Discover SEO tips and tricks for navigating Google’s algorithm updates and learn how to adapt your strategy to improve your rankings.
Ieva Treiliha
In early August 2019, Google published a guide with valuable advice for SEO specialists on how to continuously maintain strong positions in Google’s search results through their algorithm updates.
Google updates its algorithm quite frequently. In fact, over the past year alone, there have been as many as 3,200 updates. This is such a significant number that it is, of course, impossible to track or account for them all. However, there are some important updates you should pay close attention to in your SEO work.
That’s why I’ve created this guide, where I share some tips & tricks on how to interpret Google’s recommendations for SEO professionals and how to maintain your strong positions despite algorithm changes.
You can read Google’s own post on the topic here.
Google is constantly working to improve its product so that end users get the best and most relevant results when they search. This is why Google regularly evaluates how their systems retrieve, review and process information.
SEO professionals often experience fluctuations in rankings and changes in traffic when Google updates its algorithm, but this does not necessarily mean you have violated Google’s guidelines. More often than not, these core updates reward businesses that comply with Google’s rules, and their keyword rankings and organic traffic will stabilise again after a few days.
Google wants to deliver the best and most relevant results to its users, so you should also consider whether you are providing your visitors with the best and most relevant content.
The old tactic of repeating your keywords multiple times throughout the text no longer works. Today, user experience and on-site user behaviour play a major role in your rankings. This is exactly why it’s important to think about your visitors and strive to give them the best possible experience on your website.
Google is reluctant to reveal all the ranking factors that are crucial for top positions in their search results. However, in their article, Google does share some important questions you should ask yourself about your content. In the following sections, you can see these questions, my interpretation of them, and how you can use them in practice to improve your content based on Google’s advice:
Although Google does not necessarily penalise duplicate content, it is always looking for new and updated material. With over a billion websites and blogs online, it is vital that you continually strive to improve and update your content.
As mentioned, Google is interested in giving users the most precise answer to their query. Their goal is to provide a complete response, so users do not need to look for information elsewhere. Pages that are thorough and address every aspect of the search intent therefore have a significantly better chance of ranking highly. In other words, you should carefully consider all aspects of the user’s intent when creating content for your website. If the content on your website is “thin”, Google may judge that it is unlikely to be satisfactory for the searcher, which can result in lower rankings.
Be sure to deliver better and more insightful content than your competitors. Avoid simply repeating the same information, and instead use your expertise to provide further analysis or draw your own conclusions based on additional data. Find ways to make your content more valuable to the reader than what your competitors provide.
Simply copying other people’s content is never a good idea. If you base your content on someone else’s work, remember to link to the original article or report and provide your own conclusions and commentary. Make your content unique, even when using external sources.
None of us likes clickbait! That’s why it is critical that your headlines and title tags match the content of the landing page. The headline and title tag should summarise the content and spark users’ interest. According to Copyblogger.com, 8 out of 10 people read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 actually click through to read the rest. This makes it extremely important to capture your readers’ attention right from the start.
As mentioned, no one likes clickbait. Moreover, Google can often detect clickbait in your headlines or titles, as articles with clickbait headlines typically have a high bounce rate. Google can see if users quickly return to the search results after landing on your site, and your page can be deprioritised if the bounce rate is too high.
Focus on your readers and potential customers – what is their search intent? What information do they need before they are ready to buy? What should they know about your brand or products? Try to create content that aims to answer your potential customers’ questions and provide them with something valuable.
Sometimes we are so busy producing content that we forget to consider the value it will provide both to the reader and ourselves. The next time you write a new blog post or service page for your website, be a little critical and consider whether the content you’re creating would be worthy of being published in a major, physical publication.
The content on your website and its quality is one of the most important factors Google considers. Google uses semantic algorithms that can effectively simulate how a user would read your content. These algorithms, combined with the data Google collects on real user behaviour, help them determine whether you can be considered a credible expert in your field.
This is why it is crucial to create content that demonstrates your expertise in your industry. Avoid thin content and focus on evergreen material relevant to your potential customers.
Below you can read what Google says about expertise, and how I think it should be interpreted:
The best way to convey trustworthiness is by being honest with your visitors and potential customers. Show your sources with links and references. Tell people who you are – you can easily do this by including a photo and a short bio about yourself on your website (the same goes for your team). By showing you have nothing to hide, you will appear as a credible source.
