Playbook: diagnose site-wide vs page-level impact

Playbook: diagnose site-wide vs page-level impact
Knowing the scope of a hit dictates the whole response. How to classify it fast:

— Step 1: In GSC, compare % drop across page-types — if uniform across all, suspect a site-wide classifier (HCS-style).
— Step 2: If only certain templates fell, it's page-level relevance — different fix entirely.
— Step 3: Check whether brand queries held — site-wide signals usually spare brand terms, per patterns Glenn Gabe documents.
— Step 4: Look at whether new/old content fell equally — uniform age-spread points to a site-quality reassessment.
— Step 5: Plot the drop curve: a cliff = classifier flip; a slope = gradual reweighting.

Misreading scope leads to fixing the wrong layer.

One to bookmark: Lily Ray's update analyses — her site-vs-page breakdowns are the clearest template for this diagnosis.