Imagine your website often ranks on the first few spots on the search engine result page (SERP) but all of a sudden, you notice a decrease in your ranking status.
You might be wondering:
“What exactly is going on?”
Although many things could have gone wrong, one major factor that causes a noticeable change to SEO is algorithm updates. Every year, Google makes thousands of algorithm updates to its search algorithms to provide relevant answers to their users. Depending on what this algorithm updates focus on, they could help make or mar a website.
But here is the kicker:
You can use this factor to your advantage and positively affect your SEO. In this article, you will learn about algorithm updates and their impact on SEO content writing strategies.
What are Algorithm Updates?
An algorithm update is a set of processes or instructions that a computer follows to operate, solve a problem, or produce the desired result. In this case, Google’s algorithms index and collect data to deliver the best answer to users’ search queries. It is a set of rules that define what makes a website rank on the search engine result page (SERP).
Google’s algorithm update is a critical factor to search engine optimization (SEO). These updates affect how websites are indexed to improve the relevance and accuracy of search results. This brings about a change in website rankings and also ensures that websites don’t manipulate the system to gain an unfair advantage.
Types of Algorithm Updates
Algorithm updates can be categorized into two groups which include:
- Core Updates
The core updates are major changes to Google’s algorithm as they affect a significant portion of the search query. They make a significant impact on website rankings and can even cause some of these websites to experience an increase or decrease in traffic.
- Minor Updates
As its name implies, the minor updates affect a small portion of the search queries. Although they affect some websites, they may not have a significant impact on the ranking status.
How do Algorithm Updates Work?
Search engines such as Google utilize algorithms to determine the websites that should be displayed on the search engine result page. These algorithms consider hundreds of factors when ranking these websites. Some of these factors include content quality, backlinks, keywords, user behavior, and more.
When Google launches an algorithm update, the search engine evaluates websites and determines how they should be ranked as well. For instance, an algorithm update may place more emphasis on content quality or backlinks. Due to this, some websites can witness a decrease in their ranking status if they fail to meet the criteria.
Common Algorithm Updates and Their Impact on SEO Content Writing
Now that you know how the algorithm works, let’s look at some common algorithm updates that have taken place in the past.
Panda Update
Launched in February 2011, this Google Panda algorithm update initiated big improvements to the ranking system. The goal was simple: to provide users with the most relevant answers to their queries within the shortest possible time.
It was designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites — sites that add low values to users, plagiarized content from other websites, or websites that are not useful. On the contrary, they will provide better rankings for high-quality sites — sites that contain original content and information. Consequently, this update significantly impacted rankings for 11.8% of its search queries.
Penguin Update
Announced in April 2012, the Penguin Update was one of the most popular algorithmic changes in history. It targeted websites that engaged in black hat web spam — sites that used various black hat SEO techniques in a bid to gain more traffic or have higher rankings.
They also made it a bit difficult for websites to rank higher through techniques such as:
- Keyword stuffing: the unnatural forcing of keywords into a piece of content
- Link schemes: links placed to influence SEO purposes.
By 2016, Google introduced Penguin as part of its core algorithm.
Hummingbird
Launched in September 2013, Hummingbird was a rewritten version of Google’s core algorithm. This algorithmic update enabled Google to move away from matching the words in the search query to words on a webpage. In other words, it enabled Google to better interpret search queries and provide relevant answers that match the searcher’s intent (as opposed to the individual terms in the query).
Although keywords are important, the Hummingbird algorithm makes it possible to rank a webpage for a search query even when it doesn’t contain the exact words that the searcher inputted. This is made possible thanks to natural language processing that utilizes latent semantic indexing, synonyms, and co-occurring terms.
According to a Google developer, Matt Cutt, this algorithmic update affected 90% of the queries. Even though it didn’t cause noticeable changes like Panda or Penguin, it helped to make results more relevant to users.
