In SEO, the ranking position of keywords is one of the key metrics we track and report on.
Most of the time, we work to get your website ranking for keywords. Over time, we then employ various strategies to boost the rankings of those keywords so that they appear as close to position #1 on Google as possible.
That’s because the closer to the top of search engines your website appears, the more likely your customers are to see and click on the link. So when we achieve that converted top position, it’s really satisfying for everyone who works on your account.
But it’s also true that not all keywords hold the same type of value for a website. This is not just in terms of the number of people searching for a particular phrase or even the difficulty score (KD) in ranking for the term either.
Prepare to breathe a sigh of relief if your keyword rankings have dropped due to any of the following reasons. That's because, these dips could actually be a sign that your SEO strategy is working exactly as it should.
Irrelevant keywords have been lost
Did you know you can use the word 'Oasis' to request a fruit flavoured beverage, a band from the 90s or specialist foam to hold your flower arrangement in place?
The point is, sometimes, the same words can mean very different things. The problem for Google is that it wants to serve relevant content to its users and has frequent algorithm updates to ensure this is the case.
As a result, Google will sometimes determine that a set of phrases your website is currently ranking for actually isn’t very relevant to the user. This is based on things such as user search intent and also what your website happens to be about in general. Over time, keywords your website once ranked for may drop off completely, just like that.
Why is this good?: There is no point putting effort into ranking for keywords that don’t relate to your products, services, industry or location. Yes, even if they have a lot of search volume because the words are similar. Also, when lots of users immediately exit a page because it’s not what they are looking for, this also pushes up your website’s bounce rate, which can actually harm your site’s rankings. Embracing relevancy will lead to higher conversions in the long run.
You have a local business, but you were ranking for other locations you don’t serve
On SEO software, the country of origin is listed next to a keyword ranking.
For example, here at Imaginaire we’re headquartered in Nottingham, England. When checking our SEO performance, we see that Google doesn't want to rank our .co.uk domain for one of the three Nottinghams based in the United States, which is absolutely correct.
In short, searches such as ‘SEO agency Nottingham’ or ‘Ecommerce agency Nottingham’ that happen from within the UK are relevant to market we service.
But Google searches which originate from any of the three American Nottinghams that exist in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania or New Jersey? Not so much.
Why is this good?: If you only serve a specific geographic region, it is completely pointless to rank in other locations, even if they look similar on paper. Even if these searches generate lots of clicks, they ultimately won't generate customers. Losing these locations from your rankings actually strengthens your SEO efforts, especially local SEO. That's because your targeting becomes more focused.
Cannibalisation resolution
In SEO, keyword cannibalisation refers to when multiple pages on your website all compete for the same search terms. It’s considered bad because Google doesn’t know which page to rank first, and often, it leads to one page ranking above another.
A common example is when a blog post about a product ranks higher than the product page itself. So instead of customers being sent to where they can buy the product, they land on a page which merely describes the product. This increases the chances of a mismatch of user intent and ultimately, a website bounce.
As SEOs, we always look to fix cannibalisation issues so that each page has a clear purpose and therefore, clear SEO targeting as well.
However, fixing cannibalisation issues can sometimes lead to keyword drops. But those drops aren’t always as bad as they look if they are simply part of the reshuffling process.
Why is this good?: Merging or de-indexing a competing page may mean the keyword ranking drops for one URL. But when the ranking is passed to the correct page instead, that's the fix working, not a regression. Over the long run, removing cannibalisation will also improve user experience.
Expected seasonal demand fluctuations
There is a famous example in Google Trends which shows how the interest in Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ has a sudden spike at the same time every year in December. The search demand falls off a cliff once the festive period is over.
(That’s probably for the best, as I think pub jukeboxes already have heavy restrictions on how many times that song can be played on a loop in the run up to Christmas).
But back to your keywords and seasonal drops. Whether your business sells Easter eggs or beach towels, it stands to reason that certain times of the year will see higher demand for seasonal items than others. So this is really nothing to worry about when it happens and it tallies with what you expected as a business.
Why is this good?: Some keywords experience different search volumes depending on the season or even depending on the news. So long as you understand the trends and what they mean for your business, all you can do is be prepared for when demand hots up again. Think of these keywords drops as a a complimentary business forecasting tool.
The SERP feature has changed
When Google adds a featured snippet, "People Also Ask" box, or a shopping carousel above the organic results, it pushes every organic listing down visually.
Your rank tracker may report the drop from position #1 to #3 which can look alarming on an SEO tool. However, the page's underlying signals (siteAuthority, engagement data, freshness) haven't moved at all.
What actually determines whether this matters is whether the new SERP feature is absorbing clicks that would have gone to your listing or just adding visual clutter above it.
If the featured snippet pulls its answer from your own page, you're often still winning the click.
Why is this good?: It’s usually a false alarm rather than an actual problem. Also, if the featured snippet is pulled from your own page, you often get two visual touchpoints on the SERP, including the snippet and your organic listing. This can boost the CTR rather than hurt it, since your brand appears twice and carries the ‘Google-endorsed answer’ credibility.
Dealing with keyword ranking drops that matter after all? We can help!
Sometimes, those pesky dropped keywords are a cause for concern after all. It can also be tricky to get your website to rank for keywords at all depending on several factors. So allow us to help you there!
At Imaginaire, we offer a range of SEO services catered towards different industries and overall requirements. This includes everything from AI SEO to ecommerce SEO. There is also a lot of tea fueled SEO if you're account gets passed over to me.
Let us know how we can help your business by sending us a message.
Or, if you’re ready to get the ball rolling, we invite you to book a free discovery call.
