The latest articles on DEV Community by Pasha Mor (@pashamor). https://dev.to/pashamor https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4060566%2F4c487cc6-f9c5-40db-9e62-d159e1c16a68.png https://dev.to/pashamor en Pasha Mor Mon, 03 Aug 2026 11:45:08 +0000 https://dev.to/pashamor/google-gave-my-new-site-2500-impressions-then-took-86-away-what-i-learned-about-new-domain-seo-1dod https://dev.to/pashamor/google-gave-my-new-site-2500-impressions-then-took-86-away-what-i-learned-about-new-domain-seo-1dod <p>I'm a solo dev building <a href="https://1rm.fit" rel="noopener noreferrer">1RM.fit</a>, a workout tracker (Next.js web + React Native mobile). In May I started publishing SEO content — eventually ~60 articles. What happened next surprised me, and I haven't seen it written up much.</p> <h2> The honeymoon </h2> <p>For the first 4-6 weeks, Google was generous. My brand-new domain got test-ranked for <strong>528 distinct queries</strong> in a single month — 2,533 impressions at an average position of ~37. Articles I'd published two weeks earlier were showing up on page 2-3 for real commercial queries. I thought the strategy was working.</p> <h2> The cliff </h2> <p>Then July: <strong>impressions dropped 86%</strong> (2,533 → 362). Same content. Same positions (~37 both months). Google simply stopped showing the site for three quarters of the queries it had been testing.</p> <p>This is apparently a known pattern for new domains: Google broadly <em>explores</em> — test-ranking your pages across hundreds of long-tail variants — then <em>contracts</em> once it has enough signal. And at position 35+, nobody clicks, so my engagement signal was effectively zero. The site hadn't earned the exposure it was given.</p> <h2> What I got wrong </h2> <ol> <li> <strong>I wrote 12 articles targeting the same intent.</strong> "Best workout tracker app," "best gym log app," "best lift tracking app"... Google clustered them all as one intent, and my tiny domain authority got split 12 ways. I've since merged them into one article with 301s.</li> <li> <strong>I treated content as the whole strategy.</strong> Zero backlinks, zero brand searches, zero external signals. Content alone gets you <em>tested</em>, not <em>kept</em>.</li> <li> <strong>I ignored the pages that were actually close.</strong> Three articles sat at positions 9-20 (striking distance) while I kept writing new ones at position 80.</li> </ol> <h2> What I'm doing differently </h2> <ul> <li>Consolidated overlapping articles into intent "winners" (10 merges, 301 redirects)</li> <li>Built free tool pages (<a href="https://1rm.fit/1rm-calculator" rel="noopener noreferrer">1RM calculator</a>) — tool intent converts better than listicle intent, and tools earn links</li> <li>Started an actual backlink campaign (directories, journalist quotes, guest posts)</li> <li>Watching CTR on the striking-distance pages instead of publishing volume</li> </ul> <p>If you're launching a content site on a fresh domain: the early impression spike is Google testing you, not rewarding you. Plan for the contraction, and have external signals ready before it happens.</p> <p>Happy to share the GSC data or answer questions — building this in public.</p> seo webdev startup nextjs