Post-August Google Updates High volume keyphrases rankings mess
-
Howdy, fellow mozzers,
Couple of our clients keep losing rankings, slowly but surely, which seem to correlate to August Google updates. No major changes to the websites have been done - neither code, backlink profile nor content. It seem to affect higher search volume keyphrases, while other longer tail keyphrases are climbing up.
The screenshots of the visibility rankings are attached below.
Any ideas/news/thought about the Google update itself or what might be happening? I know that the Medic update was overall quality, yet it seems to be that these websites in particular are going down after Birthday update, not Medic itself. Google and da mighty Internets being quite.. Help!
Links to screenshots (includes higher volume keyphrases only):
https://dmitrii-regexseo.tinytake.com/sf/MzAyNjg0MV85MDczNDkz
https://dmitrii-regexseo.tinytake.com/sf/MzAyNjgzN185MDczNDY1
-
Thanks for the response.
Conversions and revenue are down, by significant number. I know that the update is supposed to be about relativity of content to users' intent etc, and it's all good if conversions are on the same level. But they are not, that's why I am raising this question here.
_"Due to that, I'm not really seeing the same correlation which you are seeing" - _sorry, the screenshots were not as representative, here are the ones where you can see what i'm talking about clearly (I included higher volume keyphrases only here, and that's the problem we are having):
https://dmitrii-regexseo.tinytake.com/sf/MzAyNjgzN185MDczNDY1
https://dmitrii-regexseo.tinytake.com/sf/MzAyNjg0MV85MDczNDkz
_"Are you sure you're going down - and that others aren't investing more and going up?" - _well, i don't know how much others are investing, but looking at competitive research, I'm not seeing anything extra competition is doing - across all available metrics (content freshness, amount of content, backlinks etc) - we are outperforming.
_"As you said you had done nothing on your site" - _not really, we are always improving, I'm just saying that there weren't any major overhauls or anything drastic.
-
That's unfortunate in one way but positive in another. Often long-tail terms are further down the buying funnel anyway. Are conversions or revenue down? If not I wouldn't really worry about it. The much lower visibility in your attached image seems to start in October, whilst Google's significant core integration apparently 'peaked' on August 2nd.
Due to that, I'm not really seeing the same correlation which you are seeing
Remember that SEO is a competitive environment. Are you sure you're going down - and that others aren't investing more and going up?
Where you say:
"No major changes to the websites have been done - neither code, backlink profile nor content."
Sometimes this in and of itself can lose rankings. If you stagnate, others will notice and try to outdo you.
There are so many things this could be. It's likely that it's a bundle of stuff:
- Google rolled out an update which 'raised' quality standards
- As you said you had done nothing on your site
- Others adapted
- They go up, you go down
It could actually be as simple as that!
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
-
A Google Update Happened?
I'm curious to know what us MOZ folks have to say about an update on Google. Article here: http://searchengineland.com/big-google-search-update-happening-chatter-thinks-258142 Any ideas?
Algorithm Updates | | Chenzo0 -
Google & Tabbed Content
Hi I wondered if anyone had a case study or more info on how Google treats content under tabs? We have an ecommerce site & I know it is common to put product content under tabs, but will Google ignore this? Becky
Algorithm Updates | | BeckyKey1 -
Where can I find a breakdown of google search volume by specific industry/vertical? For example, what % of people searching in google are looking for housing? Cars? Restaurants?
I"m looking for specific breakdowns of search volume in google by: #1 Vertical (Shopping/restaurants/Services etc). For example, how many people are searching in google for information pertaining to restaurants per month? Search volume for all of 2012, 2013, 2014? #2 More granular categories within verticals, people searching for: books,apartment rentals,cellphones) Is there a breakdown of google search somewhere online that gives this type of information? Thank you MOZ community, really appreciate it!
Algorithm Updates | | AppleSauceRules0 -
What is this new feature on Google?
Hey everyone, I typed "Vancouver Colleges" into Google and this new feature came up which I have never seen. It displays popular schools. Could someone tell me what this is called? And how do I get our college on here? Thank you! 4hnT7bV.png
Algorithm Updates | | jhinchcliffe0 -
Considering the Panda algorithm updates, would you recommend reducing high amounts of inbound links from a single website?
My website has a significant number of inbound links (1,000+) from a single website, due to a sponsorship level contribution. Both my website and the other are authorities in the industry and in search results (PR of 5). Since even ethical websites can suffer a penalty from each iteration of Panda, I'm considering significantly removing the number of links from this website. Do you think that measurable change would be seen favorably by Google or would the drop in links be detrimental?
Algorithm Updates | | steelintheair0 -
Lesser visited, but highly ranked landing paged dropped in rank on Google. Time for a content update?
I noticed that my page one ranked landing pages that don't get a lot of love from me have dropped in rank big time on Google this week. This is a site that has static (meaning, I can't freshen up the content easily) landing pages for products that we sell. The pages that dropped are the ones that have the fewest inbound links, and don't get much attention on the social media side. Our most important landing pages have also dropped, but just a few spots on page one. This is a first for me. Does anyone think that this is a "lack of freshness" penalty? We are still number one on page one for our brand search terms. Would fresh content give me a shot at getting the pages back up? I'm willing to update them slowly, but before I go crazy, I'm reaching out to the pros here.
Algorithm Updates | | Ticket_King0 -
SEO Test: Domain Hyphenation [Update]
In May I announced test results for domain hyphenation but after a 3 month followup the results have changed and the hyphenated domain now wins on what seems to be the first link instance advantage. I was unable to discover any other factors which may have influenced this test but if anyone has any ideas I would like to hear about it. Here are the details of the SEO test and revealed URLs.
Algorithm Updates | | Dan-Petrovic1 -
Update content
y'all, what is the recommended amount of time in which content on a website should be refreshed? TY
Algorithm Updates | | imageworks-2612900