If you’ve ever done any kind of keyword tracking in Google, you will certainly have noticed that your keyphrases move around. For instance, a keyword might rank in the #1 position in Google first thing on Monday morning, however, when you go back the next day that keyword has now moved into position # 3. So, what’s going on?
If you’ve ever wondered why keyphrases fluctuate so much, it’s a very good question, and one with many answers. Let’s dive in!
The first answer is probably the most obvious one – competition! The more competitive a keyword is, the more the websites ranking for that keyphrase will fluctuate.
This is because Google is likely crawling these sites more often, and these sites are likely making updates to their websites more often (due to the competitive space they are in and competing to be on top of).
With Google’s primary goal being to deliver users the most relevant search engine results (to keep users coming back), they are continually refining results.
If you want to stay at the top of the results in a competitive space, make sure that you keep your website and content up to date and relevant as much as possible!
Did you know that Google ‘personalises’ search results for each user? That’s right. Just because I search for ‘plumber brisbane’, it doesn’t mean that somebody else who types this exact same search query into Google will see the exact same results as me.
There are also many reasons why this happens, some of which include:
- User location – Google will serve results of plumbers in Brisbane that it thinks are closest to my location
- Search History – if I’ve previously visited a website called ‘Bob’s Plumbing Services’, and browsed a few pages, then chances are Google will rank this website higher in my SERPs compared to a user who has never visited this website before
- Device – that’s right, my results will even change depending which device I use. For instance, a mobile device might offer me more ‘local pack’ rankings and websites that have a higher ‘mobile friendly’ rating.
These are just a few examples of how results can change for the same user or 2 users typing in the same query.
Google makes updates to its algorithm on a daily basis, as it tries to deliver users with the best results time and time again. While some of the updates might be larger than others, different websites can be affected depending on the update itself.
When it comes to algorithm updates fluctuating your rankings, don’t panic! If you abide by Google’s best practices, then chances are, you won’t see any drastic fluctuations which would greatly affect website traffic.
When it comes to keyphrase rankings, it’s best not to check-in every chance you get. After all, you wouldn’t jump on the scales every hour of the day if you wanted to lose weight. It’s the same principle here. Rankings (and weight) will fluctuate often, but what’s important is the overall trend of your rankings (and weight).
A good aim might be to check your rankings once a week, and then also take a look once a month. That way, you can see if the ‘overall’ ranking trend is up/down or pretty much hovering around where it needs to be.
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If you’re having some issues detecting the reasons of your keyphrase fluctuations or want to get ranking higher, then give our SEO Specialists a call today!