Google Is 'Poisoning' Search Results Shown to Rank Tracking Tools
What happened
A study by rank-tracking provider Nozzle has found that Google has been returning altered search results to automated rank-tracking tools since mid-September — making the data those tools report unreliable.
Analysing 27.5 million results pages across 49 countries, Nozzle found that 8% of pages returned to rank trackers from 13 September onward were "poisoned" — compared to just 0.17% in the weeks before. On the worst days (27-29 September), roughly a quarter of all tracked pages were affected.
The altered pages look completely normal — no error message, no captcha. But sites that should appear in the top 10 were missing on 58.6% of poisoned pages, compared to 2.7% normally. Most rankings recovered within three days, suggesting the drops were artificial rather than real.
Search Engine Roundtable confirmed that multiple tracking tools are now showing unreliable data, and DemandSphere independently reported similar anomalies in roughly 11% of its daily collected pages. Google has not commented on the findings.
What this means for tradespeople
If you've been checking your Google rankings using a tool like SEMRush, Ahrefs, or a rank tracker built into your website platform, and you've seen sudden one-day drops since mid-September — those drops may not be real.
Google appears to be deliberately feeding different results to automated tools than it shows to real users. So while your rank tracker might say you've dropped from position 3 to position 15 for "plumber in Manchester," a real customer searching that term would still see you at position 3.
This doesn't mean rank tracking is useless, but it does mean you shouldn't panic over single-day drops — especially if your phone is still ringing and enquiries are still coming in. The most reliable way to check your actual performance is through Google Search Console, which shows the real impressions and clicks Google is reporting for your site.
What to do about it
- Don't react to sudden one-day ranking drops. If your rank tracker shows a dramatic fall since mid-September, check whether it recovered within a day or two — if so, it was likely poisoned data.
- Use Google Search Console as your source of truth. It shows actual impressions, clicks, and average position based on real searches, not automated checks.
- Focus on what matters — enquiries. Track your actual calls, messages, and form submissions rather than obsessing over ranking positions that may be inaccurate.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable / Nozzle Research via Ryan Doser