Google Updates - should you be worried?

March was a busy one in terms of Google algorithm updates – none of which were confirmed – but that’s nothing new!

There were six, maybe seven updates last month which will have caused many site’s rankings to fluctuate throughout the month. And this is all while we wait for the next Google core update!

If you’ve ever wondered what a Google search algorithm update is, what it might mean for your website and if there’s anything you need to do when Google rolls one out, then keep reading...

How do Google’s search algorithms work?

As well as cataloguing and indexing web pages, search algorithms cleverly take into account numerous factors about the end material, its creator and the searcher to try to give you the most relevant and valuable search results. 

These factors include, but are not limited to:

• Words you use to search
• Relevance and user experience of pages
• Expertise, authority and trustworthiness (EAT) of the source
• User location
• User settings and search history

Google’s algorithms will also try to understand the context of a search, which can affect the search results they deliver. 

Most updates are tweaks that are focused on specific improvements, technical updates, or more broad changes but they’re usually very minor.

A broad core algorithm update, however, is more significant because it’s a change, be it big or small, to Google’s main search algorithm.

Why do algorithm updates happen?

Search is constantly evolving. As a business, Google’s goal is to give its customers the best search results for their individual needs. It wants someone to be able to make a search and immediately be taken to a web page that gives them exactly what they were looking for.

But the factors that affect search are constantly changing and evolving too. Technology, website design, our understanding of search psychology, artificial intelligence and voice searches – these things all influence how and why we search.

Google’s algorithms need to be adapted to keep up with this evolution.

How will Google algorithm updates affect my website?

Naturally, your number one concern about algorithm updates is likely to be if and/or how they will affect your site’s rankings.

Generally speaking, most websites just experience minor ranking fluctuations.

If you notice more significant changes, especially a drop to your rankings, it’s worth exploring who else was impacted by the algorithm change and why your site might have been affected. 

What can I do so that algorithm updates don’t have a negative impact on my site?

The best thing you can do to protect against negative outcomes from Google’s algorithm changes is to follow the search engine’s guidelines and focus on providing value to your audience.

Look at how you can improve your website’s authority/quality score by offering content that is:

• Useful and informative
• More valuable and useful than other sites
• Credible
• High quality
• Engaging

When creating content, put the user experience at the heart of everything you do.

Think about what your clients want to know and strive to give it to them. Check your content for errors. Make quality your priority.

Research everything you create extensively and always link to supporting evidence and wider resources. Only make a claim if you can back it up – cite your sources!

If you approach your SEO with a genuine intention to serve your audience then you should see positive results on an ongoing basis and have nothing to fear from Googles’ updates.

Hopefully, I’ve been able to put your mind at rest about Google’s algorithm updates. Keep focusing on your audience and you will be rewarded.

Found this helpful? Comment and let me know, it will make my day!

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Happy optimising and best wishes, Hazel

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