure out where you "belong" in the search results. Even established sites fluctuate, as Google introduces over 200 changes a year to its algorithm.
Your rankings are never guaranteed and can change at any time. The best you can do is make sure your website provides an amazing experience, and work on building links to build up your link authority.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Webpage is not ranking
https://www.nextheadphone.com/oneodio-a10-hybrid-review/ I just published a new article. Keyword is : OneOdio A10 Hybrid Review Before writing the article, I researched that This is Easy keyword. I should rank as soon as I publish the article. After publishing the article my Current rank is #32 Why its not ranking? Any idea
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | NextHeadphone0 -
Ranking strangeness
Just wondering if anyone had come across this kind of scenario which I had/have with a client. Rebuilt/revamped site that has got problems with thin content we are looking to resolve. Rankings for the main keywords were ok on page 2 or 3 and being worked on. Two weeks ago ALL main keywords disappeared from ranking (category pages). The homepage took over and ranked ALL those keywords at #1! Bang -straight to top spot. However happy I was I find this disconcerting as there is a reasonable level of competition. Today homepage rankings in the main go and directories come back into the rankings at some good positions on page one. We still need to fix thin and duplicated content! I can justify the problems and swing with the category pages but the massive cross the board top position for the homepage has been pretty bizarre. Has anyone else had the experience where the homepage suddenly 'out-performs' in a big way?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MickEdwards0 -
Ranking of Travel Sites in SERPs
Hello, I have noticed that some travel sites rank for almost all the keywords but when I click the page, it has no relevant content and often no content at all. I remember Google once updated its algorithm to do away with such sites but I still found some. The question is - if they don't have relevant content or if they don't have content at all, how do they even rank? Secondly, how come they have pages for all keyword combination? How is this achieved? Regards
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | IM_Learner0 -
Plural versions of keywords
I am a Magician and optimising my site for local seo mainly. I would imagine this will affect any local business but I woule like some input from the community on how to handle variations of the same keyword. e.g I am a Magician and I am based in Hampshire So I have created a page for Hampshire and from previous keyword research optimised it of Magician Hampshire. However there are many more variations of the keyword. e.g Magicians Hampshire, Magicians in Hampshire, Hampshire Magician, Magician in Hampshire, Close up Magicians in Hampshire, Hampshire Magicians, Magicians near Hampshire, Local Hampshire Magicians. The list goes on but I can not find an answer on wether I should have a separate page/blog post for each of these keywords or include them in the same page. If I include them in the same page how to not make it spammy I am sure this is the same for electricians, dentists, hairdressers etc so am hoping there is a common answer to a problem that has been puzzling me for a long time Many Thanks Roger
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | rnperki
http://www.rogerlapin.co.uk/0 -
Are these URLs too Keyword-packed?
Hi guys, Here is the URL: http://www.consumerbase.com/mailing-lists/dog-stores-mailing-list.html The target keywords are "Dog stores mailing list" and "Dog stores mailing lists" Does having "mailing-list" and "mailing-lists" in my URL hurt me?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Travis-W0 -
Best way to get the keyword ranking at the top
I am working on site for around six months now.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | ray2810
I have done social bookmarking submission, directory submission, blog comments, forum submissions etc. Is there anything else i can do to make the rank go higher. nothing is working correctly.0 -
Triple listing in rankings
We have a triple listing for the keyword vca cursus (Dutch keyword). But the page we optimized for that keyword ranks lower than our vca examen page. First we had the number one spot but now we rank 2 to 5. In opensite explorer i compared the competiton and we scored on almost all factors better. Do you know the causes why the vca examen page ranks higher then the vca cursus page. Is it possible to change that or reverse the triple listing somehow. And why does our competitor ranks higher?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | PlusPort0 -
Drop in rankings, next step
So based on a question asked yesterday, I am wondering what my next step is. Yesterday's question was, I have made updates to Title and Meta Descriptions for my client's site and suddenly they are not showing up in the top 50 for numerous keywords that they used to. The only words in the page source that were edited were "fluff" words that were replaced with relevant keywords reflected in much of the on-page copy yet now the client is not showing up. Ideas? From responses and research, it seems there's a lag time in Google to pick up the updated titles/info and these changes can cause a drop in rankings for a short time - however, I can't very well turn to my client and say sorry your website isn't showing up for a few weeks...wondering what my next step should be, or is there a greater issue I'm missing.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | laidlawseo0