The worst nightmare for any internet marketer who relies on traffic from Google is a sudden drop in rankings. Dropping in rankings can happen suddenly when Google makes significant changes to their algorithm. These changes are made to prevent SPAM sites and search engine position engineering. No one knows the formula behind google search engine algorithm, but a lot of researchers are trying to find out what are the factors that influence search engine positions.

When you notice a big drop or raise in search engine traffic, there is a big change that Google changed their algorithm. However, there are always minor algorithm changes or your site might have received a strong link that affected the rankings. You should check google algorithm update list to check if this is the case.

An automated way to see if you website is impacted by google algorithm update is using Fruition Google Penalty Checker. I am using it for few years and got good results. Spared me a lot of time trying to figure on my own if I was impacted or not.