Google Rank Tracking Challenge: Recommendations to Navigate Changes

When working with Google data, it's crucial to remember that Google operates as a third party, dictating the rules of engagement. This applies to Serpstat as well. To achieve results in Google, we all must account for their policies. Google frequently modifies its algorithms and search engine result pages without prior notification, a normal process aimed at improving search quality.

As a tool that partially relies on Google data, Serpstat continuously adapts to these algorithm changes. Our Engineering team addresses the subtle, ongoing shifts that must be incorporated into our own algorithms on a daily basis. Occasionally, these subtle changes become significant and present more substantial challenges.

Google has recently disabled the num=100 parameter, which previously allowed tools and users to view up to 100 results per SERP request. From now on, only 10 results per page are available.

In such instances, we must adjust our product to align with Google's new realities. While this may cause confusion for marketing teams and business owners, it's essential to adapt when the entire market is affected.

We cannot guarantee that these changes represent a final state of the search engine result page. Google's not done changing, so neither are we. In fact, we anticipate further changes to how Google Search functions. Although we don't have a definitive solution for overcoming all these changes, we offer a strategic approach to adjusting to them. Consider this as a possible direction and not the definitive action plan.

Bottom-Up Strategy: Low-Volume Keywords First

Making your business visible in today's highly competitive online environment requires a strategic approach, especially in light of recent updates to Google's search algorithms that can impact the visibility of new or less established websites. While it might seem intuitive to immediately target high-frequency keywords, this often leads to significant challenges for new websites.

"Serpstat is built on Google data, so continuous adaptation is part of the product itself. Minor changes are adjusted daily, while major updates roll out when Google significantly shifts the rules. These shifts may affect the routines of marketers, SEOs, and analysts — but staying aligned with the new system is essential."

Vera Zhukova
Head of Customer Success at Serpstat

These highly sought-after terms are typically dominated by established players with strong domain authority and extensive content, making it incredibly difficult for a new website to rank. Instead, a more effective and sustainable strategy involves initially focusing on low-volume, or long-tail, keywords.

These keywords, while individually attracting fewer searches, are collectively powerful and offer several advantages for a new website. The competition for low-volume keywords is significantly lower, making it much easier for a new website to achieve initial rankings. This early success is crucial for building momentum and establishing a presence in Google's search index.

By targeting and tracking these low-volume keywords, website owners can gain valuable insights into Google's initial assessment of their website and content. Achieving rankings for these less competitive terms provides a clear signal that Google is indexing and understanding the website's content.

This early feedback mechanism is invaluable for refining content strategies, identifying areas for improvement, and understanding what resonates with both users and search engines. It allows for a more agile approach to SEO, where small adjustments can lead to measurable improvements in visibility.

This first step allows a website to gradually build authority and trust with Google. As the website starts ranking for a growing number of these long-tail terms, it establishes a solid base of organic traffic and demonstrates its relevance and expertise within its niche.

This phased approach maximizes the chances of long-term success by ensuring that the website is well-positioned and authoritative before directly challenging established competitors in the highly competitive, low-data search result landscapes.

Combine Data Sources For Bigger Picture

Serpstat provides an extensive and continuously updated keyword database. Leverage our keyword research tools to discover keywords relevant to your niche. Additionally, gain insights into your competitors' rankings using our competitor analysis tools. You can filter keyword lists by search volume, or explore even lower volume keywords.

“Don’t rush to halt SEO or shift your entire budget into paid ads just because a chart dipped. Instead, analyze what’s driving the change in metrics and adapt accordingly. Abandoning SEO now risks losing valuable organic opportunities in the long run.”

Bohdan Tymoshenko
CMO at Serpstat

Besides our data, Google Search Console (GSC) serves as an invaluable resource, providing direct insights into how your website performs in Google Search results. In our last GSC data analysis in BigQuery, we collected more than 6 000 distinct keywords for a single page of our website. This amount of data covers all the topics related to the page.

