Google Search Ranking Fluctuations Intensify, Volatility Persists as of 9/25
Google Search rankings remain highly volatile, with significant fluctuations and movement still ongoing. Despite hopes for stabilization, rankings and traffic have once again shifted dramatically in the past day or so. While this may sound repetitive, some tracking tools have even adjusted their volatility thresholds to account for the heightened instability in Google search results.
For context, Google’s August 2024 core update, which started on August 15th and officially ended on September 3rd, has continued to cause turbulence. Even after the update's completion, volatility persisted, with notable fluctuations occurring not just immediately after, but also weeks later, showing no signs of settling down.
Significant changes were observed around September 6th, September 10th, and September 14th, as well as September 18th and over the recent weekend. Now, the volatility has surged again, adding to the ongoing instability in search rankings.
Google tracking tools reflect this ongoing upheaval, with some tools modifying their thresholds for measuring volatility, presenting a somewhat calmer picture due to these adjustments.
SEO discussions have intensified in the past 24 hours, particularly on platforms like WebmasterWorld. Here are some insights from those conversations:
“It’s been a wild ride since the August update wrapped up. Come on, Google, just announce the new update already!”
“Is anyone else seeing a drop in traffic again today?”
“Yes, I lost 50% on site #3 in mid-August, and now I’m down an additional 50% from that.”
“We’re currently down 50% since mid-August. :(”
“Traffic is down 95% so far today.”
“Yesterday was an all-time record for my news page, but today has calmed down again. Still, I’m getting a lot of visitors—87% of my traffic comes from Discover. If this is an update, things are going wrong. Yesterday, I saw fake shops in the top three for product searches. On the flip side, I’ve noticed more smaller websites appearing in Discover here in Germany. I wonder how long that will last…”
“I’ve noticed a significant drop in U.S. traffic today—down 39% by 10:45 AM. It’s not like it was two weeks ago. UK and other international traffic are still strong. After a surge of orders post-Labor Day, new customer inquiries have slowed down again, although it’s not as bad as earlier in 2024. Maybe things will pick up in the U.S. after the elections, unless the situation in the Middle East escalates…”
“Today has been my best day in a while. My traffic hasn’t changed, but my revenue has increased—better than last year at this time. I hope it continues, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up.”
“I’ve noticed a traffic drop here too. Everything was fine until around 2 PM, then there was a sharp decline. But with the way things have been fluctuating, that could change again in an hour.”
“I’m still seeing weak U.S. traffic, but it’s now affecting other English-speaking regions like Canada and Australia. This seems to follow the typical pattern from recent years and suggests we might be reverting to old norms.”
“U.S. traffic is always slow, while other regions flow freely, especially the UK, which tends to remain strong.”
“There’s been a 33% drop in U.S. traffic by 5 PM... something is definitely happening. What are you all experiencing in the past day or two? More recoveries, or are we swinging back the other way?”
Comments
Post a Comment