Google is a popular home for recipes. The search engine giant sees millions of recipe searches every day, with users seeking some inspiration or looking to learn how to whip up a specific meal, snack, or baked treat.

The recipe market is competitive, with big players such as BBC Good Food and Delish, brands including Gousto and Hello Fresh, and thousands of dedicated recipe blogs competing for your attention. Google does a great job of making this recipe content appealing in the SERPs with rich results showing the user ratings, how long the recipe takes, cuisine, and lots more. This means searchers can get all the information they need in a handy snapshot before clicking through.

Recipe sites saw significant increases post-algorithm update in November: sites such as BBC Good Food saw huge increases in visibility at +22 percent just a couple of months later. It was a similar story for most major recipe sites, with allrecipes.com increasing by a whopping 94 percent in the few months post-update. The aforementioned brand websites also saw huge increases. In fact, Gousto’s visibility went and increased by over 150 percent just three months after the update!

However, the good times may be over, at least for now anyway. Following the latest algorithm update in May, those generous portions of huge increases have been eaten away at and replaced with significant decreases. Sites like Gousto and Hello Fresh have been impacted the most, as these brands saw visibility dropping by half!

Source: Searchmetrics

Blog sites have had to swallow a similar fate…

Source: Searchmetrics

The algorithm updates have clearly had a huge impact on recipe sites, but Google has also been playing around with recipes for quite some time now. Many searchers have noticed recipe carousels being segmented by ‘recipe type’ in recent months, for example.

It is clear that recipes are a particular focus within core algorithm updates, so there has never been a better time to ensure your recipe content is the best it can be.

Tips to make your recipe page crème de la crème

Below are some top tips to make sure your recipe page is the crème de la crème. By following these steps, your content will have the maximum chance to not only appear at the top of the SERPs but also drive traffic by making it more appealing as compared to other results:

1. Provide supplementary information

This includes cuisine, cooking time, difficulty, and calories. Also, remember to implement structured data (if you haven’t already!)

2. Add optimized images that are relevant

We eat with our eyes first, images are a great way to make the recipe more engaging, as well as easier to follow. It’s also important to select the best image that will appear in rich results, it needs to be clear, of the recipe in question and of course look delicious!

In a competitive space, imagery is your chance to entice the user to click your result instead of the others. Products out of shot (as below) or low-quality images are a missed opportunity and could result in lost traffic to competitors.

Source: Google search

3. Create a video asset for high-value recipes

We all know videos work great for recipes, but it can be very time-consuming creating a video for every recipe, especially if you have a back catalog of hundreds or even thousands. Instead, focus on those recipes that hold the largest opportunity by asking yourself the below questions:

• Are the search terms returning video results?
• Are the main competitors using videos for this particular recipe?
• Is there decent search volume for the recipe on Google AND YouTube (maximize ROI)?
• Is the recipe already ranking near the top? If so, will a video take it to that next level?
• Is it a recipe that would genuinely benefit from a video? Are there lots of steps or variations?

As the data shows, recipe content is volatile but small tweaks and improvements can ensure your recipes have the best chance possible to rank at the top and encourage users to click.

---

Robert Scott is SEO Account Manager at award-winning performance marketing agency, Reprise Digital. Rob has five years’ experience within SEO with a keen interest in content and holistic search.

Subscribe to the Search Engine Watch newsletter for insights on SEO, the search landscape, search marketing, digital marketing, leadership, podcasts, and more.

Join the conversation with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2022/08/10/analysis-and-advice-why-recipe-sites-saw-huge-fluctuations-in-visibility/

Successful SEO strategy is akin to dancing the tango with Google updates. Unfortunately for copywriters, the Big G can be an unpredictable partner at times. In addition to daily algorithm tweaks that go unnoticed, we all brace ourselves for core updates that have a sizeable impact on page ranking and performance. Throughout 2021, Google has confirmed a handful of updates.

Further updates have also been speculated by experienced web-based professionals, reporting these to aid others in remaining on the right side of an adjustment. Throughout this guide, we’ll discuss the updates rolled out by Google in 2021 to date.

