Recently, many people in the SEO community have been talking about new shifts, and several ranking tools are showing signs of movement.
It looks like we are experiencing another big change in Google Search rankings. While there are daily ups and downs, October 10th stood out as a day with a lot of activity based on what I’ve been tracking.
What’s Happening?
Earlier this year, Google made a major update on August 15th, which was completed by September 3rd. Even after that, the rankings remained unpredictable, and the changes haven’t settled down.
We noticed some significant shifts around September 5th, September 10th, and September 14th, with more changes happening on September 18th and later in the month. Now, we’re seeing another wave of fluctuations that began around October 1st and 2nd.
Ranking Tools Reporting Changes
Several tools that track Google rankings have shown increased activity over the last day or so:
What People Are Saying
Here are some comments from the SEO community:
Traffic Drops
Many users report that traffic from the USA and Canada is dropping sharply this October. One user noted a 48% drop today for both countries. These two regions have often behaved similarly, suggesting there might be a problem with how Google ranks websites in North America.
Changes in Rankings
Some people are noticing that their top-ranking keywords are changing a lot from day to day. For example, one user mentioned losing over 10% of their top 10 rankings in a single day, only to see them come back the next day.
YouTube Content Rising
Another observation is that YouTube videos are now appearing above regular search results. This shift could mean that Google is changing how it prioritizes different types of content.
Overall Traffic Declines
One SEO professional mentioned a 16% drop in traffic from the USA and a 7% decrease in search activity. Similar declines have been seen in Canada, the UK, and France, pointing to a broader issue with Google’s search results. Factors like recent natural disasters in the southeast U.S. might be affecting traffic, but it’s hard to tell if they are the main cause.
Confusing Results
Some users have reported significant drops in traffic, yet their rankings have not changed, leaving them puzzled about what’s going on.
