How to Deal With a Drop in Search Rankings: A Step-by-Step Guide

Nothing quite compares to the feeling of seeing a sudden drop in search rankings. One day, your content is performing well, and then the next, you’re wondering how you fell so far from grace.

Before jumping to conclusions, let’s analyze the situation. A drop in search rankings can happen for all sorts of reasons, and 99% of them are fixable. It could be a technical glitch, a core update, or you may just need a fresh approach to your content.

This guide will walk you through exactly how to assess the situation and build a plan to recover. Let’s dive in.

Understand the Scope of a Drop in Search Rankings

Not all search engine dips are created equally. Once you identify the drop in search rankings, it’s time to identify why it happened. This’ll help you determine whether it’s significant or if it’s just a normal fluctuation.

The first step is to review the drop timeline. Was it gradual or sudden? The more info you can gather, the easier it’ll be to pinpoint the cause.

Use Reliable Tools to Track Changes

You’ll want to pull out your SEO toolkit for this.

Use Google Search Console to isolate dips in specific queries or page groups. If branded terms remain steady but non-branded terms decline, it may indicate a relevance or competitive gap.

In Ahrefs, cross-reference traffic dips with backlink losses. If rankings fell without a corresponding loss in backlinks, algorithm shifts, or an intent mismatch, these could be to blame.

Use Semrush to track cannibalization across similar URLs. Assess how recent SERP changes (like featured snippets or People Also Ask) may have pushed your content down.

Check If It’s Sitewide or Page-Specific

If it’s a major sitewide drop, you might be looking at a big technical issue or a penalty. However, unless you’re intentionally using black hat SEO tactics, it’s unlikely that a penalty from Google would be the cause.

In most cases, it’s simply a few URLs that dropped. Here’s what to analyze:

• Whether those pages are too similar in intent
• Whether they suffer from internal competition
• Whether they exist too deep in your site architecture to signal importance to Google

URL-level drops can also indicate thin content or a mismatch between keyword targeting and actual on-page value. The reasons for this can be traced back to a core update, content quality, technical optimization, or competitor activity.

You can use Search Console’s ‘Performance’ tab to dig into what’s been happening with your rankings. Use GSC to track changes in page traffic over time by using the ‘compare’ feature. You can review core metrics like impressions, CTR, and average position.

Rule Out Technical and Manual Errors

Small technical errors can have a big impact. Yet, they’re generally easy to fix and are among the most common causes of a sudden drop in search rankings.

Verify Indexing and Coverage Issues

Use Google Search Console’s page indexing reports to check if your pages are still being indexed properly. Screaming Frog and Sitebulb are also great options for larger sites.

Here are some common yellow flags to watch out for:

• Pages accidentally set to noindex
• Incorrect canonical tags pointing away from your preferred URLs
• URLs that were removed from the sitemap
• Server issues or crawl errors that prevent Googlebot from accessing your content

If pages are indexed but not ranking, look beyond noindex or canonicals. Check whether Google is selecting an alternate canonical, which signals potential duplication or low trust.

Evaluate crawl stats for a sudden drop, which may indicate a deeper issue like server latency or site architecture problems. If Googlebot is skipping key pages, analyze crawl depth and internal link accessibility to diagnose why.

Review Site Changes or Migrations

Have you recently redesigned your site? Moved to a new CMS? Updated your URL structure? These activities can all be sources of a drop in search rankings.

Title tags, meta descriptions, and internal links can get shuffled around during this process, which can cause a dip.

Check your 301 redirects, too. Missing or erroneous redirects can lead to broken links, duplicate content, or orphaned pages.

Look for Manual Penalties or Security Warnings

There is also the (slim) chance of a penalty. Open up the ‘Security & Manual Actions’ tab in Search Console to confirm you haven’t been flagged for guideline violations.

Black hat SEO schemes, such as thin, spammy content or “cloaking,” can result in swift punitive action from Google. Cloaking is the practice of presenting different content to Googlebots than to human users. The goal is to manipulate rankings by optimizing a page for search terms while providing a crummy experience to actual site visitors.

And really, cloaking is intentional – it’s likely this isn’t your root cause.

Analyze the Impact: How a Drop in Search Rankings Affects Algorithm Updates

In many cases, it’s not you, it’s them, to an extent.

Google Algorithm updates can impact rankings almost immediately, depending on what the update prioritizes. For example, if your content saw a drop post-Helpful Content Update, it may be over-optimized or lack original insight. That’s something Google’s targeting more aggressively in 2024.

Let’s explore how to move through an update that has impacted your rankings.

Compare the Drop in Search Rankings Timing With Known Updates

Most Google updates take seven to 45 days; you can keep track via the Google Search Status Dashboard. Once the update is complete, compare the dates of your own drop in search rankings with the dates of the updates.

If there’s a small drop in position, hold fast. Even in light of a drop in search rankings, Google discourages making changes to content that is still performing well. If the drop is larger, then you can use Google’s SEO audit checklist to identify areas for improvement.

Evaluate Content Quality Signals

Many of Google’s 2024 updates focused on spam content.

This means that if you saw a large drop after an update, it may be time to reevaluate your content. Start with Google’s self-assessment mentioned above, but go a step further. Evaluate whether your content demonstrates real-world experience. Look out for authoritative sourcing and behavioral signals, such as high time on page or a low bounce rate.

Consider integrating author credentials, review data, or FAQs to strengthen trust in the eyes of both users and search engines.

