Ranking Drop on Google: Algorithm Update or a Change on Your Site?

In early June 2018, Google’s John Mueller offered some explanations to site owners who see their rankings suddenly drop in search results. During a webmaster hangout, he noted that some site owners are quick to blame a Google algorithm update whenever their rankings take a hit. But other factors can explain a drop, for example if the site was recently changed or went through technical changes. Let’s break it down.

Ranking Drop: Algorithm Update or the Result of a Technical Change?

It’s well known that Google updates its algorithm hundreds of times a year. Some updates, like Google’s broad core updates, obviously have a bigger impact than others, but a drop in your rankings doesn’t necessarily mean an update caused it.

To help site owners tell the difference between a Google algorithm update and the effect of a technical change on their site, John Mueller explained that if a site drops sharply in Google’s search results (within a single day), an algorithm update is the likely cause. Technical changes, on the other hand, usually take weeks or months to affect a site, and the impact builds more slowly than with an algorithm update.

A Concrete Example: 301 Redirects

John Mueller illustrated his point with a site owner who wants to restructure the site’s URLs and sets up 301 redirects in the .htaccess file. Google has to process all of those 301 redirects, which takes quite a while. In other words, the site won’t drop suddenly because of these changes, but its rankings will fluctuate and the effects will play out over a longer period.

Conversely, if Google rolls out an algorithm update and decides that your site isn’t as good as it used to be, you could see a negative impact on your rankings fairly quickly (within a day, for example).

Conclusion

Mueller made it clear that these are generic examples and that things don’t always work this way. Not every technical change takes months to be picked up: just ask search engines to stop indexing your site and you’ll see how fast it can happen! Conversely, we know that some Google updates take more than a day or two to roll out. If you’ve made recent changes, our technical SEO audit checklist helps you rule them out.

Where Things Stand in 2026

Google now lists confirmed ranking updates, including core updates, with their start and end dates on the Google Search Status Dashboard. Comparing the date of a drop with that list is the quickest way to tell an update from a site-side issue. Our Google penalty recovery guide walks through a full diagnosis, and our website redesign SEO guide covers how to handle URL changes safely.

Can’t Figure Out Why Your Site Lost Rankings?

Référenceur is a French-speaking SEO agency based in Belgium and Luxembourg, and we work with U.S. businesses remotely, through video calls, shared screens, and monthly reporting. Request a free assessment and we’ll help you find the cause.