4 Reasons Why Your Site May Lose Positions On Google

It’s been a long time since Google’s algorithm has caused fear and frustration for those who were ranking in the top positions of Google and suddenly saw their numbers collapse

Recently someone asked me why their website, which has been successful for seven years, lost its top ranking in Google’s search result. I came up with 4 reasons why your site may lose positions on Google. It is important to know that this explanation is my overview and not necessarily a rule or a law, ok? The person who asked the question reported that they ranked well for seven or eight years.

They analyzed various aspects of SEO both on page and off page and were unable to find the problem. Three sites were impacted. All three sites used the same keywords because they sell similar products but from different brands.

It is clear that there is not enough information in this scenario for there to be a specific answer.

So this is just my point of view

1. The order of rankings on the first page of Google are temporary

Do you agree with me that there is a certain feeling that once your website starts to appear at the top of search terms, it will continue to be ranked forever?

Well, let me tell you something, now these classifications are temporary.

Just because the site has been appearing at the top of the first page for several years, does not mean that it will continue to appear well in search results in the future.

This type of behavior has been expected for a long time because it is a very dynamic environment where the search terms and the user’s intention change constantly.

2. Understand one thing: the Internet changes all the time

Almost everything on the web is constantly changing but we don’t even notice it.

When you publish your blog article, no matter how thorough the topic and content, took days to complete, did an excellent job of SEO analyzing keywords, researching competitors, etc., you can still be impacted with this volatility of search results.

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Things like:

• links to a website that disappear;
• competitors who do a good job of link-building and win links with more authority;
• content changes;
• new sites that appear every day, especially now in times of pandemic, etc.

These and many other factors affect the relevance of web pages and, as a result, your site can be impacted.

But remember, it’s not just you. There are millions of websites, millions of online businesses – small, medium and large – that make a lot of money just because they are appearing in the top positions of Google’s search results.

3. Changes to Google’s algorithm

This is one of the main reasons for explaining the dramatic changes in the ranking of sites.

I’m not talking here about ranking factors or best SEO practices for good organic positioning. What I mean is that when the algorithm changes, it means that Google is also changing the way it understands web pages.

Several years ago, it was common to see a few pages, some five, dominating the rankings of the search network. This may have been due to the way Google understood web pages at that time. But this is no longer happening because the algorithms have changed.

A common mistake that content producers – bloggers – make after updating the algorithm is to invest hours and hours of their time trying to check inside the site to find out what they are doing wrong.

Another mistake is to think that Google is “targeting” a type of website.

Most algorithms, which by the way are objects of research work, do not aim to “target” types of sites or try to find sites that are doing wrong things.

We have to understand that, today, many of the algorithms related to research are to satisfy and understand the intention of users and at the same time understand web pages.

4. People’s behavior changes

This last reason why your site may lose positions on Google is very important

How and why people search and visit websites can change?

What people look for can also change?

If a product type becomes less popular, traffic to websites about that product will also decrease by the same amount.

This kind of decrease in traffic happens all the time. User expectations when they are researching a certain subject, product, service, etc., change over time. So just because your site has performed well in the past does not mean that it will continue to perform well in search in the future.

My tip is: Always be up to date

A common characteristic of successful sites, which have a high volume of traffic, is that they are in constant motion and always attentive to the users’ intention.

I’m talking about:

• technical site improvements;
• focus on research and user intent;
• improvements in the user experience;
• innovate to establish a close relationship with site visitors and more.

Nowadays, just publishing content is not enough and does not guarantee the first positions on the first page of search engines.

In my opinion, it is also super important to keep an eye on the public and trends related to what they are doing.