Google Search Ranking Volatility: April 22

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The last few days I noticed signs of higher Google Search ranking volatility. I waited to report until today because I wanted to wait and see how things worked themselves out, but it does appear that Google is testing for updates to ranking algorithms, on and off, for the last few days.

What’s Going On With Google?

We’ve seen some serious ranking volatility, likely due to unconfirmed Google algorithm tweaks. While things have calmed down a bit today, the last few days were intense. Many site owners and SEOs are reporting wild traffic swings—some losing half their visitors overnight!

This isn’t the first time in April we’ve seen ranking movement. There was chatter around April 9th and April 16th as well. But so far, 2025 has only had one official update from Google—the March core update. Everything else? Still unconfirmed.

What the Tracking Tools Say

Every major SERP tracking tool is lighting up:

SimilarWeb
Mangools
Accuranker
Advanced Web Rankings
Semrush
Mozcast
Sistrix
Cognitive SEO
SERPstat
Wincher
Algoroo

All these tools are showing huge spikes in volatility beginning April 21, with the peak around April 22–23.

What SEOs Are Saying

Here’s what actual SEOs and site owners are experiencing and saying online:

Another 25% traffic decline this week—yikes!

USA traffic is down 40% at noon, and search traffic is off by 24%.

Our store visitors are up, but nobody’s buying—super weird!

My site’s down 50% today, no changes on my end.

Google’s results are now just spam. What happened?

Traffic crashed again last night, and Reddit is full of complaints about bad search results.

Analytics are showing 90% fewer users online.

It’s not just individual stories either—whole industries seem to be impacted. Even sites that were doing well on Google Discover experienced surges that immediately fell off.

Oh, and if your Google Analytics looked broken yesterday? It wasn’t just you—there were real-time issues in GA4 too.

So, What Should You Do?

Remain calm, keep an eye on your rankings, and don’t make any drastic site changes yet. Google may be experimenting, or perhaps we’re on the verge of another update announcement.

In the meantime:

Keep a close eye on your traffic
Check the SERP tracking tools
Don’t make drastic SEO changes
Join the discussion with other SEOs

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