What Is The Google Core Algorithm Update?
You may be aware that, on 3 December 2020, Google released an update to its core algorithm. It is thought that this was a big, global broad core update, more extensive even than the previous core update rolled out earlier this year in May.
This timeframe is unusual as core updates are usually rolled out approximately every 3 months, 2020 has been an unusual year though!
What Have Been The Effects Of The Google Algorithm Update So Far?
Data shows that effects of the update were largely felt the following day on 4 December though it is possible that it could take around 2 weeks for the full effect of the update to be felt. Some of the sectors most affected were education, recruitment, health, real estate, travel, finance, law and government, though naturally the effects are varied, and most sites will not see any real change in their traffic. You can read more about how the update has affected different sectors here.
These core updates can be difficult to manage, in that sites that are negatively impacted by an update often have nothing to ‘fix’. It is usually the case that it is simply how the system assesses content overall that can affect the ranking of a page after an update. Google offered an analogy to explain it:
“One way to think of how a core update operates is to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later in 2019, you refresh the list. It’s going to naturally change. Some new and wonderful movies that never existed before will now be candidates for inclusion. You might also reassess some films and realize they deserved a higher place on the list than they had before. The list will change, and films previously higher on the list that move down aren’t bad. There are simply more deserving films that are coming before them”. Google
We believe that sites that are managed with best practice SEO in mind will be best placed to ride out algorithmic changes like this relatively unscathed. However, the effects are unpredictable and so we have to be prepared to manage the impact on any site. With that in mind our focus is, as it has always been, to make sure all our clients’ sites are as clean as possible from a technical SEO point of view, have great information architecture and user experience and have useful, expert content that is regularly updated and properly targeted.
Despite that, we are aware that any site could potentially be affected and so have been monitoring our clients’ accounts carefully since the roll out took place. We are ready to act if any decline is discerned but, so far, we haven’t seen any negative impact across the accounts we are involved with.
What To Do If Your Website Has Been Affected By The Google Algorithm Update
The algorithm update is broad-based and covers a variety of elements, so it is not easy to identify exactly what needs to be done. That said, as we mentioned above, there are some best-practice methodologies that we recommend to build and protect a site. While they cannot protect your site from the effects of an algorithm change, they can mitigate the effect and make it easier to regain lost ground if you are affected.
We’re here to help, it may be a case of developing a plan to regain lost ground or perhaps, a shift in focus to make gains elsewhere. If you think that your site has been affected negatively by the December update from Google then why not get in touch, we’d be delighted to talk with you to see if there are any ways we can help you come back stronger!
