SE Ranking has published an analysis built on 10,000 US desktop Google keywords from its research set, updating our earlier coverage titled Rank Trackers Detail How They Filter Suspect Google Results. Most of the unrelated results it found in mid-September echoed just one query word, and almost all began at position 9 or worse. In 84% of flagged cases, the unrelated listings followed a single word. None started in the top five.
Nozzle, whose Oct. 22 report described a similar pattern, found that page 2 skipped some query terms on 12.6% of comparable desktop searches since Sept. 16, against 2.2% for page 1. The firms measure differently, so one firm’s rates do not map onto the other’s. Both sell rank tracking software, and SE Ranking says its data cannot reveal why Google acted or what users viewed.
A site missing from a tracker report may not have lost its rank for real users. Teams reviewing late September and October drops should check lower positions and page 2 first, then compare against Search Console impressions and clicks.
Search Engine Journal, Matt G. Southern, November 3, 2026.
