Why Your Website Dropped in Google Rankings After an Update
If your rankings fell after a Google update, the most likely reason is that Google changed how it judges helpful content, and another page now answers the search better than yours. They rarely penalize sites for this. Usually, the issues may be arise due to a couple of reasons like, poor quality content that is not up to the standards, being not specific enough to the search term, poor trust signals or a technical issue. Here at Viral Mafia, a digital marketing agency in Kerala, this is something we see all the time. But, most of these drops can be explained and resolved.
Check What Caused the Drop
Before making any changes, check when the drop started. Google confirmed 2 Core Updates in the first half of 2026. The March Update was from 27th of March to the 8th of April and the May Update was until the 2nd of June.
In Google Search Console, check when your traffic dropped. If it’s within a week or so after a confirmed update this is a good sign. If the drop occurred shortly after a redesign, change of host or new page URLs then you need to check these first. Also check if any important pages have moved to “Crawled – currently not indexed”. This has nothing to do with quality, its just about accessibility. When the updates are rolling out, rankings will be fluctuating. You shouldn’t assess how bad the drop is until it has finished.
Common Reasons for Drops
Every site will be different, however there are a few common reasons.
Generic Content – Your content doesn’t provide any new information that isn’t found elsewhere online. No examples, first-hand experiences or authentic statistics.
Change in Search Intent – If someone is searching for an ‘Interior Designer in Kozhikode’, they’re looking for examples of completed projects and approximate pricing. If your page is a long article on the history of interior design, then you’re missing the point.
Poor Trust Signals – No author name, address, real reviews. Both Google and your customers will look for this.
Technical Issues – Slow load times, poor mobile formatting or pages going out of the index.
Competition – There’s nothing you can do here. Sometimes your competitor out performs you and you will lose your place.
Why Local Businesses Receive More Impact?
Many businesses in Kerala will rely on a few key pages and their Google Business Profile. This means any changes will seem more impactful. Often people fall into the trap of having similar pages for each location. “Service in Calicut” and “Service in Thrissur” will have the exact same content, with just changing the city name. Google will see this as not providing any additional value.
A good digital marketing company in Kozhikode will know the difference between a local page and just mentioning a location. A local page will explain real projects, local landmarks, questions asked by local customers and optimize for local search trends. A page just mentioning a location will be a template, it will not attract real traffic and rankings in the SERP.
Actions to Take in the upcoming weeks
Try to stay calm and do one step at a time. Usually panic make things worse.
- Note when the drop occurred and which pages and search terms were affected the most.
- Check for any technical issues such as indexing, slow load times, poor mobile formatting, broken links or any recent changes to your site.
- Read through your most affected pages as if you were a customer. Are they answering the question in the first few lines? Are they having to search for the answer?
- Include unique content such as real projects, images, price ranges, results and names.
- Improve trust signals. Include who wrote the page, easy contact details and up to date reviews.
Don’t cut corners. Purchased links and mass AI content will often cause the next drop. You don’t need to revamp your entire site. Focus on the 5-10 most important pages, carry out a thorough inspection and note every errors and rectify it.
How Long Will It Take to Improve?
Google have stated there is no quick fix for a Core Update drop. Often larger improvements will come with the next Core Update which can be months away. However, if you’re improving consistently then that will put you in a better position. Also don’t over react to small drops. If you’ve dropped from position 2 to 4, don’t go into panic mode. Monitor for a few weeks, if it pertains take necessary actions.
AI Answers
This can be an easy thing to miss out. Google have stated that their AI Overviews are based on the same core ranking and quality factors as normal search. This means that if your rankings have dropped due to a Core Update then you could also notice a drop in your pages being picked up and cited in AI answers.
To overcome this, be clear with your answers and try to answer the question early. Provide real experiences, ensure your facts are correct and your pages are easy to read. Often by improving your page for rankings you’ll also be improving it for citations in the ai overviews.
Would You Like a Second Opinion?
Rankings dropping can feel very personal, especially if your website is where most of your enquires are coming from. This may be a signal and signals can be interpreted. If you’d like us to check your site and give you an honest opinion on what has changed, our team at Viral Mafia would be happy to help. We are a digital marketing company in Kozhikode with over 9 years of experience. We’ll start by getting to know your business and then will give you suggestions on what to improve.
