A famous joke that runs among the digital marketers says that “Google Updates” or “Algorithms Updates” are the biggest ‘nightmare’ of SEO personnel & Digital Marketers. A single update brought in by Google can turn a lot of your plans and strategies upside down.
The main cause behind these updates is to provide a better user experience. It helps searchers to find better websites that are most relevant to their queries. These updates work like a ‘filtration’ for search engines. If your website has not abided by the rules and has been ranking through black-hat techniques then they are sure to get hit by these updates.
These constant updates are the reasons why a search engine’s mechanism can never be referred to as science.
Do accomplished websites get affected too?
Yes!
Google is not a deceitful officer that can be bribed by a big shot! All websites are equal to Google as long as abiding by its algorithms.
When in 2014, Google updated its algorithm Panda to Panda 4.0 one of the major sites that saw a great drop in its ranking was eBay. Yes!
This was probably because the quality requirements of Google were not met by eBay!
Another update brought by Google was in March 2017 “Fred”. This resulted in a 50-90% decrease in traffic faced by the end number of websites. The reason here was spammy, irrelevant, duplicate, and outdated content.
The Core Update 2020
Danny Sullivan made an announcement around May that Google had begun to roll out a core algorithm update.
However, this update was not designed to penalize or target any specific SEO approach.
After its rollout was completed and announced the users seem quite unhappy with the results. There was social media domination over Google’s SERP and Google faced recoil on Twitter.
Right after the update, the scenario was such that Facebook, Pinterest, Quora, Reddit, and many identical websites were ranking on SERP without any content!
While on the other hand, websites with high-quality content were outranked. It would happen so that if a user made a query about a specific product the results would show the top 3 results of a particular website.
Are Updates Always Negative?
No!
Many times websites see an increase in the website traffic or an upgrade in the ranks. Penguin, Pigeon, and Hummingbird had a positive impact on SEO practices. Many SEO experts take it as an opportunity to improve rankings.
Here’s the positivity: –
Google makes sure you know that content is the king!
New websites rank faster than old ones because of fresh and quality-rich content.
This is exactly the key to survive Google’s core update (May) if your website has been hit too!
What Process Do You Have to Adopt If you Hit with the Update?
Google said “we suggest focussing on ensuring you are offering the best content you can. This is what our algorithms seek to reward”
It also assured that websites practicing white hat SEO should not worry. Google even quoted “there is nothing to be fixed at all”
Google advises that the prime focus of 2020 must be the content. Fresh, updated, quality rich, authentic, factual, & engaging.
What is “Perfect Content”?
The perfect content is the one that covers these points: –
- Originality
- Strong headlines are the key
- Must act like a guide
- Should answer query
- Recheck facts
- Content must be engaging. Be a storyteller.
- Use Images/ Videos
- Short and to the point is a win
- Keep updating!
Also, the expert (Google) advises, whenever writing content make sure your content answers the following questions: –
- Is the information original?
- Is it comprehensive?
- Is it beyond obvious?
- Does its title have a summary?
- Would you expect your own content from a user’s point of view?
- Is it user friendly?
- Is the content mobile friendly?
Begin Recovery
This process might be time taking and require the assistance of SEO which in itself a long procedure. It’s time to perform a website audit, begin improvising your content and perform a substantial link building method.
Well said , Good Work
Thanks Tauseef