A Sudden Drop in Keyword Ranking but why?
-
Hi,
I wondered if anyone has ever experienced anything like this before, one of our customers has a website JDB Events (http://www.jdb-events.com/). When he first came to us he was using Fast Hosts and he was experiencing down time pretty much every day in periods of up to an hour.
The first step before carrying out any SEO was to place the website on our VPS so that the downtime issue was resolved. It did resolve the issue and the speed of the website was also increased.
My next issue was to address the length of the Title on the home page because it was 157 characters, I usually keep these to 70 characters.
This is the old Meta Title:
JDB Events Limited - Event, Production & AV Hire Specialists | The West Midlands Dance Floor Hire, LED Furniture, DJ, Disco Hire & Event Services Specialists
Here is the my new Meta Title:
JDB Events | LED Furniture Hire for Parties and Corporate Events
I have attached a screenshot of the drop that I have experienced, would anyone recommend that it's ok to keep the title longer so that I can cram more search terms into it, I use Woo Rank as a bench mark and this recommends shortening the title but I would be interested in hearing anyone's views.
Other steps that I have taken:
- Shortened the home page description
- WWW Resolve
- Added Robots.txt
- Crawled all of the pages for 404 errors etc
The next step I'm thinking of taking is replacing the amended meta title and description for the old one and monitoring that, other than that I can't see why I have taken such a hit.
Thanks
-
Thanks for the response, I have taken your suggestion into account and swapped the position of the brand and the keywords.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks
Chris
-
Hi Donna,
Thanks for the response, I have checked Google Webmaster and there are no errors. The link metrics are the same as when I started the project.
Regards
-
most recent best practices say title length should be around 56 chars...fyi....
have you checked your own length? it's 64 chars...AND you make the newbie mistake of putting brand before keywords....
I'd change that to be this (55 chars!)
"LED Furniture Hire for Parties & Corporate Events | JDB"
-
I was referring to your meta keywords, not the title/descriptions
For keywords like that, I would look at what changed with the results. Does it show local results now or does it show more images which could've pushed you down.
That's a big drop so it could be because the title got changed. You might've ranked there mainly because of your title tag (even without links) so you might want to try to incorporate that into the title again or do a completely separate page for it.
-
chrissmithps,
This might also be link or algorithm update related. Have you taken a look at your inbound links and link metrics recently? It appears as though the site has very few. Did it previously have more? Do you have any warnings in Google Webmaster tools?
-
Thanks for your reply Dennis, I thought my title and description had less spam than the previous but I will defiantly look into changing these.
One of the search terms "starlit dance floor hire" has dropped 44 places on Google and usually I wouldn't be as concerned but since starting the SEO they have been receiving half of the enquiries than when I started. It may just be a coincidence or the time of year.
I will go back to the drawing board with the title and description.
Thanks Again.
-
The title will not have that big of an impact to drop your rankings. I go with 65 chars, but 70 is fine. Your meta keywords area is spammed to death though lol so you might want to minimize that. Is the drop huge though? It's hard to say how you can get a big drop with tweaks like that.
-
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I changed it around 3 weeks ago. I will leave it a few more days and re-think my Strategy.
Regards
-
Hi
I always believe page title's should be written with the user in mind. When they are on google SERP you would like them to click through and find a page which matches both the page title and meta description that they have seen. The idea of "cramming" more keywords into a title would not be something i would be looking to ever do.