Mobilegeddon
Launched in February 2015, the mobile-friendly updates, also known as Mobilegeddon, prioritized mobile-friendly websites in the search results. They boosted the ranking status of mobile-friendly pages over their counterparts who didn’t meet such requirements.
RankBrain Update
The RankBrain Update was the first Google AI system and deep learning model. The machine learning algorithm helped Google to better understand search queries by identifying how words relate to concepts. Consequently, this helped them to deliver better search results.
The Speed Update
In January 2017, Google announced that the Speed Update would become a ranking factor. Before that, page speed only affected desktop results. But with this update, mobile searches were relatively affected.
Core Updates
The core updates were launched in 2017 and remain present to date. Unlike other updates, this update is less transparent about what they are and which areas they are improving. Sometimes, it is a bit difficult to figure out what has exactly changed as there are usually no conclusive observations.
How Algorithm Updates Affect SEO
Algorithm updates often have a significant impact on SEO. Here are some ways these updates affect SEO:
Changes in ranking factors
Algorithm updates change the way search engines evaluate various websites. They determine which website should be displayed and how it ranks them.
For instance, if an algorithm update emphasizes quality backlinks or the relevance of content, some websites that do not meet this criterion may witness a decrease in their ranking status on the SERP.
Changes in user behavior
Algorithm updates also affect how users interact with websites. For instance, if an algorithm update changes how it displays the search results, users may click on different results as against the previous ones. Consequently, this can drive traffic to the new site, thereby changing the search engine rankings.
Changes in a competitive landscape
Algorithm updates can also change how competition takes place on the SERP. If a website’s competitors improve their SEO content, it can be more challenging to improve the ranking status on the SERP.
SEO Writing Strategies to Meet Algorithmic Requirements
When you are engaging in SEO, you have to implement some strategies that meet algorithmic requirements to improve your ranking status. Some of these strategies include:
Write to meet the search intent
Search intent refers to the user’s purpose when they search to get an answer. For instance, a person who inputs “top restaurants in California” wants to discover various restaurants he can choose from in California. Google understands this and reveals different articles or other helpful information to the users about the top restaurants.
Before they can achieve this, Google devotes lots of attention to building algorithms that produce the best search results. They also encourage SEO writers or content creators to publish content that answers the user’s question accurately.
There are four types of search intent:
- Informational search intent: This suggests that users want to learn about a particular topic. Keywords such as “what,” “how,” “guide,” “tutorial,” and so on.
- Navigational search intent: This suggests that the user is using keywords to search for a specific website. For example, if someone inputs “HBO” into the search query, it suggests that they are likely searching for the website to find a video to watch.
- Commercial search intent: Users utilize commercial keywords when they are considering purchasing a product or service. Common keywords include “best,” “top,” “cheapest,” “comparison,” or “review.”
- Transactional search intent: This describes the keywords users utilize when they are ready to convert. Such keywords include “buy,” “coupon,” “price,” “discount,” “deals,” and so on.
Don’t Ignore Keyword research
As an SEO writer, you must optimize your content for the specific keywords that you want it to rank for. Search engines utilize keywords to understand the content and also display the relevant ones for the search query. Thanks to this, your website can witness an increase in organic traffic and even grow your audience.
However, you can’t just use any keyword. For instance, you can’t use the keyword “top restaurant” when you only sell snacks. Instead, you should perform keyword research and know how to pick the best keyword for your audience. This includes identifying the primary keyword and the long-tail keywords.
Most times, the primary keywords for a topic often have too much competition for the top few spots of the SERP. Due to this, you can go for keywords that have a lower search volume. A good SEO content writer needs to assess the amount of competition for each keyword and select the best one.
Link building
Links are strategically placed within your content to enable the search engine to better understand it. These links can either be internal or external. Internal links connect a page on your website to another page within that website.
When you interlink your content, it helps the search engine understand your site’s structure. It also directs users to other relevant pages on your website, thereby leading to conversions.