Complete list of 2021 Google updates

As promised, let’s review all the algorithm updates issued by Google during 2021, major and minor alike. Some of these are official, confirmed by Alphabet themselves. The core updates are an obvious example of this. Others were noticed by webmasters of influential brands and discussed online. These unconfirmed updates are marked in red below.

1. Passage indexing (February)

The passage indexing update, announced in October 2020, is probably better described as passage ranking. The purpose behind the update is simple and noble. It will pick out one particular sentence or paragraph from a long-form article, aiding a niche web query and avoiding irrelevance.

Essentially, this update seeks out keywords and terminology in an entire article rather than focusing primarily on titles and subheadings. At the time of writing, Google projects that this will impact around 7 percent of search queries. At this point, the passage indexing update also only applies to copy written in US English, though this will eventually become global and translingual policy.

Now, you may be wondering how this differs from a featured snippet. The short answer is that a snippet is chosen based on the whole web page, seeking relevance to the subject at hand in all aspects of the query. The passage indexing update can pick up on a small element of a broader discussion that would otherwise be banished to the mid-page and beyond. Speaking of featured snippets, however…

2. Featured snippet drop/featured snippet recovery (February and March)

In mid-February, MozCast noticed that featured snippets vanished from countless SERPs on Google. This involved a decline of some 40 percent, the largest in over six years. Snippets that revolved around medical or financial advice were particularly impacted. Some of the keywords and terms that experienced this plummet included:

• Acne
• Autism
• Diabetes
• Fibromyalgia
• Investment
• IRA
• Lupus
• Mutual funds
• Pension
• Risk management

As you’ll see, the YMYL broad algorithm appeared to be a particular bone of contention. We’ll never know for sure, as this update – if indeed there was an update – has never been confirmed or denied by Google. What’s more, around a month later, these snippets returned as though they had never been away.

Without any explanation behind the mystery, it’s impossible to offer advice to webmasters on how to avoid a future unwarned absence of featured snippets. The fact that YMYL was hit so hard suggests that it was a deliberate action, though. Whenever working within this niche, proceed with caution – especially if relying on SERPs for ecommerce opportunities.

3. Product review update (April)

April’s product review update was also critical to ecommerce sites and those that collate product insights. Google is adamant that this has not been a core update. However, the approach that content marketers must now take mirrors the core updates that arose later in the year.

Following the review update, it’s more important than ever that product reviews remain strictly factual. That means discussing a product’s qualities (or lack thereof) without clear and obvious attempts to push for a sale from an affiliate. Sites that used their copy to talk up the qualities of a product using popular keywords and directing consumers toward Amazon were typically penalized.

Thin copy, as always, captured Google’s attention too, and not in a positive manner. Meaningless, fluffy words designed to pad out a page, along with repetition, will see a page slide down the rankings. A product review site that hopes to remain in good stead with Google must remember the fundamental rules of E-A-T. You can still attempt to make a sale, but not at the expense of demonstrating expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

4. Multitask Unified Model aka MUM (June)

June was a busy month for Google, starting with the Multitask Unified Model update, better known as MUM. This update could be considered a logical extension of the previously discussed passage indexing update. MUM also used AI to improve the search experience for users, replacing BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers).

It’s claimed that MUM is at least 1,000 times more powerful than its predecessor. In addition to providing greater, much more insightful data for users, MUM works to eradicate language barriers, including misspellings, leaning upon nuance to meet the expectations of a search.

Perhaps more importantly, MUM means that irrelevant content, picked up through a questionable use of keywords to game the SEO system, will soon disappear from the top of the page in favor of more appropriate content. The core update that came later in the month garnered most of the headlines, but don’t sleep on the impact of MUM.

5. Spam updates (June)

Next in June came a spam update, which took place over two weeks. In theory, this update should not have impacted any website operating under white hat SEO rules. It was designed purely to keep content relevant and appropriate, battling against sinister tactics.

As always, though, there was room for error with this update. It’s always advisable to keep on top of the latest webmaster guidelines laid out by Google. This way, a site is considerably less likely to fall foul to a misunderstanding and accusations of black hat traffic-hoarding.

