Last week, we extended the exclusion window to cover checks through October 9, and we now have a clearer picture of what's causing the false drops.
What's happening: Google has stepped up its defenses against automated scraping of its search results, a move aimed mainly at AI companies that collect Google results in bulk. Rank tracking tools across the industry, including ours, are caught in it. Google isn't simply blocking these checks. In some cases it returns a complete, normal-looking results page where many of the usual sites have been replaced. Nothing on the page signals that anything is wrong, which is why these results can look like real ranking drops.
Separately, Google's September spam update finished rolling out on October 8. That update caused real ranking changes for some sites between September 24 and October 8, so not every movement in that window comes from this issue.
What this means for your data: - Rankings you saw between September 24 and October 9: Any false drops in this window have been removed, including from reports and averages. Affected keywords now show their last confirmed ranking, so there's nothing you need to do. - Rankings from October 10 onward: Many checks are still affected while this issue continues, so recent ranking changes showing sharp drops should be treated with caution for now.
What we're doing: - Excluding the affected checks from September 24 to October 9, so false drops won't appear in your rankings, averages, or reports. Affected keywords will show their last confirmed ranking instead. - Working to improve the reliability of future checks. - Reviewing checks from October 10 onward and continuing to monitor results closely. We'll post another update here as soon as we have more to share.
Posted Oct 14, 2026 - 15:10 EDT
Identified
What we've identified: Since September 24, Rank Tracker has shown some keywords dropping sharply or as "Not Found" while they were still ranking on Google. These drops are not real ranking changes and do not reflect your SEO work.
What's happening: Google changed how it responds to automated ranking checks, and some checks now come back incomplete. This is affecting rank tracking tools across the industry, including ours. Google's September spam update is also causing real ranking changes for some sites, so not every movement this month comes from this issue. We know this landed during month-end reporting, and we're sorry for the trouble it's causing you and your clients.
What we're doing: - Excluding the affected checks from September 24 to October 2, so false drops won't appear in your rankings, averages, or reports. Affected keywords will show their last confirmed ranking instead. - Working on a fix for future checks.
Posted Oct 01, 2026 - 16:56 EDT
Investigating
Since September 24th, some Rank Tracker results have shown keywords as dropping sharply or 'not found' while they were still ranking on Google. This is caused by recent changes in how Google serves results to automated tools, which are affecting rank trackers across the industry, us included.
Our team is actively working to identify a solution, and we'll provide updates as we learn more.
Posted Sep 30, 2026 - 16:51 EDT
This incident affects: Data and Integrations (Rankings).