Additionally, be sure your content strategy and execution fall in line with Google’s EEAT guidelines.

Remember that a drop doesn’t necessarily mean you’re failing or doing a “bad” job. It may simply come down to a change in information and relevance. For example, a blog post on how to improve organic visibility written in 2018 won’t be as relevant in 2025.

Making changes may not necessarily resolve the issue immediately, but a change in approach will ultimately pay dividends.

👉 Check out this blog post for more information about E-E-A-T: SEO Content Marketing: How E-E-A-T Builds Trust and Boosts Rankings – nDash.com

Audit On-Page and Off-Page SEO Factors

We’ve evaluated search engine drops caused by technical issues and core updates. Now, let’s discuss a drop in search rankings originating from classic SEO hygiene issues.

On-site and off-site page elements like backlinks or listings can impact your rankings over time. Even if you’re not concerned with a significant dip, it’s still good to tighten things up to avoid missed opportunities.

Revisit Your SEO Audit Checklist

Now that you’ve identified the pages that dipped, start with a focused on-page audit.

Are your H2s and H3s still aligned with what searchers are actually looking for? If engagement is dropping, it could be a sign that your subheadings are missing the mark. Essentially, users may not be finding what they expected fast enough.

Check your internal links too:

• Are they distributing authority strategically?
• Or, are they sending users in circles or splitting focus across too many similar pages?

If you made recent design or layout changes, especially on mobile, monitor bounce rates and scroll depth. A sluggish hero image or a cluttered first screen can push people away before they even get to your content.

Images should be optimized for speed, but the alt text should work hard enough to support your topic. Are you reinforcing context and capturing search intent, or just checking a box?

Assess Backlink Profile for Toxic Links

Use Search Console to have a look at your backlink profile via the ‘Links’ tab. Keep an eye out for:

• Sudden loss of authoritative backlinks
• Sudden uptick of spammy links
• Odd anchor text patterns

If you’re seeing a sudden spike in low-quality or spammy backlinks, dig deeper.

Are they all pointing to the same few pages? That could be an attempt to drag down specific content. On the other hand, if you’ve lost backlinks from trusted sites, check whether those pages were deleted, moved, or updated. Reach out to the source if there’s a chance to reclaim the link.

Odd anchor text, like keyword stuffing or random foreign languages, can be a red flag for a negative SEO attack. Unless you’re seeing a real traffic dip or a manual action in Google Search Console, a disavow file usually isn’t necessary.

Monitor Competitor Movement

Sometimes the cause is as simple as good competitor performance. Maybe you have gaps in your content strategy that they’re taking advantage of. Or, they’re posting highly relevant content based on keywords you already rank for.

Look at whether competitors are ranking based on the type of content they’re posting. Are they winning SERP real estate with videos, tools, or long-form guides? Analyze if they’re targeting more precise, high-intent variations of keywords you rank for. If so, your next move might be refreshing underperforming content. Focus on better EEAT signals, more robust internal linking, or schema enhancements to increase your snippet eligibility.

Develop a Recovery Plan and Monitor Progress

Now that you’ve had time to identify what the root cause(s) are of your drop in search rankings, it’s time to come up with an action plan.

Prioritize High-Impact Fixes

While it might feel like it, trust that not all ranking issues need to be fixed at once. Manage the low-hanging fruit that is most likely to yield results first.

Start with high-impact, low-effort fixes that can move the needle quickly. For example, resolving indexing errors for your highest-converting pages can yield quicker wins than rewriting dozens of blog posts.

Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to identify traffic dips that overlap with high-value pages, like sales pages.

Then:

• Flag technical errors that are blocking Googlebots from crawling (broken or bad links, troubleshooting indexing issues, incorrect redirects).
• Identify thin or irrelevant content, and strategically update with better structure, sources, and current keywords.
• Address backlink concerns and update content that doesn’t meet Google’s quality guidelines.

Consider measuring your post-update progress by using tools like MozCast, RankRanger, or Semrush Sensor. Rankings won’t always be the top priority in recovery; instead, check for crawl frequency, impressions, and time-on-page.

It’s likely you’ll have more than one root cause, so it’s important to prioritize effectively. Technical trust, Googlebot crawlability, and user experience are key areas to start with.

Track the Drop in Search Rankings Changes Over Time

After you fix the issues, the hard part arrives: waiting.

Be patient, and remember that you didn’t get your high rankings overnight. The same concept goes for repairing rankings. Google needs time to recrawl and reevaluate your website.

Beyond that, go beyond passive monitoring. Set up custom alerts in Google Analytics or Looker Studio to track when changes were made and their subsequent performance. This helps you tie your recovery actions to future results and informs future recovery efforts.

Strengthen Future Resilience

Turn your drop into a learning opportunity – and a win. Build a system that ensures you minimize the risk of this happening again.

Depending on your brand, consider hiring an SEO specialist to monitor your traffic and rankings. They can assist you with technical audits, content calendars, core update monitoring, and rank tracking.

The more proactive you are, the better shape you’ll be in the next time an update rolls out or your rankings shift unexpectedly.

👉 Check out this blog post for more information about how to keep your content ranking: Content Refresh Guide: How to Keep Your Content Ranking – nDash.com

The Value of Learning From Every Drop in Search Rankings

A drop in search rankings is irritating, sure, but they’re a powerful diagnostic tool. A rank drop forces you to look at your current strategy in a big-picture way, which helps you evolve.

SEO setbacks are part of the process, but you’ll come out stronger on the other side.

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