Is it just me or could it be a possible Google dance effect!?
Does it often happen with you? Do you get to see the Google dance often or what is commonly known as ranking fluctuations? Is it just me or umm..! The answer is yes – it happens to all of us. There is no reason to panic. Google’s at work. You probably get this a lot, but yes changes in Google rankings happen from time to time. How do we know that? We observe – for days, may be weeks, and follow the trend or pattern before we jump to conclusions.
Ranking Flux instance
Let’s consider a keyword and track it over a period of five days or so. Let’s says it’s on a number one position. Then it falls down to second position and then hops back up again to number one position. This fluctuation continues to happen until you realize, that you have done nothing wrong, it’s Google who is the main player here and is causing all the changes. When your keyword ranking is all over the place, you come to know that this is pretty common and continues to happen from time to time. You or many other SEO professionals may ask why your ranking may vary or jump positions so frequently. Is this a bad thing? And is there anything I should do as an SEO professional to stop my rankings from falling?
How ranking flux work?
The answer to this is no. Rankings are usually known to juggle in all SERPs, with especially the bottom half of page one, two, three, four or five taking the maximum hit. We see search results fluctuations as quite common and frequently happening. You must be able to bear the fact that changes such as these happens day in and day out, as no keyword rankings remains an absolute constant in the number one, two or three positions respectively.
It’s in their (search engines’) genes!!
It’s just not possible to retain the top three positions on a constant basis. We are competing against thousands of other websites and it is quite obvious that changes are bound to happen. It is highly unlikely that keyword rankings cannot hold their positions for extended periods of time or remain in the same position for weeks or even months without even moving. Search engines just don’t work that way. The only thing that is constant in SEO is fluctuations. You may check out your rankings one of these days and see some changes. Do not push the panic button as this is quite common and may happen to the best of us.
Decoding the DNA structure of SERPs
Having rankings up there on top, doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be any flux. Fluctuations are bound to happen lower down the results, than they are higher in the results. Any URL that has been ranking at number one or two for an extensive period of time, let’s say for a month or two, may potentially see one or two position changes, but not four, five or six. You can also expect to see more flux at the top when there is a temporal topic or result.
How SEOs should react to any possible ranking flux?
What can you do? How can you react? Well, first of all, do not feel lost. Some SEOs might lose their cool and totally freak out. Do not change anything hastily. Wait and watch. Seeing your rankings fluctuate frequently does not necessarily mean you are doing something wrong. When you see fluctuations, take into consideration weeks or longer periods of time, before you are able to realize the trend. Compare your own fluctuations to other competitors. So if you see a whole lot of changes in rankings or fluctuations, then it is probably Google and not you who are causing the changes. So relax and continue to monitor your rankings closely. It’s probably just the Google dance in the SERPs.
What more can you do?
Try other things like comparing your own fluctuations to the competitors. Do not be worried. Begin your analysis by checking your page traffic. Check the traffic to your pages and your organic traffic. Also check the number of visits from the organic search. If it looks consistent, then you are probably ok. Check the trend for a couple of days or a week or two, if you don’t find much difference, then you are probably ok as well.
Practice white hat SEO and shun from black hat SEO
Apart from that, there is nothing to be worried about, as fluctuations in SERP results are pretty common. But, if you are doing something sketchy, then chances are that Google may penalize you and your rakings may drop that way. So all the SEO analysts out there watch out! Abide by the Google guidelines and engage yourself with white hat SEO and refrain from doing black hat SEO. Things will fall into place automatically.
