Why Your SEO Rankings Dropped — and What Actually Matters
Few things send website owners into a panic quite like a sudden drop in rankings.
It’s easy to assume something must be broken.
Maybe you were penalized.
Maybe your SEO is bad.
Maybe your competitor is cheating (I’m currently writing a post about this 👀)
But before you jump to conclusions or throw money at the wrong fix, it’s worth understanding that ranking changes happen for all sorts of reasons. Most of them aren’t as dramatic as you think… Honest!
In fact, most ranking changes are part of the natural lifecycle of a living, evolving internet.
Not All Ranking Drops Are Problems
First, let’s be clear:
Rankings are not static.
They’re not guaranteed.
They’re not owed to you because you published “good content.”
There are countless reasons a page might shift in the rankings:
A new competitor entered the space.
Another website improved its page.
Google re-evaluated the intent behind a keyword.
Your page got slightly outdated.
The content landscape simply changed.
None of these are signs that something is broken. They’re signs that the search engine is doing its job.
“I often tell clients that once the big, flashy deliverables are done, SEO becomes less exciting. Much of the ongoing work is slow, behind-the-scenes, and frankly, a little boring — like going to the gym. But that steady, consistent effort pays off over time, with compounding benefits.”
Context Matters More Than the Change Itself
A drop in rankings isn’t necessarily a problem. But a failure to understand why can be. That’s where so many site owners (and even some SEOs) fall short. They assume a dip in performance means an SEO strategy isn’t working, when in fact it might mean the strategy hasn’t adapted to a changing environment.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
A blog post ranking for “pet insurance tips” loses ground not because it’s bad, but because a new insurer published a 10x better guide.
A product page slips a few spots because competitors improved schema markup and speed.
A local services page drops out of the pack because Google shifted preference toward directories or aggregator content.
In each case, it’s not about blame—it’s about awareness and refinement.
Beware the Quick Fix Mentality
When rankings drop, the instinct is often to react. And that’s understandable.
But reactive SEO tends to create more harm than good.
Things like:
Buying backlinks to “regain authority”
Keyword stuffing or rewriting content that didn’t need fixing
Chasing trends without considering long-term fit
These moves can mask the real issue, or worse, introduce new problems.
This applies for both those in SEO and the site owners anxious about the drop. I’ve actually politely turned down business when a prospective client wanted to dump their SEO consultant. After a week of research, I determined the consultant’s work wasn’t the problem. And that’s okay!
So What Should You Do?
Instead of treating every drop like a crisis, treat it like a prompt to investigate.
Ask the right questions:
Has anything changed on my end?
Has search behavior shifted?
Have competitors made significant improvements?
Has Google launched a recent update?
Most importantly, look beyond single keywords and obsessively focus on value. Is your content still the best answer? Is your site still fast, accessible, and easy to use? Are you still satisfying the user’s original intent?
Final Thoughts
SEO isn’t about locking in rank and holding on for dear life. It’s about building a resilient strategy that adapts as the web evolves. Rankings will rise and fall, but the brands that win in the long term are the ones that ask better questions, play a longer game, and measure success by impact, not just position.
Feeling anxious about your rankings? Need a no-nonsense assessment of your site’s SEO?
I’m always happy to chat.