I don’t think any heartbreak is as bad as dropping from the top page of Google to the second or other pages. When this happens, you start to feel angry, scared, amongst others. The truth is there are many reasons why your website has dropped on the Google search ranking, and sometimes, it may not be your fault. When you experience a ranking drop, getting it back to the top is more important than why it dropped. Here’s a step-by-step guide to recovery. Also, for your web design, check out these certified web designers.
● Stop your emotions and Confirm the SEO change
You may be using an SEO checker that’s not showing the correct results, or it’s faulty. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is stop panicking and check the authenticity of the SEO drop. The best way to go about it is through the Google Search Console tool and other ranking checkers.
● Confirm if there are algorithm changes from Google
One of the ways Google has managed to stay relevant over the years is constant growth and changes. From time to time, Google makes changes to the rules that influence search ranking. If your website has dropped, you may want to confirm if there’s an algorithm change so that you can do the needful.
● Did you perform any change?
If you have edited any page on your website, you shouldn’t be surprised if the page stops ranking at the top. A change as simple as the URL change can affect the overall SEO of your website. Therefore, you may want to record all changes you make to your website.
● Backlinks loss
One reason why websites rank at the top is through backlinks. If the backlinks of your website go missing, your page may soon come down the ranks. The pages with your backlinks may have been updated or are inexistent. Regardless of the reason for your backlink loss, it will affect SEO.
● Do something different from competitors
If you want to rank and outrank others on Google, you must first master what they’re doing right and do it better. You can secure a spot by doing nothing; you must keep evolving. You should continually improve because if your competitor does something different, it may affect your ranking and boost their ranks.
● Confirm if there is a SERP update from Google
Apart from the algorithm used for its SEO, the search engine also updates the search engine result page. The updates on this page may have your website going below the usual rank.
Therefore, you can confirm if there’s a SERP change if you notice a position drop. It’s important to know that a SERP update can also help your page rank higher.
● Confirm if you’ve been penalised and act accordingly
Google has webmaster quality guidelines it uses to detect websites that are using other means to rank. If your website is found as a culprit, there are penalties, and one of the common penalties is a lower rating.
● Web hosting issues
Your web hosting service can affect your rankings on a Google search engine result. For instance, if your host has a wrong server, your website will be unreachable when readers come clicking. This leads to a bad user experience and, in turn, will lead to bad reviews and a lower ranking on Google.