Do not obsess over rankings, but relevant content

Adriana says: “Basically, do not freak out about ranking volatility. It’s a common issue, especially with Google algorithm updates. Ranking volatility is where we sometimes see a massive drop in page rankings. It simply means your keyword rank is not stable, but always changing. There is no need to panic. Instead, there are ways of handling that more methodically than just rushing to create new content.”

What do you mean when you say ‘Google is A/B Testing results’?

“Google constantly tests results to provide the best information to the user one that matches the query’s search intent and provides the best possible content.

Everyone is doing SEO nowadays, which is great because it is powerful and valuable, especially with a good strategy. However, that means that even if you get a number one spot, it is not guaranteed that you will hold it for more than 24 hours. It is still normal, though, and that’s nothing to worry about.”

Previously, one could get keyword rankings for two years. Do you think that’s not possible anymore?

“In today’s SEO world, it’s just not wise or logical to look at keyword rankings as static. That especially applies when you have an ‘agency and client’-type relationship. It requires you to look at things from a wider perspective in describing our keywords, ranking, and SEO progress. That gives you a lot more of an accurate picture because there are so many changes all the time - in content, new competitors, behavioural changes, etc.

Recently, a LinkedIn post highlighted how the SERPs based on the search query ‘King Charles’ have changed. Before, that term would have mostly been referring to a dog. Now, we have a very different definition of ‘King Charles’. The number one article for ‘King Charles’ is probably no longer number one, because that search behaviour has entirely changed.”

If Google discovers a new web page from a competitor of yours, does it want to test it in the same position as your page just to see if there’s a difference in click-through rate? Is it also trying other things, like changing meta descriptions and titles to see if there’s a difference?

“It is testing all of that in tandem - and every minute detail as well. Nowadays, and into 2023, you must consider SEO a holistic process, not just about getting your keyword rankings in the SERPs. It’s also about who actually clicks on your content and what they do once they’re on your website. Has it been helpful for them or do they just find it annoying or frustrating and then leave?

Many of the updates Google implemented last year had to do with Core Web Vitals and content quality, especially in terms of page design and page structure. This year, they’ve focused on helpful content. If you can look at it as this holistic process, that’s the best way to really track your SEO strategy - because that’s how Google is looking at it.

It’s changing all the time. Google tests about 80% of your metadata and changes much of it, like titles, meta descriptions, etc. If you have written it in a way that’s effective and accurate, Google keeps it fantastic, which is also good for the user. Don’t be afraid if they’re replacing it, though, because they’re probably trying to show what is the most helpful for the reader to get that click-through rate.

Then, they also look at how the reader behaves on that page. Suppose a website has a very good keyword ranking for something that matches the user query, yet the content is bad quality, or the website is slow. They will remove that anyway because it would no longer be considered helpful content.”

How does Google measure the degree of helpfulness? Is it just the click-through rate or do they have other ways of measuring the difference between two URLs?

“It’s just a vast amount of data analysis with billions of data points they’re looking at. They examine all these different angles, websites, and competitors and then try to find the best possible information to show the user. That has always been the foundation of what Google has been trying to do.

Over the last few years, they have matured in their ability to do this quite significantly. We know this because you no longer often see websites that pop up using spammy backlink techniques or poor-quality content.

Occasionally, in niche areas, you will see a few things pop up. For example, in B2B and technology-based sectors, you will see some older stuff that looks a bit strange. Nonetheless, content nowadays is generally high quality. You must also keep up with Google’s changes. As long as you keep improving and optimising - keeping the audience at the forefront of your strategy - Google will also recognise that.”

What period is best to check your rankings? Is it years, months, or weeks?

“There are a few factors to consider there. One is how long you’ve been doing SEO. If you’ve only been doing SEO for a month, it probably doesn’t even make sense to check your keyword rankings within that month, because nothing has likely changed. If you have been doing SEO for almost three years and want to measure a high purchase intent keyword, then you would want to check monthly.

On average, even checking every three months is okay, because so many changes happen within a given period. We often see projects where a page is ranked in the top 3 then, a week later, it’s randomly at 80 - and it’s not an indexing issue. Here, it’s probably Google’s doing some A/B testing, and then it moves it back up again.

Data Studio is usually helpful for this. You can create visuals for the average ranking for different keywords. That is the best way to look at it.”

How many hours or days does it take before you finally conclude that you have officially lost your rankings?

“It depends on how long and how often you’ve been doing SEO in content production. Are you producing two pieces of content per month or are you creating 30? If it is the latter, then you can check them more often.

It would also depend on the industry competition. If you have a lot of competitors in your industry, volatility is a must because you have people competing for those top spots all the time. They are constantly optimising, and some have bigger budgets for that.

On average, looking at it from one to three months will give you a good amount of information on whether something strange has happened, like a Google algorithm update. You just need to wait and see the impact.”

Suppose you have actually been knocked out from the rankings. What initial steps would you take to assess the problem and recover from there?

“Firstly, you would want to look at how far that average has dropped. Is it just a little bit or is it extreme? If it’s extreme, then check if your page is still indexed. You must ensure you have all of the technical bits while checking your competitors and seeing any changes they have made. Perhaps they now have a new page that ranks above yours because it is better.

Furthermore, you can look at the technical elements of your website. Has your website become slow, and why? For example, if you are using WordPress, when you have to do a plugin update it can affect site speed.

It also helps to check Google Analytics traffic to see if the page has a high bounce rate. For instance, suppose you created some content for 2021; it performed well and had good rankings. Now, it’s 2022, and people see the data is outdated, so they’re not using it anymore. You would need to go and update it again. Generally, it revolves around assessing the data to identify the cause.”

What shouldn’t SEOs be doing in 2023? What is seductive in terms of time, but ultimately counterproductive?

“It can be tempting to think of SEO as a piecemeal approach: doing one blog here or one landing page there. With that approach, you are not really building topical authority or accumulating organic traffic like you would if you were trying to build out holistic content pillars. That is, groups of related topics and covering a topic holistically. It is a core ranking factor, especially with Google’s helpful content updates.

Nowadays, it helps to cover every aspect of a topic because that is how you prove that you’re a trustworthy and reliable source. Running the content piece by piece will be cheaper in terms of time and money. Yet, in the long run, you’re choosing the more expensive and the less effective route because you’re just elongating the time it will take for your SEO strategy to perform well.”

Adriana Stein is the Founder and CEO of AS Marketing, and you can find her over at asmarketingagency.com.