Google Ranking Dropped Dramatically

If your ranking on Google has dropped dramatically you need to uncover the exact reasons why.

There are over 200 ranking factors in April 2024 and having an SEO audit will find the reason why your website has potentially been penalised or dropped in rankings.

Some of the core reasons for a google rankings drop is an algorithm update, technical SEO issues or Google shifting the search intent for keywords.

We’ve put together a why has my ranking dropped guide, to help website owners recover from why their ranking suddenly dropped on Google in April 2024.

Why are my Google rankings dropping?

When researching why my rankings suddenly dropped in the SERPs there are over 200 ranking factors to consider.

But we have broken it down into just a few simple reasons why your google rankings drop has happened in April 2024.

  • Technical issues on search engines being able to crawl your own site
  • How Google now determines the content quality
  • Topical authority of the domain (covering the topic in its entirety)
  • Backlink Profile

SEO when broken down is very easy and search engine optimisation specialists focus on content, links and technical.

Why does my ranking on Google keep changing?

If your Google ranking dropped dramatically or is repeatedly changing, it is completely normal to be confused as to why this is happening. We are here to clear this up for you!

You should keep in mind that Google search rankings are temporary.

There are a number of factors that play into a dramatic ranking drop or change in your search engine results, here are some examples:

Google algorithm update

Google algorithm updates, while sometimes unnoticeable, can cause a drop in rankings or a fluctuating change.

Whether the algorithm updates are just small adjustments or larger-scale changes, they can creep up on you unexpectedly and happen fairly frequently.

If you have noticed a drop in rankings on the search engine results page or Google search console data, you should be aware that the search engine algorithm update will more than likely be a large change.

Usually, if you have a fluctuating ranking when you check Google search console, this will be a consequence of small amendments to the algorithm.

Changes to content

Publishing new content or updating your old content can fluctuate the rankings on the search engine result pages.

Updating the content of your pages is important to ensure that you do not have any ranking drops. Rankings drop when the content created is bad.

Changing content regularly keeps the information relevant and holds the trust so that the Google SERP will keep the ranking high.

Natural fluctuation

If you have noticed a fluctuation in ranking when you check Google’s data, this could be through the cause of natural fluctuation.

When your page has low search rankings, it has a higher probability to fluctuate as the competition is higher to beat.

Usually, with a lower placement on Google rankings, you will find a change on the Google search console and Google analytics.

How can I tell if my site has been penalized?

It is easy to tell if your site has been penalized as you might have noticed a ranking drop from 10-to 100 places, Google search console will show you this clearly, as well as other analytics such as Google’s index and lost backlinks.

Why is Google penalizing my site?

You might have received a Google penalty, this could be a manual penalty or an algorithmic penalisation.

you can gain a penalty for individual pages or the whole site if too many pages are breaching the guidelines shown.

When you have received a manual penalty, this is because somebody has reviewed your site and decided that it infringes their guidelines.

If you have reached an algorithmic penalty, your site will have tripped on a filter built into the algorithm of Google.

Here are some examples of issues that often help to get your site penalized:

  • Too many links (both irrelevant and low quality).
  • Overly optimized.
  • Link schemes.
  • Spammy links.
  • High bounce rate.
  • Malware virus.

 Have you heard of the terms ‘Panda and Penguin’ when talking about algorithmic penalties?

When learning the reasons for having your site penalized, it is important to understand key terminology.

With a Panda penalty, in regards to an algorithmic penalty, this means that the usability is low and the content quality shown is weak.

If you have a penguin penalty, you will have over-optimised your site content, causing a ranking drop.

Does traffic affect Google ranking?

Although Google has a job to attempt to rank popular sites and organic traffic shows the popularity of a site, the traffic of your site actually will not affect your ranking.

As seen on Goole Analytics, traffic is not used as a metric when looking at the search results.

You are most likely to see a search engine algorithms change your site’s rankings when you use links, meta descriptions, and site content being optimized well.

How to Fix Google Ranking Dropping Dramatically?

The best way to fix a Ranking penalty or rankings dropped dramatically is to do one of the following:

There is no easy fix when your domain has been hit with a huge ranking drop so you need to seek professional advice.

All SEO Individuals

Here is the full list of the best SEOs we have reviewed:

The top-rated SEO individual reviews were updated in April 2024.