“Have you ever held a mini-celebration at your desk when you realize your business is ranking high on Google, only to be disappointed later when your Google rankings dropped?
This is a fairly common occurrence. There’s nothing more invigorating than having the floodgates of traffic swing open as visitors find your site. It’s also extremely disappointing when those floodgates start to close. At those times you’re likely thinking, “Why have my Google rankings dropped and what can I do to fix it?”
My Google Rankings Dropped, Now What?
Many businesses assume simply posting content related to their product or service is enough to attract the attention of target audiences and potential clients, but that isn’t the case. To get and maintain Google’s attention, you need to speak its language all the time, and that entails more than the content you post.
The language we’re referring to is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of improving the quality and quantity of traffic to your website.
If you’ve struggled to climb the rankings on Google or your Google rankings dropped, you’re not alone, and it isn’t your fault–you aren’t a professional web developer. You have a lot going on, and your expertise is your business. So, focus on your business, and let us focus on what we do best–transforming your website into an SEO machine, so your target audience finds you.
Here’s Why Your Google Rankings Dropped
There are several probable reasons why your Google rankings dropped overnight. While there are many factors at play, we’ve listed a few of the possibilities below.
1. Google is penalizing your website for its website performance.
In SEO terms this includes things like failing core web vitals, failing mobile site speed, etc. That sounds harsh but isn’t as mean as it sounds. It isn’t like Google is reprimanding your website–it’s more like Google has discovered that the experience your users have when they come to your website isn’t great, so they don’t send people there. Reasons for this lousy experience could include page loading times, inconsistent performance across devices, pop-ups moving over where the user is trying to navigate, lack of accessibility, etc.
You can check your website’s performance with Google Page Speed Insights, here.
The task of fixing your website for usability should come with a warning label, “Don’t try this at home.” Sure, you could give it a go, but you’ll gain greater results more quickly if you hire a professional. If your Google rankings dropped, let us be the mediator between Google and your website.
2. Accidentally Created Competing Pages
This happens all the time–a business tries to rank two separate web pages on their website for the same keyword. It seems like a good idea, but there is such a thing as having too much of a good thing. You can, of course, use the keyword throughout your site, but it’s best to pick one page you are trying to specifically rank for the term and mainly concentrate on that page.
For example, let’s say you sell paintings of pets wearing human clothes. Let’s say you have been working on trying to rank a page for “pet paintings” but wish that to be the main keyword on another page. Instead of using the same term, try something else like “dog portrait paintings” so your pages aren’t competing for attention on Google. With two separate pages vying for the same term you are splitting the spotlight, sharing the number of links that are going to the page, etc. Plan out your pages so Google knows which page to pick to help it shine most.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “A place for everything and everything in its place”? If you mix your SEO keywords and phrases, your website could start working against itself.
3. Wrong Links Could Cause Your Google Rankings to Drop Overnight
If your website features a link that tells users they’re headed to one webpage but then sends them to another–or your links are broken–you may see rankings decline. Or perhaps you posted the wrong url to the right page. Websites can have multiple urls that send you to a product page, for example, but in reality, it is not the page you are trying to rank for. This often happens on e-commerce sites with a lot of products where a link is created with a search string attached or the url includes category notations. In this instance, the page you are linking to looks correct, but the url string is not. You want all links for the term you are trying to rank for to go to the correct url.
Are you familiar with the term anchor text? Most people aren’t, and that’s understandable.
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink. It usually shows up in a different color than the text around it and is underlined. Good anchor text tells your website visitors what they can expect when they click on it. When you get your anchor text and urls right, you’re telling Google what that page is about. This is important because Google speaks through links.
It’s important to be strategic about links on your site by using the correct anchor text and urls. It’s also important to remove broken links when they occur. Any time you delete a page from your site, make sure you are removing links to that page from other pages. Any of these factors can play into your Google rankings declining.
4. Your Competition Is Pulling Ahead in the Rankings
Competition is a good thing–if you’re winning. No one goes into business thinking they will never have competition. This knowledge gives us a competitive edge.
If you wake one morning to find your Google rankings dropped overnight, your competition may have been working on their SEO and moving up in the rankings. The solution is to review the page that is dropping in the rankings and identify the reasons why. Sometimes lengthening your page’s content can help, changing your meta title and meta description to something that’s more enticing to click on, or making sure you are utilizing alt text on images are all ways you can help your page.
Another big factor is backlinks. Sometimes competitors have been pushing backlinks to their pages to pass you up in the rankings. A backlink occurs when another website links to your website. Google likes backlinks from quality sites and it improves your site’s trust. One way to pass up your competitor is to reach out to other websites to receive links to the page you are trying to move up on Google.
We understand this is a daunting task if you’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for–that’s why we’re here to help.
We know what to look for and how to fix the issues. We’ll make sure your content is fully optimized, change meta descriptions to entice clicks as needed, and we’ll hone in on the most likely factor, which is adding more links and backlinks.
Did you know Google cares about the number of clicks each of your users makes while on your website, as well as how long they stay on your site?
Don’t worry. We’re on it. We’ll make your website a place where your visitors enjoy their experience, which grows your credibility.
Our Solution for Getting Your Website to Rank High on Google
Get your website fixed by professional web developers and talented SEO service providers. ARC Creative Co. provides quality SEO services across industries including service businesses, e-commerce, coaching, and more.
Reach out, and we will schedule a FREE Site Audit with our professional web developers and SEO whisperers. We can show you exactly why your Google rankings dropped and what needs to be done to fix them. Schedule a consultation here.
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