Can't figure this ranking out..
-
Hi,
This is puzzling me. I've been in the second/third position for a week or so for my best keyword. That is for Google US unpersonalized, which is the one that brings more traffic, as far as I understand.
It can't get MUCH better. Well, I can be first, but second and third position is really awesome in my case (highly competitive keyword according to SEOMOZ PRO).
Then, why on earth my traffic for that keyword was 8 times better a year ago??
I mean, a year ago I received an average of 800 visits per day and now I can barely reach 90 visits per day being in the second / third place. Visits can't increase from 90 to 800 just for increasing one spot.
I've never seen in my stats such drop in my rankings. I thought that due to google updates my site was sent below the 20th position or something. But my I was shocked today when I saw that I still have the second/third position
Am I crazy or this looks wrong? The page title and description that shows in google hasn't changed, so people looking for that keyword are seeing the same as one year ago. It is not a seasonal or time sensitive keyword.
My best guess is that people are now always logged in and results are personalized. Don't know much about personalized results but I don't think you can optimize much for those. If that's the case, then how on earth can we optimize a page if everybody is using personalized results?
Is there a way to improve your rankings in those cases?
Thanks,
Enrique
-
I agree with Ryan. Without being more specific it's impossible to tell what is going on. It could be any number of things. One thing you could do is look at GA for your top pages, then look at what keywords are bringing people to those pages. If a large majority is "not given" you may be able to guess what some of those words are if that makes sense.
-
If you can share the actual keyword and your site name, we could offer better details. Without that information, we are left to generalities. A few things to consider:
-
Google now considers searches by those logged in as private. A chunk of searches for your site no longer show for the keyword involved.
-
While I love the SEOmoz toolset, a rating of "highly competitive" has little meaning. There is not a meaningful way to rate competitiveness without an experienced SEO examining the rankings and factors involved.
-
Any change in rankings (from 2 to 3 for example) would certainly impact traffic
-
The ads can change and impact traffic
-
Your competitors might be using more compelling titles or meta descriptions (i.e. Free Shipping or 25% off)
-
keyword volumes can fluctuate wildly throughout the year. For example "gift basket" searches are much higher before mother's day, then the term drops
-
Many keywords fall out of favor as they are replaced by other keywords over time. A singer/actor's popular can fluctuate wildly from year to year. Interest in various topics can change wildly
-
Google has made hundreds of changes over the past year which impacts search results. One example is the increased importance of local search. You may rank #2 in organic search, but the way the search results are displayed you might not even show as above the fold. There could be 3 ads, then the first organic result, then 7 local results, then your second place organic position.
There are other factors as well. You can continue to apply SEO best practices to improve your ranking over time.
-
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
-
Unsolved Wild fluctuations in ranking, any thoughts on why or what to do about it?
We have a keyword which is important to us and used to have rock steady rankings for over a decade. Over the past 9 months or so it has been fluctuating all over the place. Jumping up or down 20 places or so overnight. Any thoughts on this behaviour and what we should be doing to stabilise the ranking?Screenshot 2024-05-13 at 09.47.jpg
Reporting & Analytics | | Hannahm240 -
In Google Analytics > Acquisition > Queries. The top query just says (other), can someone fill me in on to what this means?
I have linked the account to the Google Search Console. In top spot is says (other) followed by other keywords the (other) data is the majority.
Reporting & Analytics | | GSAstonMoz0 -
Migrated website but Google Analytics still displays old URL's and none new?!
I migrated a website from a .aspx to a .php and hence had to 301 all the old urls to the new php ones. It's been months after and I'm not seeing any of the php pages showing results but I'm still getting results from the old .aspx pages. Has any one had any experience with this issue or knows what to do? Many thanks,
Reporting & Analytics | | CoGri0 -
Can you track two Google Analytics Accounts on one site?
If you have a site that had an old analytics account and then implemented a new one is it possible to run tracking code that records to both accounts without causing your site or data issues? We are doing this so we don't loose data at any point - ideally it wouldn't have been split between the two but making one redundant isn't an option. Ideally we would have merged the data from both accounts and had one - however the research we have done points to this not being a possibility - unless one of you guys knows different? It would be great if anyone has experience on any this.. Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | ChrisAllbones0 -
Analytics - 'other'
When i look in GA under Channels (under Acquisition) 'other' is listed What is 'other' ? I have been told its other unidentified channels as they did not allow 3rd party cookies or surfers were in anonymous/private mode. Other is usually organic traffic that couldn't be identified for the aformentioned reasons. This data is encrypted and available but it violates Google guidelines as they are not allowed to pass personal info//data to third parties so it is automatically filtered. But they are not 'Not Provided' (since that still shows under organic) but is usually/mainly some form of organic visits. Hence Seo can take credit for much of that traffic, is this correct ? Many Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | Dan-Lawrence0 -
What's the best enterprise analytic solution for a website with 100+ Million Visits/Month
Hi Guys, I'm looking for an enterprise solution for my companies website that currently gets 100+ Million visits a month? We use the free version of Google Analytic but the sampling levels we get are just too small. We have the budget to get something substantial -- the question is what solution should we go with? Thanks, Nicolas
Reporting & Analytics | | Nicolas_Seattle0 -
Google Analytics Content Experiments don't deliver 50/50?
Our A/B test is actually delivering at about a 70/30 page view rate. 70% in favor of the original version and only 30% of the new. We are sending 100% of our traffic to this homepage test. Has anyone else experienced this? There seems to be a lot of folks experiencing this.....anyone know why?
Reporting & Analytics | | VistageSEO0 -
How can I set up the time for a scheduled e-mail on analytics?
Hi there! It's important to me that the reports from GA arrives in an specific hour of the day. Does anyone know how to make the reports to come at 6am, for example? Thanks.
Reporting & Analytics | | ivan.precisodisso1