Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Let your reputation grow with Reviews AI
      Moz Local

      Let your reputation grow with Reviews AI

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Technical SEO
    4. Why have my positions dropped after implementing recommended changes?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Why have my positions dropped after implementing recommended changes?

    Technical SEO
    positions google search
    5
    7
    177
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • NicoleChambers
      NicoleChambers Subscriber last edited by

      Hello! I have taken a Moz free trial and am really enjoying using this service. But, after implementing the recommended changes by Moz my rankings have really dropped. Is this normal? I was averaging around 17 but now averaging 40. Here is my website if anyone has any ideas of what I might be doing wrong, I would greatly appreciate any help.
      Thank you
      Nicole

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • traveling3432
        traveling3432 last edited by

        I recently implemented some recommended changes to improve the performance of my website, but I’ve noticed a drop in my positions instead of the expected improvement. I’m unsure if these changes have caused any unintended side effects or if there are other factors affecting the ranking. I’d love to hear from others who may have experienced something similar and any advice on what could be going wrong. Has anyone faced a similar situation after making adjustments, and what steps did you take to get back on track?

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • onlinegamer2024
          onlinegamer2024 last edited by

          Yes same here, my online casino site position got a drop in ranking but I hope someday will rank again with my keyword that previously ranked on google.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • sarahwalsh
            sarahwalsh last edited by

            Could be because of a Google algorithm update?
            There have been massive Google algorithm updates lately

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • traveling3432
              traveling3432 last edited by

              @NicoleChambers said in Why have my positions dropped after implementing recommended changes?:

              Hello! I have taken a Moz free trial and am really enjoying using this service. But, after implementing the recommended changes by Moz my rankings have really dropped. Is this normal? I was averaging around 17 but now averaging 40. Here is my website if anyone has any ideas of what I might be doing wrong, I would greatly appreciate any help.
              Thank you
              Nicole

              Hi Nicole!

              I completely understand your frustration; I’ve been in a similar situation before, and it can feel quite discouraging when your rankings drop after making changes based on recommendations.

              When I started using Moz for my website’s SEO, I also made changes suggested by their tools, expecting to see improvements. However, much like you, I saw a drop in rankings initially. After doing some research and consulting with experts, I learned that this can sometimes be part of the process. Search engines may take some time to re-evaluate and adjust to the changes, especially if you're optimizing for factors like content structure, keywords, or internal linking.

              In my experience, I found that the key is to give it some time. SEO improvements, especially with structural changes, can take weeks or even months to show up in rankings. Additionally, I made sure to carefully monitor my traffic through analytics and ensured my content was still user-focused and high-quality. Eventually, my rankings started improving, and I saw the benefits of the changes Moz recommended.

              One thing to keep in mind is that SEO can be very competitive, and external factors can affect your rankings too. Other sites may have made similar changes or improved their own SEO during the same period, so it's important to stay patient and stay on top of your adjustments.

              If you’d like to take a closer look at your site and what might be causing these fluctuations, I’d suggest checking your site’s speed, mobile optimization, and ensuring that your content is unique and adds value. And if you want to dive deeper, feel free to explore my website to see what changes worked for me in the long run!

              Best of luck, and I hope things improve for you soon!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • dasimal2
                dasimal2 Subscriber last edited by

                If your positions dropped after implementing changes, it could be due to:

                Algorithm Fluctuations: Search engines may take time to re-index your site.
                Change Impact: Adjustments might have affected content relevance, structure, or user experience.
                Redirect Issues: Improper handling of URL changes can disrupt backlinks.
                Increased Competition: Competitors might have optimized.
                Algorithm Updates: Rankings can shift due to external updates.
                Incomplete Implementation: Changes might not align with SEO best practices

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • traveling3432
                  traveling3432 last edited by

                  Hi Nicole, I can totally understand how frustrating it must feel to see a drop after putting in all that effort. Based on my experience, rankings can sometimes fluctuate right after implementing changes—it’s almost like the search engines are recalibrating. Have you checked if your changes impacted user experience, site speed, or navigation? These can play a big role too.

