5.5 Non-Keyword Factors That Influence Search Engine Ranking Visibility

Have you ever wondered how you could be king of the search engine hill, then all of a sudden lose the throne?

Does it keep you awake at night that your SEO reports don’t always match what you see?

Assuming all is well with your on-page/off-page elements (let’s pretend for the story that they are), here are some non-keyword factors that influence search visibility to consider when things seem wonky.

1. Are you logged into Google while searching?
2. Do you have your personal search history turned on or off?
3. It is expected that Google will make nearly 1.5 changes every day to its algorithm this year. Was your search conducted before or after any algo changes? (Trick question – nobody knows the exact timing of Google algo changes except Google.)
4. If cookies are turned on, what is the data freshness?
5. Are you using Google’s Chrome browser when making searches?
6. Where are you located? (Checking your online placement from home, the office, or on your phone is likely to deliver different results.)

The good news is search fluctuation happens for most businesses, so don’t panic.

Sometimes visibility changes are slight, sometimes they’re wild – sometimes a business holds firm in their ranking while their competition shows great change.  But inevitably at some point you’re going to get dethroned, even when everything else is up to par. Shift happens – and sometimes, it’s totally out of your control.

So the next time you think your SERP rankings have shifted, or when a friend (or SEO services company) across the country (across the world) calls to tell you that your business just lost its top positioning, consider these non-keyword elements before taking action.

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