Is it normal to see a ranking drop on some keywords of -14 , -21 etc. etc.

[Ryan_132]

Hi all,

I am new to using Moz and on a couple of the campaigns that I have been running, I am seeing some keyword rankings drop -14 , -21 etc. etc. I understand that the SERPs fluctuate a bit. I am just surprised to see this happen in such large quantities. We haven't changed the website at all yet, and there is no chance of a penalty on these sites. Keep in mind some keywords have also increased in rank 1 or 2.

[Corsiva]

Hey Ryan

Yes, keywords ranking do drop in quantity. Always do checks to update your keywords. Personally, I do a monthly to quarterly check on these keywords to update on my site.

You can have a look at my site https://www.corsivalab.com

I feel you should put a focus on your content too. Make use of Moz Resources as they provide very good insights and sharings for starters. Quoting from Moz Resources 'At the heart of Link Building Campaign is the **asset **that would be used to attract and earn links, often known as "**HOOK" **that makes people care about what is offered and will entice them into linking to you.

Also remember to backlink to active sites relevant to your content so that Google will not penalize you.

Above are some insights for you to start on. Hope it will help!

Cheers!

[davebuts]

Hi Ryan,

Yes, this is the major problem with point-to-point keyword ranking reports and the reason I don't use them (take any increases or decreases with a grain of salt.)

It's possible with these type of ranking reports that G might be testing something at the time the keyword ranking is checked, which could cause it to be reported at a much higher or lower position than you would normally see it.

When looking at keyword rankings, I prefer to look at the average ranking position in Google Search Console because it gives a better indication of how keywords are performing over time.

Cheers,

David

[Nigel_Carr]

Hi Ryan

The further you go down in SERPS the more volatile the fluctuations. 14-21-15-22-12 is all pretty normal. I'd be more concerned if it were 2-21 or even 3-8 but these kind of movements are perfectly normal. I'd also be careful to clear your cache in the browser, or go incognito so that you get the true result and not one that is tailored for you.

Check out Rand's recent post on what to expect here

Ranking Fluctuations and what to expect: https://moz.com/blog/ranking-fluctuations

Regards

Nigel

[wholewhaler]

Hey Ryan,

Welcome! In short - yes - I have seen rankings shift quickly, but time frame is important. Huge shifts overnight might just be due to the crawls updating if you just started your account. Since I can't see your account, keywords, or time frame I have attached our chart of how rankings and traffic change. You will have a sense of how this is seasonally affected.

What we have seen is the higher the search volume, the higher the MOZ rank volatility.

https://moz.com/blog/ranking-fluctuations

kNxUz