Search Stability - A Competitive Measure?

Search Stability - A Competitive Measure?

Like most SEO's I'm always trying to further understand the SERPS more thoroughly, and as a result of this I'm trying to develop new tools to help me understand what's going on in a particular search niche.

Search Stability is one notion I'm currently working with - essentially i'm trying to see if there is an overlying trend in particular search results, and whether that differs from niche to niche - the theory being that:

1 - A 'stable' niche could be more difficult to break into & 2 - An 'unstable' niche would be more difficult to rank and remain for.

Now, I've only just started this, and I have no idea what I might (or might not find) but I'm going to transfer this model across various niches and see what results come back:

• Are some niches more stable than others?


• What causes stability & instability?


• Are Umbrella terms less stable than the long-tail due to increased competition?


• Are more competitive niches generally stable or unstable?

First Sightings:
I know the graphs above aren't that clear but if you look closely you'll see that the top 4 positions in each niche (mortgage, debt consolidation, credit card, home insurance) are the most stable positions in the top 10!

Competitive Measure?
I'm not sure yet whethere this can be used as a competitive measure, but I suppose at the very least this type of chart could indicate entry barriers at the start of a particular campaign.

Anyway, I'm going to carry on with this research and see where it gets me . . . I'll report back when I get chance.