Updates to Google’s Predator algorithm could also be considered a crucial part of this update. Google has been taking lengths to protect people from harassment online, and a big part of this is downgrading sites that seemingly exist purely to denigrate a reputation.

6. Page experience update (June)

Page experience update sounds like a grand event, comparable even to a core update. In reality, this was a pretty low-key affair. It was also a slow procession, kicking off in June and rumbling on until August. All the same, there will be a degree of ebb and flow as a result. Discuss the update with your UX designer and ensure it remains at the forefront of your thinking.

One of the biggest takeaways from this update is that AMP is no longer essential to rank as a top new story. That could make a sizeable difference to any reporting site. The usual caveats still apply, though – sticking to the established policies of Google News is non-negotiable. Although AMP is no longer critical, ensure your news articles remain mobile-friendly, hosted on a fast and secure server, and unfold devoid of interruptions such as intrusive advertising.

7. Core update (June and July)

Here’s the big kahuna that has every web admin across the globe on tenterhooks – Google’s major summer core update. In 2021, Google announced two updates over June and July, both of which would be connected.

As always, there were winners and losers from this update. In a recurring theme, YMYL sites appeared to lose a great deal of traffic throughout the update – especially in June, when the changes were most volatile. Thin content in any niche also seemed to be a particular focus of this update, with such sites pruned cautiously.

However, some sites that were previously heavily penalized may have experienced a little bounce back. It has been claimed that the biggest priorities of the June and July updates, other than thin copy, have been domain age and the use of backlinks.

Review the traffic of any old sites that you wrote off after the game-changing updates of 2019. These sites may have experienced a revival in page ranking and could be worth reinvestment. Just be mindful that Google may consider this an oversight and reverse the decision at any moment.

8. Link spam update (July)

Another spam-detecting algorithm rolled out in July, this time focusing on backlinks. What’s interesting here is that Google referred to this update as ‘nullifying’ spam links, not penalizing them.

Essentially, Google will just stop counting inappropriate links toward a page ranking and quality score. Naturally, though, it would feel like a punishment if a site relied upon these links previously – this is an important Google update for link-building professionals to pay attention to.

Keep an eye on the links on your site if you have seen a drop in traffic, ensuring that they meet Google’s link scheme standards. It could be all too easy to fall foul to this update based on outdated copy that has not been updated in some time and now links to an altered and irrelevant online location.

9. Page title rewrites (August)

Here’s an interesting update from August. Google started to adjust carefully selected page titles, leading to different ‘headlines’ in search results. This may have SEO consultants across the world wailing and gnashing their teeth, seeing meticulously curated messaging adjusted according to Google’s whims.

Rest assured, the page titles are not undertaking complete rewrites. We are talking about adjustments, not wholesale changes, to title tags. All the same, it could be enough to leave a webmaster frustrated with the outcome. Nobody wants to be accused of click-baiting, especially when the news industry has a questionable reputation with a cynical population segment.

There is little anybody can do to prevent this. To retain some measure of control, though, keep your H1 headings short and readable, and be mindful of your H2 headings. These may be used, in part or whole, to adjust the title of a search result.

10. Speculated core update (October)

We previously discussed how, back in February, MozCast acknowledged some strange patterns pertaining to featured snippets that Google never acknowledged. Something similar unfolded in October when various significant webmasters noted sizeable changes in traffic and performance. This led to claims that Google had engaged in another core update.

Much like February, these changes remain unconfirmed. However, as we’ll discuss in a moment, there was a reasonably seismic core update in November. Given that the previous update unfolded over two months, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Google adopted the same practice this time around.

11. Spam update (November)

Another spam update occurred in November 2021, once again targeting infractions that break Google’s general content guidelines. A website that does not contravene basic regulations or cut SEO corners should remain unaffected. Do keep an eye on your traffic and performance, though. If you notice any fluctuations, it could be time for a refresh of your content.

12. Confirmed core update (November)

Finally, we had another core algorithm update in November. At the time of writing, this was still a very recent development. As a result, the impact of the update will become more apparent over time. Some early responses and acknowledgments have been noted, though.

