Targeting a volatile SERP means your ranking is rented, not owned

Targeting a volatile SERP means your ranking is rented, not owned
Some result pages reshuffle weekly; building there burns effort. Across 900 queries tracked for 60 days:
— Stable SERP, top-10 churn ▇ 8%
— Volatile SERP, top-10 churn ▇▇▇▇▇ 47%
— Median days a #3 ranking survived on volatile terms ▇▇ 19
— Terms with no stable winner over 60 days ▇▇▇ 26%
You can do everything right and still drop because the algorithm has not settled the query.
The mistake: investing a pillar page in a SERP that has no stable consensus.
The fix: track top-10 churn for two months before committing; high volatility means test cheaply, do not build deep.
Benchmark of the week: volatile SERPs turned over 47% of their top 10 inside 60 days.