kinboshi - 1:47 pm on Apr 23, 2008 (gmt 0)

We're jumping around on .co.uk. We're seeing our site rank #2 for a one word search [manufacturer's name], and then it'll drop down to somewhere in the 20s or 30s. Then later in the day, back to #2, then down again. It's been doing this for more than a week now. Quite a few other phrases are doing the same, whereas others are staying put. 'Tis all very strange.

Looking into this phenomenon a little further, and something very strange is happening.

We seem to be 'swapping' places with another site for the #2 spot and the #20-odd spot. One of us ranks #2, the other in the 20s, and then we'll swap places.

The sites are completely different, no common inbound links, they look different, structured differently, and have different content. They are actually a dealer of the [manufacturer] - whereas our site covers all the manufacturers in the market.

Why would it just be the two of us who are jumping around? The rest of the results are staying the same (give or take a few places obviously).

Oh - and it's only on this one phrase that we've noticed this happening. I'm investigating other phrases, but so far none have shown the same behaviour.