When a new Google algorithm update drops, you can be sure of one thing: panic in the marketing world.

Will your engagement dip? Will you lose your search ranking spots? What should you be changing to keep up with what Google wants? Why does Google release *so* many new algorithm updates?!

If a site already has a weak SEO foundation, the updates are going to harm them more than others. Those with a strong base and strategy will be able to get to work quickly, adhering to the updates as needed. Without that, businesses are a deer caught in the headlines in the face of all these changes.

How often does Google change its algorithm?

Experts believe that Google changes its algorithm about 500 to 600 times a year. That’s almost twice a day! Of course, it’d be impossible to keep up with these changes, and most of the time, you don’t need to. They won’t affect your rankings and engagement drastically, if at all. When a big update comes around that really shakes things up, you should know about it. The bigger Algorithm Updates Affect keyword searches and rankings significantly. When developing an SEO strategy, you want to refine a plan to please Google and that means keeping on top of these updates.

You might recognise these algorithm updates, which have caused tidal waves over the last few years and fundamentally changed how SEO is done:

• Panda 4.0
• BERT
• MUM
• Pigeon Update
• Mobile-First Indexing
• Pirate 
• Pirate 2.0

(If you don’t recognise these updates, don’t worry! That’s what digital marketing agencies are for…)

These had a significant impact on websites that had slow page speed, low quality content, over-use of links, and didn’t have a mobile version. Businesses with a stronger focus on SEO were less affected while those that hadn’t focused much on SEO suffered the most. Performance and ranking certainly declined, but it kicked them into gear!

Why does Google update its algorithm so much?

Google wants to provide its users with the best and most targeted experience possible. That requires it to constantly research how people behave on the site and what they want to find when they land on it. It’s constantly looking for ways to improve its performance. Google is consistent in its message about the importance of prioritising user experience, so it would be remiss to not practice what they preach! Keeping on top of these updates might be a lot to take on when you have a marketing team already stretched thin, and this might be where you want to bring in a digital marketing agency to help. Working with experts ensures that you’re reaching high on the search engine rankings, and your website is getting engagement. 

How does it constantly evolve? The search engine becomes smarter each day, determining what is valuable and informative and what isn’t. But you might think that an internal system or machine that decides on an algorithm might be lacking a human touch. After all, it’s humans that are going to be visiting the sites. That’s why Google actually uses human Search Quality Raters to evaluate websites as well. The Search Quality Raters are given a website and they determine how good it is, how useful it is, if it’s spam, and where it sits on the search engine results.

Here’s what to do after a Google algorithm update:

1. Work out if the update has affected your rankings

There are loads of tools out there that measure your website’s SEO performance. However, if you’re short on time or don’t have the resources, getting some experts in to help will be invaluable. The cost of poor SEO is alarming and it can be quite technical and time consuming to get right. 

2. Read up on what digital marketing specialists are saying about it

Google’s sneaky – they never share much information about what’s changed with the algorithm. That leaves it down to digital marketing specialists to decipher the updates, and inform the masses. 

3. Identify how your ranking could be affected

It can be tricky to isolate the exact factors that affect your ranking. Google has around 200 factors that determine where a site is in the search rankings, so if your ranking has declined, several of those factors could have caused it. Digital marketing specialists tend to split the factors into categories:

• Technical
• Authority 
• Content
• User experience
• Industry-specific

We recommend working out which category performed the weakest due to the update. Then, you can identify a pattern and use that to shape a thorough SEO strategy.

Need help with keeping on top of Google algorithm updates?

We know it’s not exactly what you want to be doing when you’ve got a business to run, and your marketing department is already spinning plates. Let us take it off your hands. We take the pressure off our clients, keeping up to date with SEO and digital marketing best practices. You’ll stay ahead of the game and ahead of your competition. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you with your SEO needs, get in touch. 

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