If you are in marketing, your business depends on online traffic. You are certainly familiar with SEO. In the same way, you are probably aware of the changes Google makes over time. With constant updates, core upgrades, and similar algorithm changes. SEO continues to evolve. But, this evolution brings something else as well. It changes the rules of the game. And sometimes, rolling out major changes like core algorithm updates can directly affect your rankings. This is something that professional citation companies, link-building, and SEO experts know best. Updates that could impact your SEO efforts. Can have an extensive influence on search in various industries. So it’s crucial to figure out how to stay on track. And be familiar with the latest SEO updates.
Introduction to the latest SEO updates and their impact on your SEO
The dramatic drop in traffic that comes from search engine changes is not a minor thing. Especially for people who implement various SEO strategies to promote their businesses. When the current strategy shows signs of weakness it’s time to quickly adapt. Even if Google is not revealing all the details with every update. There are a few things you can do to continue reaching your target audience. Here, we’ll try to explain how things work, and what you should continue to do to acquire the best results.
Google algorithms
Here is the summary of some of the main Google algorithms over the last few years:
- Hummingbird (2013) – Focusing on behavior for better results
- Pigeon (2014) – the aim is to offer better local search results and reward those with strong organic SEO
- Panda 4.2 (2015) – with a focus to punish for using spammy links
- RankBrain (2015) – for boosting Google’s special SERP
- Penguin 4.0 (2016) – focuses directly on the backlink
- Fred (2017) – focuses on the link quality of websites
- Mobile speed (2018) – speed update release
- BERT (2019) – It uses deep learning technology to better understand natural language. The main goal is to shift focus from overusing keywords to more natural language and phrases
- The May 2020 Core Update (2020) – introducing a common set of signals “Core Web Vitals” for accuracy
Impact on the industries
Not all industries are affected in the same way. We don’t have a detailed insight into all ranking factors and micro-mechanics of updates. But we definitely see the difference. Travel, Real Estate, many small businesses, and similar industries are affected the most. In a negative way. On the other hand, News, large businesses, Online platforms, and entertainment are experiencing positive results. And this includes results and rankings from both mobile and desktop searches. For those who see the drop. The bad news is that there is no direct recovery process. However, implementing the best practice, and providing strong, accurate, and authoritative content. Is the best long-term cure.
Where to focus?
With such a tremendous amount of structured data. It’s no wonder that SERPs are changing so much. To counter this, there are several areas you can focus on. You can improve rankings, minimize the consequences of updates, and achieve better long-term results if:
- Continue to provide high-quality content that is accurate, and comprehensive.
- Understanding and adjusting to SERP changes
- Understand how the latest SEO updates affect backlinks
- Implement a Mobile-First approach
- Focus on multiple channels
Don’t forget that Google is focusing on relevance rather than on optimization. They want to improve the overall user experience by forcing quality over quantity. After all, the content is there for end users, not for bots, crawlers, and algorithms.
High-quality content will always help you
Despite all the changes, one strategy remains relevant. Providing high-quality content was and will be, above any changes. No matter what algorithms arrive quality content will typically achieve higher rankings. It has to provide real value to users. And if you put an engaging combination of textual and visual content, even better. Google must separate what is truly relevant from what isn’t because there are millions of websites competing for the top place for a single search. Even in 2022, Google is still working to find answers to this issue. The search algorithm will downgrade pages with false headlines or unrelated content. Simply avoid trying to cheat in order to maintain the relevance of your content. Avoid overloading your website with unrelated data, pointless keywords, and clickbait titles. Furthermore, publish top-notch, targeted content. Instead thinking about what readers would actually enjoy reading.
Make the user experience great
As algorithms become more complex and advanced, you need to focus on better user experience. There is a great correlation between website functionality and SERP results. Always offer top-notch material. It is the first and most crucial habit you need to develop. With each Google upgrade, the importance of quality content continues to grow. Better content generates a better user experience
Optimize for voice search
Google voice searches are becoming more and more common. 20% of Google app searches at the moment are voice searches. Recent Google upgrades imply that voice search will become more important in the years to come. Google recently launched LaMDA as well (Language Model for Dialogue Applications). Through conversation, an AI setup presents search results. The user will ask a question. Then LaMDA will return with results. Several Google SEO upgrades on talking searches and content are recommended. If you haven’t already, make your website voice search-friendly to keep up with this growing trend. With Google Home, Google has made significant advancements in voice search. Getting on board with voice search today will make capitalization simpler
Visual content is on the rise and will impact your SEO
More than 80% of marketers prefer video content to represent different products. This is not a surprise since it’s, by far, the most engaging type of content. On its web search, Google gives videos the edge. You’ll gain an advantage if you make videos. You will nevertheless face competition from millions of other business entrepreneurs. Small advantages in SEO might make all the difference. According to the most recent Google improvements, marking up your video may improve your ranks. Google will keep suggesting videos. Having stated that, people will favor suggested visual content. Your video can be marked up to generate significant moments that can show up in Google search results. Your videos can be easily marked. Timestamps should be added. To help viewers browse through your videos, give each timestamp a title. This upgrade emphasizes the value of using video in your SEO approach even more.