GSC directly identifies the keywords for which your website is ranking, and the data is provided by the data source. Within GSC, you can filter keywords based on the number of impressions your website received for those queries. To adjust for seasonal demand spikes, use our batch keyword analysis tool or API to get historical data on keyword search volume.

By systematically collecting and analyzing the data from Serpstat, Google Search Console, and other data sources, you can gain a more granular understanding of organic search performance, identify strategic opportunities, and refine your SEO tactics to improve overall visibility and ultimately, business growth.

Understanding Initial SEO Signals with Low-Volume Keywords

When you begin optimizing your website, especially for new content, observing its performance with low-volume keywords provides crucial early indicators of your SEO efforts. If your content appears in the top 20, this is a significant first signal. It suggests that search engines have successfully indexed your content and are beginning to understand its relevance. These initial low-volume keyword rankings offer valuable feedback, allowing you to gauge the immediate impact of your optimization effort.

Foundational SEO: Technical and On-Page Essentials

Before aiming for highly competitive keywords, it's imperative to address fundamental SEO tasks. This includes resolving all technical issues that might hinder search engine crawling and indexing. Standard SEO practices, such as ensuring correct canonical tags, managing different language versions (if applicable), addressing response codes, and fixing broken links, are paramount.

To establish a robust foundation and position your content within the top 20 search results, this crucial step is essential. It may also be vital for Large Language Models to accurately scan your website. For example, a broken link—no matter which crawler detects it—hurts both SEO and user experience. Use our website audit to quickly find and fix these issues.

Scaling Up: From Low to High Volume Keywords

Once you've received positive initial signals from search engines regarding your content's ranking for low-volume keywords, you can strategically shift your focus to middle and high-volume keywords. This transition involves further optimizing your website pages that are specifically related to these more competitive terms.

As you enhance your site for high-volume keywords, you'll also likely observe an improvement in the ranking of your lower-volume keywords, indicating a holistic uplift in your site's authority and relevance. This synergistic effect demonstrates progress across your entire keyword portfolio.

As Google and other search engines recognize and understand your concentrated optimization efforts for high-volume keywords, your website's overall ranking will improve. You can expect to see your site stabilize around the 20th position, which is an excellent point to begin more precise rank tracking of your exact keyword rankings and overall search performance. Serpstat provides multi-level rank monitoring: TOP-3, TOP-5, TOP-10. Even if Google restricts deeper visibility, we give clients reliable insights on their most business-critical positions.

Beyond Tactical Movements: Strategic Marketing

The top 20 positions are not obstacles to achieving success, but rather powerful indicators. These rankings reflect the quality of your SEO work and the effectiveness of your overall SEO strategy. They signify more than just isolated tactical maneuvers designed to marginally improve the website's position in the lower parts of search engine results pages. They represent a strategic success in getting your content recognized and valued by search engines.

Also consider broadening your marketing horizons beyond a single traffic channel. Implement PPC campaigns for topics where your website's organic visibility is lacking, adjusting them as your SEO efforts gain traction. Furthermore, with Large Language Models emerging as a new lead source, actively monitor your brand's presence within LLMs to understand the competitive landscape.

In addition to competing in the traditional SERP, companies need to pay attention to their visibility within AI Overviews — which are already available in Serpstat Rank Tracking, including in regions such as the U.S.

When working with Google data, it's crucial to remember that Google operates as a third party, dictating the rules of engagement. This applies to Serpstat as well. To achieve results in Google, we all must account for their policies. Google frequently modifies its algorithms and search engine result pages without prior notification, a normal process aimed at improving search quality.

If you encounter challenges in optimizing your website and require expert guidance to achieve the best results from SEO, consider reaching out to our recommended internet marketing agencies. These agencies possess extensive SEO experience and are goal-oriented, focusing on tangible results rather than just superficial position improvements. Their expertise can help you attain superior results, even if you haven't yet reached the top 100 on the search engine results page.

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