Why did my topic score drop?
The common causes of a drop in a GetIntel topic score, ordered by how quickly you can check each one, and when a drop is normal variation.
Topic scores move for real reasons and for noisy ones. Check these in order before changing anything.
1. It’s a small basket
Section titled “1. It’s a small basket”How to check: how many prompts and answers does the topic have? A topic with 3 or 4 prompts moves a lot when one engine changes one answer.
When it’s expected: small moves on small topics are usually noise. Add prompts to make the topic more stable.
2. One engine changed
Section titled “2. One engine changed”How to check: open the topic’s Prompts tab and compare engines. Is the drop on one engine only?
Fix: engines update their models and search sources without notice. A drop on one engine often recovers. If it persists, read that engine’s answers to see which brands and sources replaced you.
3. A rival gained
Section titled “3. A rival gained”How to check: look at Top competitor on the topic, and Competitors → View details for that rival.
Fix: open Prompts they win that you lose and Pages AI cites for them. That shows what they did.
4. You lost a source
Section titled “4. You lost a source”How to check: in Your pages, open Losing citations. In Sources, look for a site that used to cite you.
Fix: a lost citation from an important source is often the whole story. Check whether the page changed or removed you.
5. Your site became harder to read
Section titled “5. Your site became harder to read”How to check: Technical → Since the last scan. Anything new in Reach or Index & Read?
Fix: fix new blockers first. They affect every topic.
When a drop is expected
Section titled “When a drop is expected”Answers vary from day to day. A few points of movement over a week is normal. Judge a topic on its trend over several weeks, not one day.