The most significant adjustment appears to be mobile searches, which were declared 23 percent more volatile than the previous update. Again, much like earlier in the year, featured snippets and ‘quick answers’ in the YMYL niche seem the most heavily impacted. Health and real estate, in particular, have seen a big change in performance.

Now, it’s worth noting here that Google felt compelled to address the timing of this update. Danny Sullivan took to Twitter and accepted that an update just before Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season is not ideal for ecommerce sites – especially those that already adjusted their copy based on previous updates.

Source: Twitter

It will be interesting to see if this will change how Google approaches algorithm updates in 2022 and beyond.

This concludes our trip through the Google algorithm updates of 2021. Just remember, more tweaks and changes are made each day. Most of these adjustments have little to no impact on the performance of your website. If you have spotted a change in fortunes, though, review when this occurred. You may find the answer lies above.

---

Joe Dawson is Director of strategic growth agency Creative.onl, based in the UK. He can be found on Twitter @jdwn.

Subscribe to the Search Engine Watch newsletter for insights on SEO, the search landscape, search marketing, digital marketing, leadership, podcasts, and more.

Join the conversation with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2021/12/02/2021-google-updates-round-up-everything-businesses-need-to-win-at-search/

SEO is alive and well, but it has definitely changed over the years. If your search strategy hasn’t evolved to account for algorithm updates, then you’re probably not seeing the returns you want. After all, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to SEO. The best strategies are continually reassessed and refined overtime to meet unique organizational objectives. Agility will serve you better than a comprehensive plan, especially right now amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

That’s not to say there aren’t guidelines for modern SEO. Your approach should include a steady stream of fresh, high-quality content (including well-written long-form content that adds real value to customers), a strong branding strategy, an exceptional user experience that highly meets the needs of visitors, and a strong backlink portfolio. Above all else, your strategy should prioritize your visitors’ experiences. 

Why, if you may ask?

Google ultimately ranks websites by how useful they are to a user’s search. The search giant doesn’t usually reveal its search statistics (even though many have attempted to estimate), but Google disclosed in 2012 that the year held 1.2 trillion searches across 146 languages. The majority of your website’s traffic most likely comes from Google, so you need to meet its ever-evolving set of ranking criteria. Sure, other search engines matter too, but considering the second-largest is the Google subsidiary YouTube, it’s safe to base your SEO strategies on Google’s standards. 

Take it slow

Your website won’t become an authoritative digital property overnight; it takes time and effort to master modern SEO and earn that clout. Traditional factors like quality backlinks, positive user engagement, optimized on-page elements, and stellar content still all contribute to your website’s credibility and rank over time, so don’t look for quick fixes. Stick the process and you will see results. 

Don’t worry if you haven’t been keeping up with recent algorithm changes. Even seasoned marketers can feel out of the SEO loop sometimes, especially when myths and speculations regarding algorithm updates spread online. These updates are real — Google announced a core algorithm update on May 4, after all — but you don’t need to worry. Just make sure you aren’t doing something that’s hurting rather than helping your brand’s website. Google will penalize you for spammy guest blogs, keyword-stuffed content, unnatural link building, and everything designed to unethically manipulate rankings. Simply put, Google wants you to earn your rank. 

With so much to focus on, how do you prioritize your efforts? Luckily, Google lays it all out for us: Focus on the user’s experience. Build trust and credibility with Google and the people visiting your site.

Becoming an online authority means prioritizing not only what’s important to you, but also what’s important to the people you want to reach. Here are three tactics you can use to support your modern SEO strategy this year: 

1. Create a thoughtful FAQ page

In a crisis, your strengths and weaknesses are spotlighted as a brand. People observe what you do and how you do it, and that will inevitably affect their opinions. This is especially true during the coronavirus pandemic. According to Edelman’s recent report, only 38% of respondents believe that businesses are doing well at putting people before profits. Your customers, clients, and consumers are humans, and they’ve craving comfort and connection right now. Prioritize the user experience with a frequently asked questions webpage. 

