Advice and answers from the Advanced Web Ranking Team
>
>
Top Sites in Time report swapped into SERP Volatility– a clearer lens into SEO changes over time
Uncover the real reasons behind ranking shifts with the new SERP Volatility report — from algorithm updates to changing search intent.
If you’ve relied on Top Sites in Time to understand how the top-ranking domains perform in the SERPs over time, you’ll love how much further SERP Volatility goes.
While the Top Sites in Time report mapped the ranking fluctuations of up to 20 competitors across each of your tracked keywords, it offered limited insight into the “why” behind the changes. The new SERP Volatility report, available under the SERP Analysis menu, brings more clarity by measuring how stable or turbulent the search results are across each monitored keyword.
Why the SERP Volatility report gives you a more complete story
Unlike Top Sites in Time, which only showed which websites appeared in search results and in which ranking position, SERP Volatility gives you a deeper look into the search engine results page dynamics. It highlights:
The number of URLs that stayed the same, improved, declined, entered, or exited the search results between two selected updates (SERP URL Changes chart)
How much overall movement occurred between updates within the selected period (Volatility Trend chart)
Whether the search intent behind a keyword is shifting between updates in the selected time interval (Search Intent Changes chart)
How individual domains perform during the selected interval — whether they remain stable or experience fluctuations (Domain URLs in Time chart)
These metrics help you pinpoint whether ranking changes are the result of:
A real SERP turbulence — A major shake-up in the search results that affects many domains at once. This often happens during or after a search engine algorithm update, where competing websites may suddenly rise or fall in rankings, regardless of recent changes on your end. It’s not necessarily about what you did — it’s a search engine-wide shift.
A shift in search behavior — Users may start searching differently or expecting different types of content. For example, if people begin looking for more video results or quick answers from AI, search engines adjust the results accordingly. These shifts can impact which URLs rank higher.
Increased visibility from competitors — Sometimes your rankings drop not because of a problem on your side, but because competitors are stepping up their game. They might improve their content, optimize for better UX, or launch something new, giving them a visibility boost and pushing other pages down.
Let’s take a closer look at each SERP Volatility metric and how they can help you better understand the ranking dynamics.
SERP URL Changes
This chart offers a quick overview of SERP shifts, with URL changes grouped into five categories:
Improved: URLs that moved up in rankings.
Declined: URLs that worsened their ranking position.
Stable: URLs that stayed in the same position.
Newly: URLs that entered the SERP.
Dropped: URLs that exited the SERP.
The breakdown is calculated individually for each keyword across the two selected update dates, based on the URL depth - top 10, 20, or all URLs retrieved from the selected search engine.
This metric helps you assess how volatile the SERP is for a given keyword. A high number of dropped and newly appeared URLs signals a dynamic and competitive search landscape, where rankings shift frequently, possibly due to algorithm updates or new competitors entering the SERP. On the other hand, if most URLs remain stable, any drop in your rankings is more likely the result of outdated content, technical issues, or a decline in relevance to the search intent behind the query, rather than external factors.
Volatility Trend
This chart shows the evolution of SERP volatility over time by measuring how much URL rankings have shifted. The volatility scores are categorized as follows:
Low (0 - 6): Minor ranking fluctuations. This usually signals a stable SERP with minimal changes in URL positions.
Medium (6 - 9): Moderate ranking shifts. This suggests some degree of change, possibly due to new competitors entering the market or to minor algorithm adjustments.
High (9 - 10): Significant ranking changes. A high score often indicates major algorithm updates, substantial shifts in competitor rankings, or drastic changes in user search behavior.
The volatility score is calculated for each keyword considering the search depth (10 to 100 top results) selected at the project level and the search type (eg, organic, universal, etc.) for each tracked search engine.
Filtering by the top 10 or 20 URLs does not recalculate the SERP volatility scores; the values remain the ones calculated for the entire SERP, from top to bottom (All URLs depth option).
The volatility trend can be used as a pulse check on how stable or turbulent the search results for a given keyword are over time. It helps you decide whether ranking changes are isolated to your site or part of a broader shift across the SERP. Spikes in volatility can signal:
Major competitors entering or leaving the space
Seasonal or news-driven changes in query behavior
A Google algorithm update
Search Intent Changes
This chart shows how search intent evolves. It highlights whether the intent behind a keyword—such as informational, commercial, transactional, or navigational—has shifted from one update to the next within the selected time frame.
The intent is calculated for each keyword based on the Top 10 search results retrieved from the selected Google search engine. Learn more about how search intent is computed by AWR.
Search intent shifts can significantly impact which types of content perform well in the SERP.. Even well-established pages can lose visibility and rankings if the intent behind a keyword changes. Monitoring these shifts allows you to stay proactive and adjust your content strategy, ensuring it remains relevant and aligned with what users are searching for.
Domain URLs in Time
This chart tracks the volatility trend by domain, showing how each domain’s URLs change in rankings. It helps you quickly spot consistent ranking behavior or sudden shifts, such as spikes or drops.
The chart data updates based on the selected keyword, search engine, URL depth (top 10, 20, or all URLs), and time range. Use the corresponding dropdown menus and date selector at the top of the page to customize your view.
On the right side of the chart, you’ll find a table with three tabs to help you explore ranking domains:
All websites: Displays all top-ranking websites for the selected keyword and search engine, based on the chosen URL depth.
Monitored competitors: Shows top-ranking websites already added to your project and tracked as competitors.
Other websites: Highlights top-ranking websites not yet added to your project — a great start to discover emerging players.
You can use the "search by domain/URL" feature to quickly find any specific domain or page across all three tabs.
Want to track a new competitor? Hover over a domain or page, then click the "+" icon to add it to your project — either as a full domain or an individual URL.
This chart helps you keep an eye on your competitors' ranking trends — revealing who’s consistently dominating the SERP, who’s making unexpected jumps, or who might be losing ground. It’s perfect for spotting ranking patterns, discovering new competitors, and understanding how domains perform over time in response to algorithm updates or changes in user search behavior.
Do you have any further questions or need more information about this product update? Don't hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated support team.
stay in the loop