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Writer's pictureRobert Brandl

What to do when Google ranks the wrong page?

Have you ever had this issue? You've got several posts about a similar topic, and Google picks the wrong one for your target keyword.


In our case, the first one is a roundup post that discusses several live chat solutions. And then we have our LiveChat review, which specifically talks about one product.


This LiveChat review used to rank fine for the keyword "livechat review" usually on position 3.


But after relaunching the Tooltester website, it suddenly got replaced by the roundup post. And since the roundup post wasn't the ideal match for the searcher's intent, its rankings dropped.

Tooltester's rankings for the keyword "livechat review"

When I noticed it, I did an update to the LiveChat review article. Adding some new content, giving it a new date, etc.


As you can see, by mid-August, this worked really well - the article jumped to the number 1 spot. But only for a few days.


After that, Google randomly started showing our LiveChat Pricing analysis for this keyword. Pretty bizarre.


Let's ask Google for help


After that happened, I didn't really know what to do anymore. This clearly looks like an error on Google's end.


The first thought was to send a Tweet to John Muller. But he's a busy guy, let's give him a break. However I saw him mentioning the Google Search Console help forums sometimes.


So I posted my issue there. I didn't get any response, which surprised me. Usually you get a reply pretty quickly. However, the next day, the correct page started ranking again.


Until it didn't. A week later it tanked again. Quite a rollercoaster.


The recovery


Fast-forward another week later, we are back between position 2 and 3. It has been a month now that the correct page is showing.


So I am hoping this issue has finally been fixed!


Was the (nofollow) backlink from that forum post that helped? Was it the tweet I eventually sent John Muller? He never replied to me, though.


So if you are in a similar situation, these two things are certainly something you can try. I am pretty sure someone at Google must have read the post.


SEO can be a complicated science sometimes :D




If you are experiencing similar issues, please let me know!

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1 Comment


Guest
Jan 22, 2023

Hi, I am experiencing the same issue :) I can send you a private message if needed in order to explain.

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