As Moz says "The title element of a web page is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page's content"
Stick to this and you shouldnt go far wrong. When did you change the title? You may just require a bit of patience for Google rankings
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
-
Thoughts on User Behavior Data as a Ranking Signal
Hi Community! We have been having an ongoing internal discussion on user behavior data as a ranking signal. We found this Moz article discussing the topic and it leaves us asking questions such as: What onsite user behavior metrics are being used (if any)? How exactly is Google collecting this information - Chrome? Google Analytics (which they have already claimed GA is not used for ranking purposes)? With privacy policies in place, how exactly is Google able to utilize this information? The article discusses Google patents for collecting this information (The Monitoring Engine), Chrome's MetricsService which is "a system in charge of the acquisition and transmission of user log data", as well as the Reasonable Surfer model. Some highlights from the article include: "Google has designed and patented a system in charge of collecting and processing of user behaviour data. They call it "the monitoring engine" "Google's client behavior data processor can retrieve client-side behavior data associated with a web page. This client-side behavior data can then be used to help formulate a ranking score for the article." The monitoring engine can: Distinguish whether the user is actually viewing an article, such as a web page, or whether the web page has merely been left active on the client device while the user is away from the client. Monitor a plurality of articles associated with one or more applications and create client-side behavior data associated with each article individually. Determine client-side behavior data for multiple user articles and ensure that the client-side behavior data associated with an article can be identified with that particular article. Transmit the client-side behavior data, together with identifying information that associates the data with a particular article to which it relates, to the data store for storage in a manner that preserves associations between the article and the client behaviors. MetricsService: "Chrome's MetricsService is a system in charge of the acquisition and transmission of user log data. Transmitted histograms contain very detailed records of user activities, including opened/closed tabs, fetched URLs, maximized windows, et cetera." “Reasonable surfer” is the random surfer's successor. The PageRank dampening factor reflects the original assumption that after each followed link, our imaginary surfer is less likely to click on another random link, resulting in an eventual abandonment of the surfing path. Most search engines today work with a more refined model encompassing a wider variety of influencing factors. In addition to perceived importance from on-page signals, a search engine may judge link popularity by observing common user choices. A link on which users click more within a page can carry more weight than the one with less clicks. Google in particular mentions user click behaviour monitoring in the context of balancing out traditional, more manipulative signals (e.g. links). I do not expect a concrete answer here, I know there is a lot of uncertainty on the topic but I am very interested to hear your thoughts. Thank you!
Search Behavior | | Joe_Stoffel2 -
Rankings like this mean what?
I have just redirected our old domain to our new domain using a sitewide 301 redirect. That was on Dec 6. Since none of the pages are showing in the serps unless you search specifically for a paragraph in quotes. But I am also very concerned because scraper sites are coming up before my site. Here are a few examples: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS398US398&biw=1223&bih=799&sclient=psy-ab&q="The+decision+to+choose+between+duplication+and+replication+depends+upon+the+circumstances+of+each+individual+project.+Since+the+creation+processes+for+replication+and+duplication+are+so+different%2C+the+final+products+are+also+very+different."&btnG=&pbx=1 and here is one I just took off the site and put somewhere else: https://www.google.com/search?q="Blu-Ray+players+have+really+come+in+to+their+own+in+the+past+few+years.+Blu-Ray+technology+provides+the+best+sound+and+picture+quality+of+any+media+format+on+the+market.+In+spite+of+the+great+leap+forward+that+Blu-Ray+represents,+there+are+still+a+good+number+of+people+who+haven’t+made+the+transition+from+traditional+DVD+players+to+the+Blu-Ray+format."&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS398US398&ei=Gk7nUN2oMYrA8AT74IEo&start=10&sa=N&filter=0&biw=1223&bih=799 and yet another: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbo=d&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-Address&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&sclient=psy-ab&q="At+the+Windows+8+BUILD+conference+we+learned+that+Windows+8+will+allow+you+to+mount+ISO+and+VHD+files+natively.+++So+no+longer+is+there+a+need+for+a+3rd+party+ISO+file+software+such+as+Daemon+Tools+however+if+you+have+copy+protected+DVD+or+games+you+will+still"&btnG=&pbx=1 Notice the pattern, all of the results have my site (the originator of the content) at the bottom. I am very concerned with this as I'm sure this means Penalty up the ..... something. What is my best move at this point? Is there any chance of getting out of this? Just be thankful you are not in this position, it sucks. But I'm still positive I can do something with this site. Thanks Rob
Search Behavior | | robdawg0 -
Does Page Load Time Affect SEO Rankings?