Everyone knows what an FAQ page is, but not everyone knows that it can be your best friend when it comes to optimizing your website for search. Having a thoughtful, helpful FAQ page shows that you care about your customers and search engines like businesses that care about their customers.

Plus, a robust FAQ page that’s marked up properly might receive a rich result on the search and action on the Google Assistant, dramatically expanding your reach. 

2. Organize content by topic

It is no surprise that internet usage is up. In fact, Comcast, the largest residential internet network in the U.S., has experienced a 285% increase in videoconferencing and VoIP use while people are quarantined at home. More people are streaming, searching, shopping, teaching, learning, meeting, and gaming online than ever before. This is your opportunity to meet the needs of users by organizing your content by topic.

When it comes to the amount of content displayed on a given webpage, don’t lose sleep over the word count. Adding value and being helpful doesn’t require a set number of words or characters. Just keep writing until you feel the content highly meets the needs of your users. You’ll end up with an article that Google will love.

Don’t pack tons of information across an array of topics onto a single page. Instead, focus on providing an exceptional user experience by ensuring individual pages are each dedicated to a unique topic. You’ll want to start this process by building out a content map to define the information architecture. As you gradually add pages and remove others, make sure your content map reflects these modifications. 

3. Get the tools you need to help with link building

When outreaching and creating content for link building and brand mentions, you’ll need to be helpful and human. It’s not just about hyperlinks — it’s about building relationships and providing value. During the coronavirus pandemic, let compassion guide this element of your strategy. Selectively reach out to domains with effective, modern content that audiences will find useful. There’s no better time to demonstrate your knowledge and support your audience. 

Link building is a critical part of the most effective SEO strategies. Just keep in mind that this is generally a long-term tactic, so you’ll have a hard time executing without some help. Luckily, there is plenty of software available to do the heavy lifting for you. The quickest and easiest place to start is Google’s own search console, which offers tools and reports to improve your website’s search presence. This service will show you which websites link to yours and confirm that Google can both find and crawl your site. 

As search engines learn more about users’ behaviors, they will continue to change. What was a widely accepted SEO best practice just a few years ago may now hurt more than help your goals.

The bottom line

You can’t predict what Google or any other search engine will do with its algorithm, but luckily, that’s not your job. Your job is to adapt, evolve, and do what’s best for your business and your customers.

Nick Chasinov is the founder and CEO of  Teknicks, a research-based internet marketing agency certified by Google in Analytics, Tag Manager, and a Google Premier AdWords partner.

Modern SEO strategy: Three tactics to support your efforts

There’s nothing that beats that organic #1 position in Google’s SERPs when it comes to brand visibility, increase in traffic, trust factor boost, reduction in cost per lead, and so on.

Everyone who’s anyone in online business knows this, which is why the struggle to grab that marketer’s Holy Grail can look like a cut-throat business to many SEO novices.

However, even SEO pros get confused when Google throws a wrench into the intricate workings of the rankings machine. Google’s core algorithm updates can mess up even the best SEO strategies, especially if you react in a panic to a drop in the rankings.

Today, I’ll share with you the three things I’ve learned from 2019 Google algorithm updates that will help you future-proof your SEO. First, however, take a look at the hints that Google rolled out alongside those updates to see if you’re building your SEO strategy on a healthy foundation.

2019 Google core algorithm updates and what they tell us

In 2018, Google reported 3234 algorithm updates.

That’s just a bit shy of 9 updates per day.

All of them change how the algorithm evaluates a website and its rankings (most just slightly, though).

However, three of them were so-called ‘core algorithm updates’ – meaning that their impact on the rankings was likely significant for most indexed websites. Google announced these (in March, June, and September of 2019), which is not something that they normally do. This should give you an idea of how important they were in the grand scheme of all things SEO-related.

Websites were affected differently, with some seeing increases in their rankings and traffic, and others plummeting to Google’s page #3. Many of the sites that experienced significant drops are in the Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) niche.

