why do the search results for my domain keep changing?

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why do the search results for my domain keep changing?

MelissaRWE

8:08 pm on Apr 10, 2010 (gmt 0)

i have been doing searches for my domain name in google for the past few weeks by just simply typing in : domainname.

When i first did this the result was 270,000, the next week it was lower, then lower again, now we are at 203,000.

My question is what does this metric mean? I know that the result is showing any page that has a mention of our site on it, but why is it on a steady decline and what does it really mean anyway? i have been keeping any eye on some of our competitors results and although some of theirs are lower, they stay the same.

Any solid answer on what this metric is, why is it changing, and should i be concerned?

maximillianos

8:41 pm on Apr 10, 2010 (gmt 0)

Those numbers are estimates and part of an ever changing index. I would not worry too much about those metrics.

As long as your traffic is fine, I say ignore it. Just my opinion.

g1smd

8:52 pm on Apr 10, 2010 (gmt 0)

I'd more believe the numbers reported in WebmasterTools, but even those aren't always 'the whole truth'.

MelissaRWE

12:21 pm on Apr 12, 2010 (gmt 0)

I still have concerns about this as it is becoming alarming to some of my colleagues. Today I checked again and the results have gone down to 199,000. I just suspect that this must mean something.

Does anyone else ever check this metric?

We have started checking things like this that we normally would not check as we have been losing sales and conversions have been steadily dropping since the end of March/beginning of April. We suspect that it may have to do with Caffeine. But at this point we are still unsure.

jake66

8:17 pm on Apr 13, 2010 (gmt 0)

I am convinced google does random fluctuations in search results to test webmasters.

I had this happen to me a few years ago and begun tinkering around on my site, doing things people suggested on forums; ended up tanking my ranking. Took forever to revert the changes to regain what I'd previously had.

Just keep doing what you're doing otherwise you risk screwing everything up.