Ranking URL swaps by keyword group, Oct 2025 to Sept 2026
| Keyword group | Same site at #1 all year | % where #1 page changed | Non-platform site-keyword pairs | % with URL change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping (13 verticals) | 349 | 23.5% | 6,715 | 19.2% |
| Services and finance (8) | 277 | 16.6% | 4,724 | 17.8% |
| B2B software and marketing (3) | 93 | 14.0% | 1,628 | 14.0% |
| Information and hobbies (6) | 145 | 10.3% | 2,721 | 14.7% |
| All groups | 865 | 18.0% | 15,801 | 17.5% |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026. Large platforms excluded from site-keyword pairs; URLs normalized.
Summary
Most rank tracking watches positions. It is easy to miss that the page doing the ranking can change while the site holds the same spot. If Google swaps one of your pages for another, the page you optimized may not be the one searchers land on.
We tracked this for a year. Of 865 keywords where the same site held #1 in every snapshot from Oct 2025 to Sept 2026, 18.0% saw Google switch which page from that site ranked #1 at least once. Across all sites in the top 10, page swaps showed up on almost every keyword.
What we measured
We looked at past Google US results (top 20 organic) for 2,000 random keywords from our study keyword set, with snapshots dated Oct 2025 to Sept 2026. 1,826 keywords had enough snapshots to compare. For each site in each snapshot we took its best-ranking URL, then checked whether that URL changed between snapshots.
URLs are normalized, removing query strings, fragments, www and trailing slashes, so small URL variations do not count as swaps. Without that step the #1 swap rate is 20.3%. Site-keyword pairs cover sites in the top 10. Non-platform figures leave out a list of large platforms, such as marketplaces, video sites and forums, that appear across almost every kind of search.
One limit matters. Snapshots are roughly every two months, with a median of 6 per keyword, so short-lived swaps between snapshots are missed. The real rate of swaps is likely higher than we report.
Google swaps the #1 page on 18% of stable keywords
Of the 1,826 keywords we tracked, 865 had the same site at #1 in every snapshot. These are the most stable results in the sample: one site won the top spot all year.
Even so, on 18.0% of them the #1 page from that site changed at least once. The site kept the position, but Google chose a different URL to show for it. For a site owner watching only positions, these swaps are invisible, yet they change which page gets the click.
18.0%
Share of 865 keywords with the same site at #1 in every snapshot where Google switched which page from that site ranked #1 at least once.
Page swaps happen on almost every keyword
Across the whole top 10, swaps are routine. 23.5% of 20,936 site-keyword pairs in the top 10 saw the site's best-ranking URL change at least once during the year. With the large platforms excluded, the rate is 17.5% of 15,801 pairs.
From the keyword side, 91.4% of keywords had at least one ranking page swap among top-10 sites. On almost every search, at least one site in the top 10 changed which page it ranked with.
Shopping keywords swap most
The type of search makes a clear difference. When the same site held #1 all year, the page changed on 23.5% of 349 shopping keywords, against 16.6% of 277 services and finance keywords, 14.0% of 93 B2B software and marketing keywords and 10.3% of 145 information keywords.
The same pattern holds across all non-platform sites in the top 10. 19.2% of 6,715 shopping site-keyword pairs changed ranking URL, against 17.8% of 4,724 services and finance pairs, 14.7% of 2,721 information pairs and 14.0% of 1,628 B2B software and marketing pairs.
Stores usually have several pages that could answer one shopping search: a category, a subcategory, a product and its variants. Products also come and go with stock and seasons. Both likely give Google more reasons to rotate which page it shows.
Swaps are slightly more common lower on page one
Position makes only a small difference. 18.0% of 9,093 non-platform pairs whose median rank was #6 to #10 changed URL, against 16.9% of 5,374 at #2 to #5 and 16.3% of 1,334 at #1.
Even sites at the very top see their ranking page change about one time in six. A strong position is no guarantee that Google keeps showing the same page.
What this means for your site
Track which page ranks, not just where you rank. A swap can send searchers to a weaker page even when your position holds.
- Use a rank tracker that records the ranking URL for each keyword, and set alerts for URL changes on your most important searches.
- In Search Console's performance report, filter by a query and open the Pages tab to see whether impressions move between URLs over time.
- If Google alternates between two of your pages, make the main page the clear choice: point internal links to it, give it the most specific title and heading, and make the other page distinct or merge it in.
- On stores, decide whether a category or a product page should own each search, and link to that page consistently. Redirect retired products to their closest replacement.
- Keep URLs consistent, with one version per page, so tracking parameters and trailing slashes do not split signals.
Sources
- PageSpeed Matters analysis of historical Google US top 20 organic results for 2,000 keywords, snapshots from October 2025 to September 2026
- Google Search Central, How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/ranking-page-swaps">Ranking Page Swaps: Same Site at #1, Different Page 18% of the Time - PageSpeed Matters</a></p>
Frequently asked questions
How often does Google change which page ranks for a keyword?
Often. 23.5% of 20,936 site-keyword pairs in the top 10 saw the site's best-ranking URL change between Oct 2025 and Sept 2026, and 91.4% of keywords had at least one page swap among top-10 sites.
Can Google swap my #1 page even if I keep the position?
Yes. Of 865 keywords where the same site held #1 in every snapshot for a year, 18.0% saw Google switch which page from that site ranked #1 at least once.
Which keywords see the most ranking page swaps?
Shopping keywords. When the same site held #1 all year, the page changed on 23.5% of 349 shopping keywords, against 16.6% of services and finance keywords and 10.3% of information keywords.
Page swaps often point to two pages that answer the same search, so making one page the clear choice keeps searchers landing where you want them. Need help with this? See our on-page SEO services.