(Verywellhealth.com shows a significant drop after the March core update)

“The sensitive nature of the information on these types of websites can have a profound impact on peoples’ lives,” says Paul Teitelman of Paul Teitelman SEO Agency. “Google has long struggled with this and at least one of these core algorithm updates was designed to push trustworthy YMYL content to the top while sinking those websites that contain dubious and untrustworthy information.”

Google signaled a path forward with these updates. If you were not paying attention, here are the key takeaways:

• Google signals an intent to keep rewarding fresh, complete, and unique content. Focus on answering the searcher’s questions thoroughly and precisely.
• E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) guidelines are more important than ever. Things like backlinks from reputable websites, encryption, and who authors your posts can make or break your organic rankings.
• Google wants to see you covering a wide range of topics from your broader niche. Increase your relevance with content that establishes you as the go-to source in your niche.

SEO is far from an exact science.

If anything, it’s educated guesswork based on countless hours of testing, tweaking, and then testing again.

Still, there are things that you can do to future-proof your SEO and protect your websites from reacting too violently to core algorithm updates.

Based on Google’s recent hints, here are three things that you should focus on if you’re going after those page #1 rankings in the SERPs.

Three tips to future-proof your website’s SEO

Keep the focus on high-quality, actionable content

I know you’re annoyed with hearing it by now but high-quality content is a prerequisite to ranking at the top of the SERPs and staying there.

This means that you need to pin-point a specific question that the searcher wants answers to and then write a piece of content that provides a detailed clarification of the issue. Does it need to be 5,000 words long? That depends on the question but, in most cases, it doesn’t. What it needs to be is concise and thorough, and clarify any and all questions that the searcher might have while reading it.

Ideally, you will want your content to be 1500+ words. According to Backlinko’s Brian Dean and his research, Google tends to reward longer content.

Source: https://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking

My advice is to ask yourself the following questions when you’re writing:

• Am I providing the reader with a comprehensive answer to their question?
• Is my content more thorough than what’s already on the #1 page of the SERPs?
• Am I presenting the information in a trustworthy way (citing sources, quoting experts)?
• Is my content easy to understand, and free from factual, stylistic, and grammar errors?

If your answer to these questions is a yes, you’re already doing better than (probably) 95% of your competitors.

Improve the E-A-T score of your website

In SEO, E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

In other words – who is authoring blog posts and articles that are published on your website? Are they penned by an expert in the field or by a ghostwriter?

Why should people trust anything you (or your website) have to say? That’s the crux of E-A-T.

The concept appears in Google’s Quality Raters’ Guidelines (QRG), and SEO experts have debated for years whether or not it has any bearing on the actual organic rankings.

In 2018, Google cleared all doubts around it, announcing that QRG is, in fact, their blueprint for developing the search algorithm. “You can view the rater guidelines as to where we want the search algorithm to go,” Ben Gomes, Google’s vice president of search, assistant and news, said in a CNBC interview.

Here’s what the QRG has to say about E-A-T

Source: https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf

We have no idea if Google’s core algorithm can evaluate E-A-T parameters as well as an actual human rater. Still, if that’s Google’s end goal, it’s a good idea to pay attention to it now, regardless of whether it’s implemented or not. It most certainly will be at one point in the future.

To improve your E-A-T score, focus on the following

• Add an author byline to your posts – every post that you publish should be authored by someone. Use your real name (or your author’s real name), and start building a reputation as an expert in the field.
• Create your personal website – even if you’re trying to rank your business site, make sure to have a personal branding website of your own (and of any regularly contributing authors). Those websites should be maintained – you don’t need to SEO the heck out of them but you should publish niche-relevant content regularly.
• Get featured on Wikipedia and authority websites – QRG clearly instructs raters to check for author mentions on Wikipedia and other relevant sites. That stands to reason because experts in the field will often be quoted by other publications.

(Image source: https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf)

• Get mentions on forums – same goes for forum mentions. If people name-drop you on relevant forums, that means that they feel you have something important to say.
• Secure your site with HTTPS – security is an important E-A-T factor, especially if you’re selling something via your website. An unsecured website will have a low E-A-T score so make sure to invest in encryption to boost trustworthiness.