Understand SERP changes
With all the changes in SERP, it can be confusing to find the right approach and improve ranking. The layout is changing and we see more and more video content, visual elements, and ads in the results. The answer box, carousels, and similar elements are slowly pushing common ranking results off the page. It’s becoming more complex to direct traffic to your website. Since there are many variables for ranking these days, you need to focus optimization on more than one field.
The latest SEO updates and backlinks that will impact your SEO
With all the changes going on, backlinks still remain one of the strongest ranking signals. However, it’s not enough to pile up countless numbers of backlinks and pray for good results. In essence, they have to be high-quality backlinks from multiple authority domains. Monitoring your backlink profile proves to be a necessary part of every SEO. You can find approximately as many blue words as black ones when you open any blog on the internet. Over the recent years, and not always for the best reasons. The average blog post’s hyperlink count has grown. Links need to guide users to relevant content. But they often cause distraction. Many websites spam with self-referential, unhelpful links in an effort to boost their ranks. Google is putting a stop to this behavior. They detailed their attempts to combat link spam.
Mobile-First approach after the latest SEO updates
Google will rank you on how good your mobile experience is. Your content will be pushed down if the experience is bad. The visual appeal of a mobile site is given priority by Google recently. The aesthetics of a desktop site have less impact on SEO results. In other words, a great desktop experience won’t compensate for a bad one on a phone. Mobile devices account for more than half of all traffic on the internet. Google won’t expose users to websites with mediocre mobile optimization. Mobile-friendly websites are only one aspect. When a website changes its layout to accommodate mobile search, mobile optimization is present. You need to change the website if it appears bad on a mobile phone.
Focusing on multiple channels
Google is crucial as a source of traffic and many businesses depend on it. However, it’s not the only one. With a focus on improving the quality of content. You should also pay attention to other sites. In fact, there are many that can help you reach your target audience. At the moment, these changes are making a big impact on SEO marketing strategies. But, the latest best SEO updates are nothing but a chance to improve your content. Of course, looking out for hidden elements and trends to follow can drive anyone mad. But, there is no room for panic. You can still achieve your goals.
Keywords are still important for your SEO
Studying keywords is important. You want to see if your keyword can produce results before spending time on them. In 2022, when competition is at an all-time high, this will be even more important. When choosing keywords we need to take search desire and competition into account. Generally speaking, we are looking for keywords with a somewhat high search demand and a moderately low level of competition. You can make a strategy for developing content based on your list of important keywords to target. Additionally, you should naturally organize your content into groups of similar pages. Each of these should have a primary subject page and supplementary sub-topic pages.
Local searches are on the rise and will impact your SEO
If possible, people will frequently prefer to shop locally. Even 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime can’t compete with a fast trip to a neighboring retailer. Google is favoring search results that are relevant to the searcher’s location as an outcome. Therefore, having a citation cleanup will be very beneficial for you. You will avoid spam among other things. This factor can only be optimized so much. You cannot be placed elsewhere if you are located somewhere. Making sure Google is aware of your location is the greatest thing you can do to improve your local rankings. To accomplish this, make sure your website includes your address and up-to-date contact information.
Search intent and user behavior that will impact your SEO
The algorithms used by Google and other search engines have been changed to put more focus on user activity and search purposes. In other words, data analytics may only detect changes in user trends and less so in the influence of outside variables. Real-time searches may also provide insight into consumer trends and the products that companies are able to provide to meet consumer demand.
What to expect from that?
A more user-focused approach to content is what experts anticipate. This indicates that even though keywords may not be as important as they once were. They can still have an impact on content optimization. However, we think firms may still have a shot in the competitive industry with the correct keyword and user behavior study combination. You can start building citations for a better outcome. If it’s done correctly you will have huge benefits from it.
In conclusion, how much will this impact your SEO?
Digital marketing will always change and you need to be prepared for it because it will impact Your SEO. Every year Google will try to put new rules on the table and publish the latest SEO updates. You will only need to figure out what they are and follow them. This will get you great results and more customers. You need to know that Google does this to make the user experience better for people. So, this can only be a win situation on both sides. Google will have better content and you will be able to be on the top if you follow the rules.
