Number One for about 3 hours, then a drop. What happened?

[sree94]

I have a site that was number 2 in G for months, then dropped down to #6 or #7. Today at midnight, I checked it using the Google Incognito window, and I made it to number one!

Well, that was shortlived, because now I am like number 8

What is going on here? I have never had a site be ranked in a spot for only a couple of hours. And this is not a new domain. It's 2.5 years old, and the page is PR5

[Kauzmo]

Keep on posting ads on every free classifieds sites.

sniff.....sniff - I love the smell of SPAM in the morning.

[sree94]

That's the thing that is so perplexing/frustrating. I have been doing lots of quality backlinking, using Build My Rank, and linkwheels (no scrapebox/xrumer, etc)

SEO is so frustrating, because it feels like the harder you work, the more you get punished

[d0rhk]

Just wait a bit. Keep an eye on your rank and it'll probably stop dancing around sooner or later.

I've had keywords go from #1 one day, to #5 the next, then #1 the next day then #6 the next. I hate it, but I've found that sooner or later your site will solidify in a position.

Here is a good example of one of my sites:

[Domsa]

From my experience, it can be:

1. Google algorithmic changes. These can happen even twice a day, but they are generally so small that you won't even notice it on a large scale.

2. Were you logged in to your Google Account? If you visited your page lately due to working on it or something, it might show it higher in the SERPs than it really is. I suggest always checking it with a US proxy (if your goal is #1 for USA).

[36burrows]

I feel your pain brother. Unfortunately all we can say is just keep doing what you're doing and hope for the best. It's a good sign that you got #1 for even a few hours, G might be just testing your site. It should settle down soon, but don't get frustrated and do anything out of the ordinary, just keep doing what you're doing.

[paulgl]

It's not perplexing and should have never have been perplexing.

Google puts sites on the search that can vary greatly from minute
to minute. They have to. The internet world does not stand still.

If you make a page, don't you want it in the top 10? What then,
pray tell, do the current top 10 sites scream? Foul? It's a
competition in the true sense of the word. Sometimes your
site fits the given temperature of the internet search world.
Sometimes it doesn't.

Too many people think google should cement search results.
Why? What was relevant an hour ago may not be relevant now.

Google has no reason to stick your site, or any site, constantly
in the top 10, unless you constantly give them a reason.

What happens if 10 great webpages come online at the same time,
in your niche, for your keywords? Google is going to ignore them?
How can they?

Like I said before. YOU want to overtake the current top sites.
Right? So if you had it your way, your site would actually never
make it, as google would be stuck showing the same tired old
sites.

Paul

[Steven Miranda]

SEO is all about being frustrated at times Google updates their algorithm MULTIPLE times per day... sites will drop out and de-rank almost daily.

[sree94]

Domsa: I checked my ranking on Google Incognito, which does not log any prior results or passwords

PaulGL: I am not afraid of competition. What frustrates me is when I do the things in SEO that are supposed to be beating my competition, but that's not happening. When I have way more high pr links that aren't spammy, and my competitors are still edging me out, that is what is frustrating

[JSProjects]

Unfortunately SEO is one big pain in the butt. We are all at the mercy of Google & the other engines. Even if we're doing what we KNOW works, it doesn't necessarily guarantee that we'll hit #1. If I can dance around the top 3 positions then I'm usually pretty happy.

Sometimes you'll stay at #1 for months, other times days, and as you've experienced, even just hours.

[LEIVA]

Originally Posted by d0rhk

If you don't mind whats program you use for that?

[dburk]

Hi sree94,

It could be a number of things causing this, as some on this thread have alluded to, but I didn't see anyone mention the most obvious and likely reason.

QDF (Query Deserves Freshness)

Google will push fresh new content to the top of the index to provide timely information to searchers. As the freshness factor wears off, the boosted page will then sink to it's currently earned position.

This freshness ranking factor often effects web pages that have been around a long time because the fresh content temporarily outranks the established pages. The more often relevant fresh content is published, targeting a particular keyword, the more the rankings will fluctuate for that keyword.

[LEIVA]

Anyone that can help me with the image above?

Thanks

[LEIVA]

Found it

[Lucid]

Originally Posted by sree94

I do the things in SEO that are supposed to be beating my competition, but that's not happening.

You used a key word: supposed.

There could be three reasons why you are not beating them. One, you are not doing enough or not doing them properly, of the supposed things. Two, competitors are doing them better. Three, the supposed things may be things you should be doing but that obviously, there is more than those things.

I think most people's concept of SEO is comprised of one third things that most know they should be and are doing, one third things they are doing but have no or little value to ranking and one third things nobody is thinking about and obviously not doing or doing by accident. Plus things like what Paul and Don are talking about.

[NACAdam]

you can bump it pretty good through a press release submission SEnuke it or go buy some backlinks from fiverr. However if you want to really prevent that in the future go get .EDU links go get about 100 or so you wont have this problem again

[lowongankerja]

Perhaps your site is experiencing google dance..My blogs frequently experience that..But i never give up..Just Keep doing link building but do it naturally and not excessively..

[Tim Wallace]

Google server update make this phenomenon, it is normal, I have came across such condition before.

[dofollow]

If your site is relatively new then it could just be the Google dance where Google likes to play with new sites. Make sure that you build legit links during the process and after a certain time your site would return to the rankings.

[sree94]

Originally Posted by dofollow

If your site is relatively new then it could just be the Google dance where Google likes to play with new sites. Make sure that you build legit links during the process and after a certain time your site would return to the rankings.

NOT a new site. It's 2 and a half years old