Build quality backlinks and establish a social presence

Quality backlinks are still a very important ranking factor.

However, according to a report released by Backlinko, it’s not about one or two backlinks, regardless of how strong they are.

What moves the ranking needle are sustainable, evergreen link-building strategies – backlinks from trusted, niche-related websites that are acquired by white hat SEO methods such as blogger outreach, guest posting, and collaborations with other influencers in the niche. The more of these types of backlinks you get, the better your organic rankings.

Additionally, getting backlinks from a greater number of referring domains ensures that your rankings are protected if, for example, a couple of those websites get shut down or penalized in the future. When you’re playing the link-building game, it pays to think ahead.

(Image Source: https://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors)

And, while they don’t carry the same weight as true backlinks, you’d be wrong to underestimate the value Google’s ranking algorithm places on social media signals.

A truly authoritative website – and all the authors that write for it – will have a strong social media presence. They will use it to amplify their message, build additional authority, and drive traffic to their website. Ahrefs’ Tim Soulo does this better than any other SEO expert that I know.

All of this will affect the aforementioned E-A-T parameters. If nothing, it will distribute your name far and wide, signaling to Google that you’re not a complete nobody that just happens to run a website or write a blog about a certain topic. The stronger your social media presence; the more followers, comments, and shares you end up earning – the better it is for your E-A-T.

Get people to trust you and the algorithm will follow

Pretty soon, the key to top rankings will be how believable and trustworthy you are. Google’s current insistence on E-A-T parameters clearly demonstrates that. Everything else will be just the icing on the cake after that – the fancy schema you’re using, the on-page SEO gimmicks, and all the other loopholes SEO experts are now using to rank their websites.

I’m interested to hear what you think about the direction that Google is taking with this year’s algorithm updates. Have any of your websites been affected? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss.

2019 Google core algorithm updates: Lessons and tips to future-proof your SEO

There’s been much talk recently about Google implementing a broad core algorithm update.

A couple of weeks ago, webmasters started to notice changes to their search rankings which many suspected were due to an update to Google’s core algorithm. Google subsequently confirmed this via a tweet to its Search Liaison account, manned by former Search Engine Land editor and Search Engine Watch founder Danny Sullivan.

Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year….

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) March 12, 2018

Google has suggested that this update has nothing to do with the quality of content, and instead focuses on improving the quality of the SERPs. At SMX West, Nathan Johns, a search quality analyst at Google, stated in an AMA session that the core update was designed to “reward under-rewarded sites” rather than award penalties.

At Pi Datametrics, our data on organic search rankings would tend to confirm this, as the only real losses we’ve seen – while dramatic – were generally short-lived, and occurred in the run-up to the update itself.

However, if Google wasn’t testing quality, what exactly were they testing?

I turned to the SERPs to have a look, going back in time to the period just before, during and after the recent update. I asked Google a relatively simple question, then analyzed the results to detect any rumblings or suspicious flux.

Testing the Google broad core algorithm update

Google Query: What’s the best toothpaste?

I’ve focused primarily on content that was visible on page 1 or 2 at the start of this year.

We can clearly see that all these pages dropped out of the top 100 then reappeared on the same day. This occurred multiple times over a five week period.

Seven websites all performed pretty well (visible on page 1 and 2), with a further two sites appearing mid-way through the shake-up, that had no previous visibility (Expertreviews [dark pink] and Clevelandclinic [dark blue]).

The obvious shake-up started on 24 January, roughly five weeks before the algorithm was said to have fully rolled out (Sunday 4th March).

What we have here is a pattern we’ve seen many times before, something that is only visible with access to daily data on the entire SERPs landscape. It looks like a period of testing pre-full rollout, which is only to be expected.

Here’s the same chart, zoomed in from 01 February:

In the chart above we can see the flux continuing from February 5 onwards. Every site involved experienced almost the exact same pattern of visibility loss.

Things finally settled down on March 8. At first glance, it looks like all sites regained their original positions.

However, on closer inspection we can see that all came out slightly worse off, by an average of just over two positions; the smallest drop being one position (which can be painful on page one) and the largest being six.

