I have many websites and throughout my experience I notice that at some points my site increases in a certain keyword, but then decreases again without any changes to anything... Google is extremely weird with this. So I'm beginning to wonder, is it possible that the algorithm focuses on emphasis on CLICKS of websites. Let's say you search something, and then you find a website, you click on it, then you decide this isn't such a great site, and you go back and then click on the next one. I think then it penalizes the website that you clicked BACK button on. That would be the only explanation. This phenomena in my opinion is proven when you make a website dealing with either politics or teams or something where there is a conflict. Let's say you pick one sports team, about ping-pong hehe. You will search some ping-pong keyword, and then you get your website through SEO ranked really high on this keyword, but your website promotes Team X, and all the other websites promote Team B, and a majority of sports people love Team B. Well I think people simply will constantly click on your site at first, raising its SERP, and then keep clicking back when they find out you are not supporting their favorite Team B... What happens is, you rapidly fall back to like the 2nd-5th page. It almost feels like, simply because you support Team X, it's like as if, some Google employee comes by, sees your site so highly ranked, and kicks you back to some back page. Either that or the other theory is that there are "experimentation" phases for each website in certain keywords... but I cannot be sure.
Interesting... The only time my page fluctuates (+-4 is when the search term top 10 are being reindexed. It last for less than a day and I will move to my next location for ~ 2 weeks. Then I start making changes and it jumps all over the place.
Here's what happens with one of my sites: Stays for 2 weeks on Page 2 or 3, in the middle area. Then suddenly grabs #2 or #3 position on first page. Stays like that for a week or sometimes 2 weeks. Then goes back down to page 2-3 and sometimes disappears. It's like as if someone is playing with my serp, it's kind of funny to watch, sometimes I take scr shots just to be sure i'm not imagining the ranking.
Some say it is google dancing, some say it is google playing with the algo and trying new things. It is happening to many of us.
My sites always change their rankings, I guess its cause google is constantly updating and also the competitors are constantly changing
My site also having this effect but it's around +3 or 4 and -3 or 4 for all keywords.................... As you explained above in ur example, some where i feel that it is right. Because in every half an hour you see your rankings are moving here and there. But not sure what's the actually reason it. Fluctuation in rankings is very irritating because you can't make plan for your keyowrds...........
You mean those with high bounce rate? It could be possible as I think google actually has their way on doing their own tracking but I don't think anyone can verify on this. Like I've said....it's possible.
I think we are not discussing here, HOW TO GET HIGH RANKINGS..............??? We are discussing why rankings are not stable...........................??
I think google is doing another one of it's tests for shaking out the trees and seeing what lies on the ground as garbage.
May new websites get top ranking soon and after some times down. I also walked in same conditions. But after do on page and off page, they will get back position.
Ya it also happens with my site also.... for sometime my keywords appear on the first page and after some time (after 3-4 hour) it will be on the second page and on the next day it will come on the first page itslef.......
Just get over the fact that Google will be controlling all kinds of media. They want to control everything.
This has been speculated for a very long time and I am fairly sure this has been done (may be on smaller scale) as it makes total sense. But really, user clicking is not the best method to decide which is the best page when the user only see google presented data (title and description).