Search marketers are used to the roll out of semi-regular algorithm updates, however the latest was a little different to normal. Excitement and nervousness bubbled as Google, for the first time, pre-announced the broad core update on social media – a first for the technological giant.
Announced via Googles Search Liaison twitter account:
The update was rolled out globally from 3rd June to the 8th as an ongoing quest by Google to ensure it improves the quality and relevance of search results for queries – providing the best possible experience for its users. So where does that leave you and your site? The best approach is simply to wait for the bots to crawl and see if your domains will be affected. That being said, we have already seen positive effects on our client’s sites in the following industries:
- Medical
- Business
- Automotive
- Transportation
- Retail
To understand if your site has been significantly impacted, keep monitoring and analysing your data. Check Search Console and Google Analytics to see if your traffic has improved or declined. Then put together a plan with the appropriate actions. We noticed some of our clients experienced spikes immediately after followed by settling down to about 5% -10% higher than average before the update.
Google are not ones to tell you how to fix issues following an algorithm update, as it is simply not one size fixes all. There are numerous factors that Google takes into consideration when analysing a sites worth.
John Muelller from Google recently expanded on this in a webmaster hangout. He explained that Google will not give specific advice but he does mention some examples of important things to consider when assessing your own website:
(1) Does the site look outdated
(2) Do people not recognize who your authors are
(3) Are the author photos not their real photos but stock images
You need to step into Google’s mindset, think about the bigger picture of your site, asking yourself; do users trust your site? Does it have genuine useful information written by qualified real people? Are you providing a good mobile experience?
Lets’ refer back to the E-A-T update – Google rewarded and are still rewarding sites that adhere to its E-A-T guidelines. Expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness – three of the top considerations for page quality. This should be fundamental in all digital strategies. If you are concerned about how your site will be impacted in the updates, you need to ensure tasks such as technical SEO upkeep, site optimisation, content writing and digital PR are on your agenda.
So, what to do? Its back to basics really, ensure you provide the best experience for your visitors, put yourself in your their shoes. Giving them a brilliant experience, genuine useful information, easy navigation and a delightful experience.