Knowing when to act and when to sit tight

If this chart says one thing, it is DON’T PANIC if you drop out of the top 100 for a term you care about!

Just keep monitoring the SERPs every day. If you’ve ruled out content cannibalization, it could well be a period of algorithm testing – as with the broad core update.

If you’ve put the searcher first and created the kind of rich content that will satisfy them, then the chances are you will recover from these testing times.

Or maybe, like the Expertreviews site above (following the injection of a long-form, socially popular and recently updated piece of content into their ecosystem), you could even move from nowhere to position three, nudging all others down a peg.

Content that matched user intent was safe

The only two websites entirely unaffected by all of this were Reviews.com and Which.co.uk, proving that the combination of first mover advantage, relevance and fantastic authority ensures high visibility and algorithmic stability:

So, the immediate questions are – who has benefited from this shake-up? What happened in the gaps between the spikes? Who’s lost out and why? Are we now seeing a SERP more aligned with the intent of the searcher?

Who benefited from the early shake-up?

It wasn’t Expertreviews or Clevelandclinic. They benefited later.

Let’s introduce some of the the momentary winners who gained visibility during the downtime of all either sites:

Wins for Business Insider, Colgate and Amazon

• Businessinsider.com benefited from the initial shake-up. It has some great content, but it’s not been updated since October 2017. It has been indexed all this time, but only really became visible when Google pushed the previously well positioned sites out. Result? It survived the shake-up and ended on page one.
• The same happened to the Colgate page. Note its /en-us/ TLD. Arguably, it shouldn’t be visible in the UK anyway. This page only provided a list of toothpaste types e.g. ‘Fluoride’ or ‘Tartar control’ etc. This didn’t answer my question or match my intent. Result? Ended up dropping back to page five after the shake-up.
• The Amazon page simply displays a list of its bestsellers in toothpaste. From a content perspective, it’s not that inspiring. Result? Ended up dropping back to page three.

So the question is – if I were searching for “What’s the best toothpaste?” which of these new pages would I prefer?

All pages are mobile friendly, but if I really wanted to know what the best toothpaste was, I’d definitely prefer to read the Businessinsider.com page – coincidentally the only page that moved up to page one following the shake-up and stayed there.

In other words, the only one to satisfy my intent was in fact the only page that remained visible post shake-up. This page, to me answers my question perfectly.

What do these insights tell us about the core update?

Based on our testing, we can deduce that this algorithm is concerned with optimizing search results to support user intent, rather than to audit quality.

Why?

1. Losses were not drastic, meaning we can rule out a penalty of any kind.
2. Of all winners, none appeared to rise as a result of content updates.
3. Some sites with strong, relevant content seemingly lost rankings in Google UK, as they were intended for the US market. This suggests that Google was auditing relevancy factors beyond just content (i.e. location / tld), to serve the best results and satisfy user intent.

In this respect, Google’s core update was concerned with the nature rather than the quality of content.

What better way to test the match of nature with intent than by shaking up the SERPs for a couple of weeks to determine user reaction?

Should you panic when your content visibility nosedives?

If your content visibility drops, it’s always necessary to carry out checks to ensure you have done everything within your power to mitigate the issue.

In the face of an algorithm update (like the recent broad core update), however, the best advice is to do nothing but monitor the SERPs closely.

If it is algorithmic testing, you most certainly won’t be the only one involved. Other sites will follow the exact same pattern down to the day. That’s a big clue that it’s algorithmic rather than isolated. Talking to others within the SEO and webmaster communities can help you to affirm that yours isn’t an isolated incident, and that you aren’t on the receiving end of a penalty from Google.

Google has confirmed that sites that experienced ranking drops as a result of the broad core update aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong. As I stated at the beginning of this article, the losses that we did observe were short-lived and not drastic.

If you want to make sure that your content is insulated against future updates of this kind, focus on creating content that puts the searcher first and will satisfy user intent. But above all: don’t panic.

A version of this article was originally published to the Pi Datametrics blog.

https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/03/27/googles-core-algorithm-update-who-benefited-who-lost-out-and-what-can-we-learn/