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We rank very well on lots of search terms for this site, geo and topic pages alike, and as far as we can see, those pages are all still ranking well. We don't see any losses in the SERP's, just a few slight improvements.
In fact that is the point. We're visible, just not getting the traffic.
I've read the local rank threads because we do have locally oriented pages on this site, but our local pages continue to do well on relevant G searches (like most of our important pages).
When I am trying to get input on an issue, I always try to at least offer a theory, or notes to compare. But in this case, no theory at all. SERP's look fine; just no traffic. The only notable event I see that could cause something like this is the PR update...but since standing in the SERP's hasn't suffered, that seems an unlikely explanation.
Anyone else seeing anything similar in last couple days? Any thoughts? Input much appreciated.
Caveman, I'd look for something other than an algo change.
Unless you've done some serious spamming, I'd look for server problems or logging problems or something like that.
Over time you should build a picture that will help you in deciding when to worry and when not to
No theories either, just hoping it rights itself starting tomorrow!
To answer some questions:
Holiday weekends for this site (including past Easter weekends) bring reduced levels of traffic, but nothing like what we're seeing since two days ago.
Also, the drop was confined to G**gle, which is about 60% of the site's total traffic.
No spam, nothing new on the site. It's a generally high ranking site for nearly two years now except for a burp during Florida update. Can't find any change in the SERP's worth mentioning. Review of search terms used to find the site doesn't reveal anything.
Nothing odd in my category that I know of.
This does seem to correspond with the PR update, but again, since we don't see any changes in the SERP's, I'm so far discounting the PR update. Sometimes when G does an update of any kind, odd shifts can come in our traffic, but usually we can track down the reasons, especially with large shifts. Nothing this time however.
Anyone know if G users have become more religious since last Easter? :-)
nancyb let's hope that it rights itself tomorrow. Meanwhile thanks for the input all. If/when I learn anything, I will update.
You think your server could be mishandling google referrals for some reason?
GG thanks. We can see that our pages do appear in the SERP's without notable changes versus prior days/weeks/months. It's as though our links (in the G SERP's) became radio active to G searchers. We've clicked on a few links to be sure that there are no mechanical problems, and of course there are none.
We have not changed titles or anything in page text or even meta's that would alter the listings. Baffling. We'll see what today brings.
