It’s been a while since we last reported on any fluctuations in Google Search rankings, and though we weren’t eager to see more volatility, here we are. Once again, search results are showing signs of instability, so we’re documenting it.
This round of volatility doesn’t seem as extreme as some previous instances, but there’s enough movement and chatter in the SEO community to suggest that it’s more significant than on an average day. Some site owners and SEOs have noticed notable changes in their rankings, both positive and negative. If you’ve seen similar fluctuations around October 15th or even a day or two before, this could explain it.
To recap, the last reported major changes were around October 10th, and before that, on October 2nd, with shifts lasting several days. The Google August 2024 core update, which began on August 15th and officially ended on September 3rd, still caused significant volatility afterward, persisting for weeks.
There were notable ranking shifts on and around September 6th, 10th, 14th, 18th, 25th, and 28th. Now, we’re observing another spike in activity starting on October 1st and 2nd, with the volatility continuing to affect rankings.
Google Tracking Tools Update
Several tracking tools have shown a noticeable spike over the past day or two. The ranking fluctuations have been on-going for an extended period, with occasional significant surges in activity during this time.
Advanced Web Rankings:
Wincher:
SERPmetrics:
Accuranker:
Cognitive SEO:
Semrush:
Mozcast:
Mangools:
SimilarWeb:
SERPstat:
Algoroo:
Data For SEO:
Sistrix:
SEO Chatter
Here is some of the chatter from the SEO communities all over the internet from the past day or two
The continuous ups and downs are quite unusual. We typically don’t see this level of prolonged volatility following a core update. It’s hard to pinpoint what’s happening, but it’s definitely causing uncertainty for many of us.