Navigating the Recent Challenges in Local SEO: A Personal Experience
Local SEO can be a game-changer for small businesses, especially when it comes to ranking for specific services in their geographic area. However, unexpected fluctuations can profoundly impact visibility and search ranking. Today, I want to share a recent experience that disrupted my local website’s search performance and the steps I am considering to address it.
For a while, I was fortunate enough to have approximately 18 pages that consistently ranked within the top three positions for keywords related to [service] and [location]. This solid positioning translated into valuable traffic and business inquiries. However, I woke up one day to a concerning discovery: 15 of those pages had mysteriously vanished from Google’s search results, as tracked through SEMrush.
A thorough examination of Google Search Console (GSC) revealed that everything appeared to be in order. This left me perplexed and searching for answers, especially considering that my website is relatively new and boasts a low Domain Rating (DR). Despite this, these pages had maintained their prominence until I noticed an alarming trend: unexpected backlinks from questionable, and potentially toxic, domains were surfacing.
Upon recognizing this issue, I acted swiftly and employed the disavow tool in an attempt to eliminate the negative impact these links could have on my site’s authority. However, I have come across conflicting information regarding the effectiveness of disavowing backlinks, leading me to question whether that action was sufficient.
In light of these challenges, I find myself at a crossroads. Should I focus my efforts on acquiring more high-quality backlinks to enhance my website’s overall authority? Could this strategy help restore the visibility of my lost pages in search results?
As I navigate this complex issue, I am eager to hear thoughts and experiences from others in the SEO community. What have you done to regain lost rankings? Your insights and advice would be invaluable during this tumultuous time in my local SEO journey.