Have you heard about Google’s newest algorithm updates?
Google is working hard to provide its users with the best search engine experience. It also keeps its algorithms up to date to avoid spammers, scammers, and other persons who attempt to cheat the system. It’s a never-ending game of cat and mouse. Newer versions of Google’s crawler are continually analyzing websites in search of new tricks that sites may use to increase their search ranks artificially.
When Google discovers a website with questionable activity, it notifies the website owner. It may potentially penalize the site in search results depending on variables such as user experience or trustworthiness. If you want your website to rank better in search engines, you must first understand how they operate and what criteria they use when determining where a site should appear in their results.
What is a core algorithm update?
Core algorithm updates are significant updates to Google’s search algorithm that impact the whole search ecosystem. A core algorithm update can hugely affect organic search results, with substantial shakeups in rankings being seen across various industries.
Core algorithm updates are major changes to Google’s algorithm that influence how websites are ranked. Algorithm changes are frequent, and they may occur for a variety of reasons. Some common examples are implementing new features, security updates, or changes in how Google measures quality. Minor updates are less important than core algorithm updates. However, all algorithm updates have an impact on website owners.
Confused About Google’s Algorithm Updates? Here’s a Guide!
Let’s start with the basics: algorithms are like recipes. They’re a set of instructions for reaching a specific outcome — such as finding the right website results for a user’s search. Google’s algorithm is the code that tells its search engine how to rank websites. When Google’s crawler comes to your site, it looks at the ingredients you’ve added to your recipe — title tags, descriptions, images, and links — to determine if your site is worthy of a high ranking. If there are things you can do to make your recipe (and website) stand out, you have a better chance of appearing at the top of search results for your chosen keywords. This guide will take you through the different elements that impact your site’s ranking and help you understand what you can do to improve your chances of success.
What’s new about broad core algorithm updates in 2022?
In early 2022, Google announced that it would significantly change its core algorithm to crack down on content farms and low-quality websites. The change came nearly a decade after Google first publicly acknowledged algorithm updates, and it was the company’s largest update to date. Google’s warning was clear: the change would hit anyone doing anything even remotely sketchy in their SEO efforts. This update was designed to hit low-quality sites hard, and it would place far more emphasis on things like user experience and real, trustworthy websites. On the flip side, it would also boost high-quality sites.
How often does Google SEO update?
Google core updates occur about once per quarter, on average, so you’ll want to stay on top of them. Google’s algorithm is constantly changing, so it’s essential to stay updated with the latest changes from Google.
There are a variety of factors that can affect your website’s search engine ranking. Some of the most important include:
Website content and structure: The quality of your content is a huge factor in determining where your website appears in search engine results. If your content is well-written and valuable, it will be easier for your readers to find it online and for Google’s crawler to understand and include it in its search results.
Links: The links pointing to your website are critical to its position in search engine rankings. Google doesn’t want its users finding bad, spammy websites and will use this to penalize your site if you have bad links pointing to it.
Domain authority: Your website’s domain authority measures how powerful it is. This will be affected by many of the same factors as your website’s content and links, but it can also be affected by the overall popularity of your website’s domain name.
Mobile-friendliness: In 2018, more than half of all Google searches were done on a mobile device. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it will suffer in the rankings.
Why Does Google Release Algorithm Updates?
The core algorithm updates 2022 were aimed at sites that were abusing the algorithm and were not providing a good user experience to their readers. Google wants to reward sites producing quality content and penalize sites using black hat SEO practices.
Google has released updates to try and combat black hat SEO practices, but they’ve never made a specific announcement about it. The core algorithm update 2022 was the first time that Google named the specific update and gave details about what it was targeting. They also announced that this would be a long-term change to their algorithm and that it would take several months for all sites to be affected. If you’re worried that your site has been hit, there are a few things you can do to find out.
What to Do If Your Website Is Hit
If a core algorithm update has hit you, you must take action quickly. It’s unclear how long it will take for Google’s algorithm to recognize the changes you’ve made and push you back up in search engine rankings. All you can do is make the changes outlined by Google and hope it will be enough. But even before that, you need to know what has changed and why Google changed it.
Core Algorithm Updates: The Bottom Line
Google is constantly evolving, and it’s not surprising that they’ve announced a core algorithm update. The significant changes are expected to start in early 2022 and impact all websites for several months. The update will primarily affect low-quality websites and reward high-quality sites. Although it’s too soon to see the full impact of this update, you must stay up to date with these changes to ensure your website stays at the top of search engine results.
