Curious about ranking changing between 3 clicks
- Thread starter wwsosop
- Start date
- Oct 29, 2021
- 8,386
- 3,597
Google is trying to fix it's position and that's why A/B testing is happening here. It will be stable and find it's suitable position.
digihub
Regular Member
- May 6, 2023
- 277
- 62
Yep, that happens a lot. Sometimes you're hitting different Google data centers, or they're just testing stuff on you. It's the 'Google dance' as they call it. Does it do the same thing if you try from an incognito window?
- Oct 28, 2020
- 11,663
- 14,636
it's some kind of a "dance" but it's not the original google dance.
Google dance was (and still is for those who care about these terminologies) when a page goes in and out of the SERPs multiples times a day (or even multiple times per hour) for days / weeks.
Like, for example, one of your pages ranks at #4 now, then - 2 hours later - is nowhere to be found in google, then comes back in at #10 then goes back out of google 30 minutes later, then comes back at #2 then disappears from google completely for the next hour / few hours, then comes back at #3, or #8, or wherever google happens to put it, and then it disappears again, and so on...
This is what google dance used to mean, but I see a lot of people (especially the newcomers to SEO) are calling every ranking fluctuation google dance, which is not really fair because if you're reading SEO guides from 10 or so years ago and you see google dance being mentioned you assume that it's just ranking fluctuations, when in reality it's coming in and out of the SERPs (so, completely vanishing from the rankings, then appearing again, then disappearing again, and re-appearing again, and so on, for days or weeks).
And if you follow the tips to fix that OG google dance that are being given in those older SEO guides you might not be able to fix your ranking fluctuations since those tips really do pertain to the original google dance, not to your small ranking fluctuations.
And those numbers that I've given (rank at #4, then at #10, then #2, etc... are just examples, it could have very well been #5, #1, #13, #6, etc, so the positions don't really matter when google dancing happens, it's the principle and its effects that are being called "google dance")
Hopefully this clears some confusion, although - like I said - if you try hard enough, you could also call the ranking fluctuations google dances since it's technically also a bouncing up and down the SERPs. If you want to be this broad in your terminologies then I guess it works, just like it works with the word "PBN", which is used "wrongly" (you can say "slightly different" if "wrongly" bothers you) to what PBNs used to mean when this term was first coined...
Anyway, enough of this pedantic crap, I just wanted to get my point across, and if you guys want to abide by it, fine! If not, no biggie
Hailey Quinn
BANNED
- Apr 10, 2025
- 38
- 8
This happens due to personalized search results and location differences—Google tailors results for each user
wwsosop
Regular Member
- Jul 7, 2024
- 474
- 186
It does not dance on incognito but on two different accounts and ips... across the 2 it is not the same. And on incognito when it most matters on weekends I am lower than on weekdays as a observation.
The only other thing going on is a crazy stalker competitor who scrapes my text at times and doesnt do a exact copy but super similar like anything i can do we can do better. This guy is crazy or took it personal, as he operates in 100s of cities but only runs expensive ads in mine because he is pissed at me. This is probably unrelated, just annoyed.
digihub
Regular Member
- May 6, 2023
- 277
- 62
The fact that it's stable in incognito basically proves this is a clear case of personalization, not the 'Google dance'. That weekend dip you're seeing is an interesting observation; it could be that user behavior and search intent just change on those days. This is exactly why you have to track your true rankings from a clean incognito window.
Kenzo Wong
BANNED
- Aug 15, 2023
- 830
- 275
That’s norma google can shift rankings slightly between clicks due to some things
wwsosop
Regular Member
- Jul 7, 2024
- 474
- 186
Thanks for the post and clarification. I would do some reading on how to slow down the dance.it's some kind of a "dance" but it's not the original google dance.
Google dance was (and still is for those who care about these terminologies) when a page goes in and out of the SERPs multiples times a day (or even multiple times per hour) for days / weeks.
Like, for example, one of your pages ranks at #4 now, then - 2 hours later - is nowhere to be found in google, then comes back in at #10 then goes back out of google 30 minutes later, then comes back at #2 then disappears from google completely for the next hour / few hours, then comes back at #3, or #8, or wherever google happens to put it, and then it disappears again, and so on...
This is what google dance used to mean, but I see a lot of people (especially the newcomers to SEO) are calling every ranking fluctuation google dance, which is not really fair because if you're reading SEO guides from 10 or so years ago and you see google dance being mentioned you assume that it's just ranking fluctuations, when in reality it's coming in and out of the SERPs (so, completely vanishing from the rankings, then appearing again, then disappearing again, and re-appearing again, and so on, for days or weeks).
And if you follow the tips to fix that OG google dance that are being given in those older SEO guides you might not be able to fix your ranking fluctuations since those tips really do pertain to the original google dance, not to your small ranking fluctuations.
And those numbers that I've given (rank at #4, then at #10, then #2, etc... are just examples, it could have very well been #5, #1, #13, #6, etc, so the positions don't really matter when google dancing happens, it's the principle and its effects that are being called "google dance")
Hopefully this clears some confusion, although - like I said - if you try hard enough, you could also call the ranking fluctuations google dances since it's technically also a bouncing up and down the SERPs. If you want to be this broad in your terminologies then I guess it works, just like it works with the word "PBN", which is used "wrongly" (you can say "slightly different" if "wrongly" bothers you) to what PBNs used to mean when this term was first coined...
Anyway, enough of this pedantic crap, I just wanted to get my point across, and if you guys want to abide by it, fine! If not, no biggie
You mentined PBNs which triggered me, whoever tf keeps buying domains for the sake of is a ..... Then they sit on the domain at 250$ to 1k$ or more for months because they dont really need it. I wonder if they really are making money having to yearly renew 1 billion domains they hoard on the sell back. Why would i pay over 100$ bucks on a domain in am ***unsure*** will give me a positive effect on the money. It is just crazy. Sebo, lamecheap, and whomever else, at least daddy starts with a 1$ bid though you never know about the auto increments.
- Jan 4, 2021
- 2,170
- 786
Rankings can shift slightly due to location, personalization, or real time algorithm tweaks- totally normal.
- Oct 28, 2020
- 11,663
- 14,636
yeah, I don't like this either, but until people become ethical en-masse and stop caring about money hoarders will keep existing...
it could be many reasons for why you're going up and down the SERPs (google trying things out, as usual... or your site being fresh, thus unclear to google where to put it for now... or maybe you're lacking /good internal links, or enough page trust / authority, etc.. really lots of reasons...), but I'm not sure where you can read about it, sorry
This happens because search results can vary based on factors like your location, search history, device, and even Google’s personalization algorithms. Also, results can change quickly as Google tests different rankings. Using incognito mode or a rank tracking tool can give more consistent results.
