{"id":128220,"date":"2019-05-20T13:54:18","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T13:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=128220"},"modified":"2019-11-14T09:49:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T09:49:25","slug":"seven-reasons-why-your-rankings-dropped-and-how-to-fix-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/05\/20\/seven-reasons-why-your-rankings-dropped-and-how-to-fix-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven reasons why your rankings dropped and how to fix them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you know the triumph when your content finally hits the first page of Google and attracts significant traffic?\u00a0Unfortunately, nobody is safe from a sudden drop in rankings. The thing is that the reasons for it may be different and not obvious at all.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this post, you\u2019ll discover what could cause a sudden drop in traffic and how to fix the issue.<\/p>\n

The tip of an iceberg<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, there\u2019s no one size fits all decision, when it comes to SEO. When you face the drop in your rankings or traffic, it\u2019s just the tip of an iceberg. So, get ready to check lots of issues, before you identify the problem.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/p>\n

Note: Percentages assigned in the above graph are derived from personal observation.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve illustrated the most common reasons for a plummet. Start from checking these parameters to find out how you can recover your rankings and drive traffic to your website.<\/p>\n

Algorithms test<\/h2>\n

First of all, check the SERP. What if it\u2019s not only your website that changed its positions in search results? These sharp shifts may happen when Google tests its algorithms. In this case, you don\u2019t even have to take any further steps, as the rankings will be restored soon.<\/p>\n

If you track your rankings with Serpstat, you can analyze your competitors\u2019 positions as well. It\u2019ll help you understand whether the SERP<\/a> was changing a lot lately. From the moment you create a new project, the tool starts tracking the history of top-100 search rankings\u2019 changes for the selected keywords<\/a>. The “Storm” graph illustrates the effect of the changes that have occurred in the search results.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

On this chart, you see that for the “cakes for dads” keyword<\/a> the storm score was pretty high on 21st March. Now, let\u2019s look at how the top-10 positions that were changing on this date.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/p>\n

The graph shows a sharp drop and rise that occurred in most of the positions. In a few days, all the rankings were back to normal again.<\/p>\n

This example tells us that whenever you witness a significant drop in your search rankings, you should start with analyzing the whole SERP. If there\u2019s a high storm score, all you need to do is to wait a bit.<\/p>\n

In case you checked your competitors\u2019 positions and didn\u2019t see any movements, here\u2019s the next step for you.<\/p>\n

Technical issues<\/h2>\n

Technical SEO<\/a> affects how search robots crawl and index your site\u2019s content. Even though you have optimized your website technically, every time you add or remove some files or pages, the troubles may occur. So, make sure you\u2019re aware of technical SEO issues on your site. With Google\u2019s URL Inspection tool<\/a>, you can check the way search engines see your website.<\/p>\n

These are the main factors crucial for your rankings:<\/p>\n

1. Server overload<\/h3>\n

If your server isn\u2019t prepared for traffic surges, it can take your site down any minute. To fix this problem, you can add a CDN on your website or cache your content, set up a load balancer, or set up a cloud hosting,<\/p>\n

2. Page speed<\/h3>\n

The more the images, files, and pop-ups you add to your content, the more time it takes for your pages to get loaded. Mind that page speed<\/a> isn\u2019t only a ranking factor, but it also influences user experience<\/a>. To quickly check the issue, you can go with Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights<\/a>. And to speed up your website, you can:<\/p>\n