What could cause minor content optimizations to result in us losing 20-30 spots in search results? Tamar Asks An SEO.
Good intentions can only achieve SEO results.
Unfortunately, Tamar, an Israeli woman, discovered this recently. She sent the following to Ask an SEO
“Help! “Help! There are only 20 blogs that convert people to our software out of 140.
To optimize the posts, I did the minimum possible. I corrected H-titles, created meta descriptions for each position, and ensured that images had an alt tag.
According to Google Search Console, these blogs lost their ranking for the keywords they were ranking for in less than one day. What’s the deal?!
This is the only explanation I have identified! They fell by at least 20-30 positions for keywords, going from #9 to #55 for top queries. We need your help.
We don’t know the identities of the 20 blogs that Tamar indexed, but Tamar submitted the domain.
We don’t know the context of which keywords she was ranking for and losing position for.
These would be my first items to look at if I were the client.
Let’s discuss what we know.
Fluctuations of rankings are normal because Google evaluates new/updated content. I wouldn’t panic too soon after a change.
If the problem persists, we would like to investigate possible causes.
Tamar, there are very slim chances that your rankings will drop due to meta descriptions or alt text.
Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor.
Alt-text is an accessibility aid but is only a ranking factor in Image Search.
Optimizing with alt text can only be done by going back in.
We are left with “correcting the HTML heading tag.
We assume that this is not a technical issue in SEO. If that were true, the drop in rankings would have a wider reach than the 20 posts with content updates.
As these are significant changes, we will assume that this is not a case where a competitor steps up and bumps you out.
There are a few main suspects.
Are You Keyword Stuffing?
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines provide clear guidance on this topic:
Keyword stuffing refers to the practice or loading a website with keywords or numbers to manipulate its ranking in Google search results. These keywords are often found in a group or list or outside context (not natural prose).
Pages filled with numbers or keywords can cause a poor user experience and may harm your site’s rank.
Create valuable and informative content that makes use of keywords in the context.
Google might have degraded pages that Google “corrected” by adding unnatural keywords to subheadings.
Have You Made a Mess of Relevance?
You may have affected Google’s perception of your content’s relevancy to terms already ranking.
You might think that because a page is ranking well and driving qualified visitors for [JIRA Project Management], you can take advantage of its success and tap into the [agile Project Management] resources.
This would be a huge mistake.
Google’s algorithms may believe this because of user behavior and their semantic understanding of the topic.
- People are searching for “JIRA project management” and are looking for a tool.
- People looking for agile project management are interested in learning about a process.
You might have confused the waters by optimizing existing content to rank for keywords with conflicting search intents and topical relevance.
Google may perceive the piece as less focused, affecting its perception that it is the best answer to the queries you are trying to rank for.
Other Quality Factors That Impact Your Ability To Rank
One of the above actions was probably responsible for the ranking drop experienced in those 20 blog posts.
You might be unable to access the site because of poor content quality.
These are your priorities. See if you can get the money pages to perform better in search.
Replace outdated content.
As the most recent content in specific categories, I see blog posts that have 2020 in the title or URL.
This gives Google and potential customers the impression you aren’t actively creating or maintaining the information you are putting out to the world.
Develop an internal linking strategy.
I found no internal links in the ten blog posts that I checked.
Google can understand the hierarchy of your site. Internal linking also passes PageRank and allows visitors to stay connected and move around your area.
Improve writing quality.
The content is challenging because of grammatical errors, sentence structure, and word usage issues.
To improve your writing quality, hire an editor.
Any Additional Optimizations Before Moving
This experience should remind us that testing any changes made to web pages before releasing them to the broader public is essential.
Make sure to document the changes you want to make and then test them.
Take a look at the results. Take note of the results.
However, keep in mind that optimizations can produce different results on different pages.
This is all part of the fun that SEO offers!
Do a content audit to verify where you have the most excellent opportunities.
Then, prioritize your results. It does not have to be finalized all at once. It can lead to unintended consequences.
It is the best way to improve the user experience and rank.
It’s a slow process. Do not rush.
Concentrate on the most lucrative pages and optimizations, and be prepared to roll it back if your rankings have been damaged.
