Google has recently revised its guidance for addressing drops in search rankings, providing a more detailed and nuanced approach for webmasters and SEO experts. This update expands the documentation by adding over 400 words, enriching the description of both minor and major drops in search rankings. Although some aspects of the update might provoke discussion, the overall changes are seen as an enhancement from the previous version.
A significant change in the new guidance is the toned-down optimism about recovering from traffic drops caused by algorithm changes. The updated document merges two previous statements into one, now reading, “A drop in organic search traffic can happen for several reasons, and it may not be straightforward to understand what exactly happened to your site.” This change emphasises the complexity of pinpointing the causes behind traffic decreases.
In its revised documentation, Google has also refined the illustrations that show traffic changes, ensuring they align more accurately with their causes. The new version distinguishes between different types of issues more clearly. The previous labels that mixed different issues under technical problems have been corrected to specify “large drop from an algorithmic update, site-wide security, or spam issue.”
Further improvements include more precise descriptions of technical issues across a website. The earlier labels that could be confusing or too broad have been replaced with “Technical issue across your site, changing interests.” This label now more accurately reflects a variety of changes, including shifts in market demands or trends.
Detailed guidance on algorithmic changes
The most extensive update is a new, detailed section focused on algorithmic changes, replacing two smaller sections that discussed policy violations and manual actions along with algorithm adjustments. This new part is significantly more comprehensive, with clear categories for the types of ranking changes:
- A small drop in position: for example, dropping from position 2 to position 4.
- Large drop in position: for example, dropping from position 4 to position 29.
This categorization helps users understand the scale and potential impact of ranking changes and suggests appropriate actions. The guidance highlights that not every drop in ranking points to a fundamental problem with the content, recommending a careful review of a site's top pages and their performance before considering major adjustments.
The updated guidelines also emphasise the fluidity of search rankings due to the continually changing nature of the web. It advises webmasters to consider that positions in search results are dynamic and subject to change. Minor shifts might naturally correct themselves over time, and significant changes should prompt a comprehensive review of the overall website.
In sum, Google's latest update to its ranking drop documentation provides clearer and more actionable advice for dealing with fluctuations in search engine rankings, delivering a better framework for navigating the challenges of SEO.