                  When I was helping a friend analyze their website, we noticed similar fluctuations after making SEO tweaks. But over time, things stabilized and rankings actually improved as the changes started aligning better with search intent. It’s important to keep an eye on your analytics and maybe give it a bit more time before tweaking further. I hope this helps—hang in there! 😊

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • 1 / 1
                  • First post
                    Last post

                  Got a burning SEO question?

                  Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                  Start my free trial


                  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.

                  • See all categories

                  Related Questions

                  • katelynroberts

                    Massive unexplained organic traffic drop; disappeared from Google

                    rankings visibility score organic traffic google search engine results google search

                    Hi there,
                    Our site has experienced a huge organic traffic drop, specifically from Google. The drop occurred on Feb 19 and I've got no clue why it happened. We have not made any significant changes to the website and it doesn't look like there was an algorithm update last week. We don't have any Google penalties or indexing issues noted, and the drop isn't specific to any particular segment/region/keyword. What am I missing? Any advice or insight is super duper appreciated. Our site is a Wordpress/WooCommerice e-commerce site with a blog and long-standing #1 ranks for keywords related to our main product offering. Screen Shot 2024-02-26 at 3.12.25 PM.png
                    Screen Shot 2024-02-26 at 3.07.52 PM.png

                    Search Behavior | | katelynroberts
                    0
                  • TimoRossa

                    Google doesn't show my Twitter account

                    google search ranking issue

                    Hello, my full name is Timo Rossa and my Twitter (X) account is @TimoRossa. If I search for my name with "Timo Rossa" on Google, it doesn't find any results referencing my Twitter account. It is very important for me that Google does not only show Twitter results for my name but also that those results would be ranked at the top. The only reason I could come up with is that my account name has not separated words. Does this make sense? What would be a simple strategy to achieve my goal? Thank you!

                    SEO Tactics | | TimoRossa
                    0
                  • RyanD.

                    Page Title Displaying Wrong Company Name in Google Search Results

                    google search page title google search engine results

                    Currently, in some of our keyword search results, the wrong company name is showing up in the page title. We are a family of companies that all provide different modes of transportation. When we search up "Herc Air Charters" in Google Search Engine, the wrong operating company shows up in the page title (see screenshot, second result: "Lynden Transport" is our trucking company, and does not offer any air charter, this should say "Lynden Air Cargo"). Google decides what is best to put in these titles, so what would be the best way to ensure the correct company name is being displayed? Google Search Issue.PNG

                    Community | | RyanD.
                    0
                  • AL123al

                    How to Implement JSON-LD

                    Hi, I was implementing JSON-LD via Google Tag Manager but have since read that it is better to place directly on the web page. My questions are: Where exactly do you add the JSON-LD - I mean physically?  This article by Moz says the head or body. Does it matter where in the head? At the end? If you do not have development access- is there an easy way to insert? Can you view the added JSON-LD directly on the web page after you have added it or is it not visible in the source once you have added it this way ? If you cannot see it, how do you view? Or it it just OK to use the Google Structured Testing tool as evidence that it is being seen by Google? Thanks

                    Technical SEO | | AL123al
                    1
                  • H.M.N.

                    Huge drop in rankins, traffic and impressions after changing to CloudFlare

                    Hi there, In October, one of our customer's programmer made a change on their website to optimize its loading speed. Since then, the all the SEO's metrics has dropped. Apparently, the change was to move to CloudFlare and to add Gzip compression. I was talking with the programmer and he told me he had no idea why that happened. Now comes 5 months later and the SEO metrics havn't come back yet. What seems so wierd is that two keywords in particular had the most massive drop. Those two keywords were the top keywords (more than 1k of impressions a month) and now its like there is no impressions or clics at all. Did anyone had the same event occur to them? Do you have any idea what could help this case?

