Common reasons for websites to lose SERP rankings

The Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is the page that is shown whenever you enter a search term into a search engine, like Google. This list of relevant websites is one of the main sources of organic traffic for most businesses. But occasionally your website may lose ranking position. So why does this happen? And what can you do? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design, we are Preston’s leading web design and content marketing professionals. We provide valuable web design, SEO, and marketing solutions to a range of clients, across the North West, including Southport and Wigan, as well as Manchester. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about the common reasons for websites to lose SERP rankings.

What are the most common reasons for websites to lose SERP rankings?

There are a number of reasons why a website could see a negative change in ranking position for the same search terms. The most common reasons include:

• The temporary nature of ranking results- just because your website has been in the top position for years, doesn’t mean that it will always be the case. As the search algorithm changes, and different companies emerge tackling the same keywords, the SERP is a constantly changing, dynamic environment that allows for no complacency, and provides no consistency.
• Losing the competitive edge- if your website or content had the competitive edge over other, similar companies, they may have made changes which allow them to overtake you. From gaining more back-links, to changing the type of content, and the mobile design, there are a number of changes they could have been working on to finally claim the higher position. But this should just drive you to work even harder on your own Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy.
• Disappearing links- your company might have found a number of legitimate links to different companies, and may have earned a number of reputable and authoritative back-links, but overtime these can be replaced, or removed, which will have a knock on negative impact on the SERP position of your company. As a result, you should check the links regularly, and keep trying to build those back link connections.
• Algorithm changes- Search engines like Google use algorithms to determine the ranking position of all websites they index. This is based on things like the originality of the content, the quality of the information and the relevance to users, as well as technical details like the schema mark up, the page structure, and the loading time. This algorithm is constantly evolving and changing to try and provide all website users with the best possible search results for their search term. As a result, a website that was ranking in the top spot could see a position change, if the algorithm changes and is now looking for something the website might be missing out on.

How to keep your SERP ranking

If you want to keep your top ranking, and keep a high level of organic traffic flowing to your website, the only thing you can do is to keep working on your website. Continue producing high quality content, and targeting a range of related and relevant keywords, as well as improving your website overall. You should also pay attention to new algorithm updates and try and make changes where appropriate or necessary.

For more information or advice about SEO, SERP rankings, content marketing, and professional web design, get in touch with the experts here at Pumpkin Web Design.