On the other hand, external links connect your website to another website. These links can show where you cite your information. However, you should consider the quality of the website before linking to them. Links from spammy websites or low-quality sites could adversely affect your ranking status. But if you link to good sites, especially ones with over 50+ DA, you show search engines that you get your information from credible sites.
Improve the Structure of your Content for Readability
Imagine if you open a page from the SERP and you notice it’s a huge chunk of text. Will you continue reading such? You’d probably leave the page and go to another with a better structure.
Good structures are crucial when developing high-quality SEO content. They help the audience read what you have for them. Here are a few ways to improve the structure of your content for readability:
- Add a table of content to enable users quickly glance through and discovered their desired section
- Divide long sentences into shorter ones
- Answer user questions with relevant header
- Use bulleted lists
How to Respond to Algorithmic Updates
You may be wondering:
What do I do after an algorithm update has taken place?” Well, you are not alone. Since the changes caused by the update may be inevitable, the best part is you can execute some strategies to respond to the algorithmic updates. Some of these strategies include:
Research about the algorithm update
Once you are aware that an algorithm update has taken place, you should do some research to discover what the update is and learn about its characteristics. If it is a Google update, you will get first-hand information on the Google Search Ranking Update Page.
While you should note that Google doesn’t share exclusive details about its update, it still communicates what its core ranking factors focus on and offers general guidance in its Search Central blog.
Also, you should check different online communities that discuss algorithmic updates. You can join an SEO community that has lots of industry experts and share their insights on how the updates impact their websites.
It is essential to research because it unveils whether other SEO experts are having similar patterns to yours. If yes, you can then conclude that the patterns are a result of the updates which require your prompt attention.
Check whether the update impacts your rankings
Once the update has taken place, you can use different tools to measure the impact of algorithm updates on your SEO performance. A common tool you can use at first is the Google Search Console account.
Then, you can use other tools such as Ahrefs, SearchAtlas, or Conductor to track the keyword rankings. Most times, algorithmic updates are rolled out over a few weeks. These rollouts can see a temporary drop in keyword rankings and not permanent drops in site visibility.
Determine the ranking factors that were impacted
Another crucial way to determine algorithmic updates is through the factors. Let’s face it! Google has over 200 ranking factors that it uses for providing answers to searcher’s queries. Thankfully, these ranking factors can be grouped into these key areas: content, technicals, authority, page experience, and industry-specific factors.
Most algorithm updates focus on helping Google’s crawlers to identify the quality of web pages under these five key categories. For instance, in the Core Update, Google expresses that its primary factor deals with improving the quality and relevance of search results for users, and this largely falls under content.
Hence, if your website’s ranking dropped as a result of this update, you have an insight into what to focus on now.
Improve the content quality on all web pages
Each web page will take a different hit due to the updates. While some can be far more serious, others may only require minor changes.
What matters is to identify the ranking factor the algorithm focuses on. This helps you to determine whether you will carry out corrections “page-by-page” or “site-wide” approach. If the algorithm update focuses on authority, you can use link-building to stand back on your feet.
However, if it focuses on the content, you may need to optimize the on-page elements for each webpage on your website. Ensure that you prioritize the page with high conversion potential, high search volumes, or rank for essential keywords in your industry.
Afterwards, you can focus on the elements that signal quality to Google crawlers. Some common elements you can look out for include:
- Long-form or comprehensive web copy
- Relevant images, videos, or other graphics
- Optimized meta tags such as headings, meta descriptions, page titles, or schema.org markup
- Relevant internal and external links
- And other on-page SEO best practices.
Conclusion
Every algorithm update always has an impact on SEO content. If you fail to publish content that is relevant to your audience and the search engine, that could affect the ranking status on the SERP. However, you can have this update work to your advantage and positively impact your website.
When you implement various SEO strategies and meet the user search intent, the algorithm update will not only enable your website to rank in the first few spots of the SERP but also drive organic traffic to your website.