                    Technical SEO | | H.M.N.
                    0
                  • ennovators

                    URL path randomly changing

                    Hi eveyone, got a quick question about URL structures: I'm currently working in ecommerce with a site that has hundreds of products that can be accessed through different URL paths: 1)www.domain.com/productx 2)www.domain.com/category/productx 3)www.domain.com/category/subcategory/productx 4)www.domain.com/bestsellers/productx 5)... In order to get rid of dublicate content issues, the canoncial tag has been installed on all the pages required. The problem I'm witnessing now is the following: If a visitor comes to the site and navigates to the product through example 2) at time the URL shown in the URL browser box is example 4), sometimes example 1) or whatever. So it is constantly changing. Does anyone know, why this happens and if it has any impact on GA tracking or even on SEO peformance. Any reply is much appreciated Thanks you

                    Technical SEO | | ennovators
                    0
                  • rosstaylor

                    Bing rank drop off for multiple sites

                    Hi Mozzers, Seeing some wacky stuff going on on some sites I manage. In more than a few, the ranking on bing has dropped basically overnight from page one spots to not being found on the first 100 positions. Anyone else seeing similar results? Some of the sites are fairly new, some have been around for ages, some are wordpress, some are not. I've been searching for some news of a big change on bing, but keep reading about bing dropping the thin sites during black friday. In one example, I had the site set up in BWT for a while, and had a look at the data. The reports show that the pages are crawled, the index summary shows pages indexed, and there seems to be no crawl errors, but rankings are absolutely gone. Also, I can't see the sites in bing if I search "site:example.com" in bing. Here's 2 examples, the first would make sense since it's pretty thin as I havent added much content yet: http://homewindowtint.org but this one doesn't make sense to me. Sure there's a few errors, but to be dropped like a rock seems weird http://www.ahmedandsukaram.com

                    Technical SEO | | rosstaylor
                    0
                  • stephen_reply

                    Changing DNS -- SEO implications?

                    Hey Moz, We're migrating an old site on an old server over to a new server/DNS. The plan is to keep the same URL structure and reuse our existing URL's. As long as we make minimal changes to each page's content, we should be able to update our DNS entry and get all the pages recreated and assigned to their correct URLs without any reduction in SEO rankings. Is this correct? This site gets a lot of organic traffic and ranks highly on some challenging keywords, so it's key that we retain our rankings as much as possible. I've read that it's wise to lower the DNS time-to-live to one hour, about a day before the move, to help Google crawl the DNS a little quicker. Are there any other recommendations you guys can offer or past experiences?

                    Technical SEO | | stephen_reply
                    0

                  Get started with Moz Pro!

                  Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                  Start my free trial
                  Products
                  • Moz Pro
                  • Moz Local
                  • Moz API
                  • Moz Data
                  • STAT
                  • Product Updates
                  Moz Solutions
                  • SMB Solutions
                  • Agency Solutions
                  • Enterprise Solutions
                  • Digital Marketers
                  Free SEO Tools
                  • Domain Authority Checker
                  • Link Explorer
                  • Keyword Explorer
                  • Competitive Research
                  • Brand Authority Checker
                  • Local Citation Checker
                  • MozBar Extension
                  • MozCast
                  Resources
                  • Blog
                  • SEO Learning Center
                  • Help Hub
                  • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                  • How-to Guides
                  • Moz Academy
                  • API Docs
                  About Moz
                  • About
                  • Team
                  • Careers
                  • Contact
                  Why Moz
                  • Case Studies
                  • Testimonials
                  Get Involved
                  • Become an Affiliate
                  • MozCon
                  • Webinars
                  • Practical Marketer Series
                  • MozPod
                  Connect with us

                  Contact the Help team

                  Join our newsletter
                  Moz logo
                  © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                  • Accessibility
                  • Terms of Use
                  • Privacy

                  Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.