I was curious about how much page load times affect rankings. Here's what I did: I put together a lot of interactive media on specific landing pages Time-on-Page from organic visitors went from 50 seconds to average of 34 minutes Bounce Rate decreased by 20% Page Load time increased from 1 second to 6 seconds and at peak times to 8 seconds (on 56KB test) In the meantime the page was re-indexed and re-cached My question is three-fold: Would the time on page give higher rankings for keyword Would decreased bounce rate enhance rankings? Would the page load time decrease rankings? Did anyone do a similar test? What were the results?
Search Behavior | | HMCOE0 -
Keywords separated location names in footer
We have a US based website, most of the traffic come from search engines mainly Google. We have comma separated location names of all popular places / U.S states where our products are popular (about 80 comma separated location names on footer of the website). Means, these 80 (comma separated) keywords appear on all 900 pages of the website. Does these footer (comma separated) location names will prove to be comma separated keywords OR keywords stuffing on each page of website ? The reason we need these location names is because each product page is having traffic from keywords having location names in them. For example: "product1" in chicago "product1" new york "product2" IL "product3" california "product3" georgia and a lot more Location based keywords are bringing in about 20% of the traffic. Please suggest any good solution to this problem. Thanks !!!
Search Behavior | | ZQBT0 -
Ranking Problem (my most important Q so far on here)
Hi, I have a keyword which is location specific and without any work doing to it, it ranked page 4 position 7. I did 4 guest posts all in one go and the it moved to page 3 position 5, I then left it for a week (position didn't move) and did another guest post a day after the guest post had been indexed I lost rankings and moved back to page 4, position 4. Has anyone got an idea why this happened? Is it a case its just fluxing and I could see in a few days it come back to page 3 position 2 or do you think I got an initial boost because the guest posts all went up and its just a fluke that it dropped when the 5th one went up? This is a big deal for me because I rely on guest posting a lot, I've even got a copy writer pumping out 500 quids worth of content a month just for guest blogging. I need to understand what is happening, this is one of the most important questions so far on here so I would appreciate some talk on the matter.
Search Behavior | | activitysuper0 -
How is this Dr. Getting a Ranking on a National Site in a Local Listing?
Please follow the link for a visual. Any help would be appreciated. The query I used was "phoenix plastic surgeons". I have never seen a large national site like PlasticSurgery.org Rank in local for a specific Dr. Thoughts? Thanks! 7O1oK
Search Behavior | | Red_Spot_Interactive0 -
Can we rank as a related search query on a competitor's brand keyword?
One of my clients wanted to know whether it's possible for him to rank as one of the related pages on Google for a brand name of a competitor. I honestly don't know whether it's possible so any ideas whether it's possible and if so, ideas on what can be done is greatly welcome. Thank you in advance. 🙂
Search Behavior | | als0070 -
Drastic Fluctuation in Site Rankings
All, Hope you are having a good day! Recently I had a strange issue with one of my site and I am not sure what might have caused it. I am sure this would be a good place to discuss about it and get some feedback from the elite people in the industry. Here is the problem. Last weekend (On sunday noon) my site which was ranking on Page 1 suddenly dropped its ranking for its main keywords to nowhere, I was panicked to see what was happening and by the end of the day it was slowly coming back and by next morning everything was back. Again on Wednesday noon, the same thing happened. However, this time it din't come up by the next morning. Making it worse, all of my keyword rankings went down from good spots to no where and there was a point when I could no longer see my site. I was worried something might have happened this time and was not sure what could the reason be. On Friday afternoon all the ranking came up better than the previous (which is a very good news for me). At the moment, my site is doing very well and I am really happy about it. I did realize that Google was updating their Algorithm, but this behavior is the strangest I have seen over years. Can someone enlighten me on this peculiar behavior. Is there something wrong with my site or is it a common thing that I have never noticed? I have never done anything blackhat for the site. To be honest, all I have done is some low level link building on the site and the site had some advantage of a re-direct from one my previous site which was doing very well in search engines (I changed it to take advantage of the new domain I had). Your opinions/suggestions are a appreciated.
Search Behavior | | frostmill0