If you’ve been working on getting your website to achieve a high Search Engine Optimisation or SEO ranking, you’ve probably been taught the same foundational principles over and over:
- Improve your on-page content.
- Build good backlinks.
- Target the right keywords.
- Make your site fast and user-friendly.
And yes—all of that still matters.
But over the last year, something new has become very clear:
Small changes are now having disproportionately large impacts on SEO rankings—both positive and negative.
After the Helpful Content, Core, Spam and Reviews updates, Google has shifted how it evaluates websites. Instead of simply ranking pages based on keyword matching and link metrics, the algorithm is now much more sensitive to:
- Search intent alignment
- Which page should represent which topic
- User behaviour and engagement
- Local trust signals
- Site structure and internal hierarchy
Which means something that used to be a minor adjustment—like adding a filter, tweaking internal linking, or changing a meta description—can now reassign authority and change which page Google chooses to rank.
And this is where many website owners and businesses are getting caught out.
Example #1: Adding Internal Links and Accidentally Reassigning Location Authority
A common scenario we’ve seen:
- A business is ranking #1–#3 for its primary location (e.g., Brisbane).
- They expand into another region (e.g., Gold Coast).
- They create and internally link to the new Gold Coast landing page.
- Suddenly, their previously strong Brisbane rankings drop.
This is not a penalty.
It’s Google re-evaluating:
Which page represents this business for which location?
Internal linking is one of the strongest signals Google uses to understand hierarchy and meaning. When you strengthen a new location page too aggressively, you may dilute the authority of the original one — and Google may begin “testing†a different page for your core location searches.
If Google gets confused, your site’s SEO ranking falls.
The fix:
Each location must have a clearly defined purpose, structure, and internal linking strategy. One page = one location. No competition between your own URLs.
Example #2: Adding Filters to Category Pages and Triggering Duplicate URLs
This often happens on WooCommerce and older WordPress sites.
A business adds product filters to improve UX.
But those filters create dynamic parameter URLs like:
/shirts/?colour=blue
/shirts/?size=large
/shirts/?colour=blue&size=large
Google now sees multiple versions of the same page, diluting authority.
Even if you’ve “improved user experience,†Google may:
- Waste crawl budget
- Split SEO ranking signals
- Lose clarity on which version to index
The fix:
Use canonical tags, ensure filters don’t generate indexable URLs, and maintain core category content above the product grid.
Example #3: Changing Meta Descriptions and Triggering Location Cannibalisation
Meta descriptions are not a direct SEO ranking factor—but they influence click-through rate, and CTR absolutely is.
When a business updates its homepage meta description to include multiple cities, something interesting can happen:
- The homepage starts ranking for multiple location terms.
- Individual location pages lose differentiation and drop.
This is another example of Google reassigning intent.
The fix:
If you want to rank multiple locations, each location needs:
- Its own page
- Unique reasons to exist
- Clear internal linking support
- Keywords tied to that region only
The homepage should claim the main region’s identity, unless the brand is intentionally going national.
Example #4: Changing CMS (Even When Content & Design Stay the Same)
This one shocks people:
You can move your site from one CMS to another, keep the same content and design, and see rankings significantly increase.
Why?
Because different CMS platforms handle:
- Page load speed
- CLS shifts
- HTML cleanliness
- Server responsiveness
- JavaScript execution delays
- Schema and metadata structures
Google now evaluates page experience from real user data (CrUX)—and your CMS directly influences that.
In simple terms:
Your CMS is part of your SEO stack now.
Example #5: A Few New Reviews Can Move You Up Dramatically in Local Search
Local rankings are now heavily influenced by:
- Review count relative to competitors
- Review velocity (how many in the last 60 days)
- Keyword-rich review text
We’ve seen cases where:
- A business adds five new reviews.
- It now has 2+ more reviews than nearby competitors.
- It jumps from positions 8–10 → into the top three map pack.
This aligns with Google’s increased emphasis on:
Trust, real customer validation, and real-world authority.
So What’s the Pattern Here?
Across all these examples:
| Old SEO Model | New SEO Model |
| Rankings based on keywords, links, and technical fixes | Rankings based on trust, clarity, intent & real-world validation |
| Small changes → small impact | Small changes → big impact |
| Pages ranking independently | Pages ranking in a hierarchy of meaning |
Google is no longer asking:
“Does this page have the keyword?â€
It’s asking:
“Which page is the best, most trusted, and most relevant answer to this user intent in this context?â€
What This Means for Businesses
You can no longer make changes to your website blindly—even “small†ones.
Before updating:
- Meta descriptions
- Internal links
- Category layouts
- Location page content
- Site navigation
- CMS platforms
There must be a clear SEO intention and structural strategy behind the change.
Otherwise, you risk moving authority away from the page you want to rank—and rankings fall fast.
How We Help Businesses Manage This
We:
- Diagnose which page should rank for which search intent
- Re-establish topical authority and page hierarchy
- Restore rankings if internal signals have been disrupted
- Implement safe upgrade paths for CMS migrations and UI improvements
- Strengthen location relevance and trust signals
- Build review growth systems that influence map pack rankings
If your rankings have moved unexpectedly—or you’re planning site changes—it’s worth having the strategy mapped out before making updates.
Want Us to Review Your Current Setup?
We’ll perform a free structural intent & authority check and tell you:
- Which page Google currently thinks should rank
- Where internal signals may be conflicting
- Whether recent changes helped or hurt
- And the most predictable path forward
We’re ready to help your business. Book a meeting with us today to get started.
