SERP Volatility

13/06/2024

SERP volatility refers to the fluctuation in the rankings of search engine results pages (SERPs) over time. It indicates the stable or unstable search results for a given set of keywords or queries. High volatility means that the rankings are changing frequently, while low volatility means they are relatively stable.

Keywords or websites that rank can change daily; you might see different rankings at the beginning and end of a day.

Impact of Volatility

Changes in rankings can lead to fluctuations in organic traffic to a website, affecting overall visibility and visitor numbers, even customer acquisition, and revenue

Causes of Volatility

Algorithm Updates: Google and other search engines frequently update (Core Update, Spam Update, Helpful Content Update, etc.) their algorithms to improve search quality, which can cause shifts in rankings.

Also sometimes search engine systems have ongoing issues and there would be SERP volatility till the problem is fixed.
Seasonal Trends: Certain industries or keywords might experience more volatility due to seasonal trends or events.

SERP Volatility Measure Tools

Third-party tools measure and report on SERP volatility, often presenting it as a numerical value or graphical trend.

SEMrush, Wincher, Mangool, DataForSEO, and Similarweb tools show data for desktop and mobile.

Semrush Volatility Sensor

The SEMrush SERP Volatility Sensor shows mobile and desktop data separately. You can click the graph below to analyze detailed data by sector.

SEMrush uses the countries database below;

United States
United Kindom
Germany
Italy
Spain
France
Australia
Japan
China (for Baidu)

SEMrush SERP Features Occurrence tool shows the percentage of SERPs where this feature appears in the top 20 results. If you click on any feature, you will get a detailed report about that feature.