Look at your own website and those of your competitors. Compare the amount of content you have with your competitors, the quality of the content, and any response it has received on social media.
If you want to be seen as an industry expert, “fake it till you make it” does not apply. For example, if you were to write a blog post about dietary supplements, your readers would quickly realise if you did not have a good grasp of nutrition. It is therefore essential to have strong knowledge of a topic to be regarded as an expert in your field.
Always double-check your facts and sources before using the information in your content! There is an enormous amount of information online, so it is more important than ever to verify your sources. You could be penalised by Google if it turns out you are using false information on your website.
Imagine a situation where a potential customer searches and lands on your website. Can this person find a trustworthy and comprehensive answer to their query on your site? If potential customers who land on your website leave and continue researching elsewhere, it means they do not yet trust you. It is important not only to explain the topic well, but also to convince the user that you are a trustworthy source.
The way you present your content to users is also a ranking factor. These aspects are especially important for presenting your content to both Google and your readers:
It is always a good idea to have your content proofread before publishing to ensure it is free from grammatical and spelling mistakes. The content should be easy to read, not just in terms of the message, but also in how it appears on your website. Therefore, consider the design and layout as well as the fonts and colours you choose.
Read also: Poor grammar can cost you customers
Be critical of your content before publishing it. Is the quality as high as it could be? Do you give readers a complete experience with tailored graphics, videos or other visuals? Today, well-written content alone is not always enough. Often, a little extra is needed to stand out from the crowd.
Focus on creating a great user experience for your readers. If you link out to lots of other sites to answer a query, you are not providing the best experience or answering users’ search intent. Google wants individual pages in the search results to fully answer users’ questions, so for good rankings, it is crucial that your content can completely respond to relevant search queries.
It is important that your website is fast. Things like banner ads can slow the page down. At the same time, too many adverts can distract and annoy users, which may result in them leaving your site and being reluctant to return in future. Therefore, always consider the user experience on your website, both overall and on individual landing pages.
Read also: How to make your website fast
More than half of us, about 60%, now search from our mobile devices. That’s why it is more important than ever that your potential customers can easily use your website, read and view your content from their mobile phones or tablets.
Read also: Why responsive design is more important than ever
While it is an advantage to have a large amount of unique content on your website, it is also important to know what your competitors and other experts in your field are doing. It will be harder to rank for a keyword if you only have niche content on your site about rare issues but forget the basics in your area of expertise.
If you want to rank for specific keywords, it is a good idea to see what kind of content those at the top of Google’s first page are publishing. Once you have a good idea of how your competitors have tackled the topic, make sure to create better and more comprehensive content than they have. If your content is not of superior quality compared to your competitors, why should Google rank you higher in the search results?
Is the content written with your target audience’s interests in mind, or does it exist just because the author is trying to find something that might rank in search results?
It has been said countless times by SEO experts – always write for people, not search engines. Google aims to satisfy people and answer their queries, so it is crucial that you focus on the end user when developing content for your website.
Google has many quality guidelines. For now, Google does not understand content in the same way humans do. However, Google does follow a wide range of signals in the form of user behaviour, which helps them understand how people assess relevance and quality.
When working with SEO and content marketing, it is worth remembering that Google wants to deliver the best and most relevant search results to consumers. That is precisely why you should create content for people, not search engines. Consider your target audience, their frustrations, and how they search. Ultimately, you will achieve the best results by putting yourself in the consumer’s place.
Whenever you perform a Google search yourself, you are signalling to Google through your behaviour whether you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the results. Do you stay on the page? How long do you remain on the page? Do you click through to other landing pages on the same site? Do you click the “back” button?
These are the kinds of signals Google measures and uses to rank websites. To make sure Google receives the right signals from user behaviour, you need to ensure you satisfy your visitors and provide them with a thorough answer to their query. Always think of the user first when creating content – this will be your best long-term SEO investment – even through all of Google’s algorithm updates.
Read more about content marketing here:
2019 guide: Make the most of content marketing with SEO
Boost your SEO with user-generated content
…or about technical SEO here:
What is Google Tag Manager – and why should you use it?
What does CTR optimisation mean for your SEO performance?
3 SEO mistakes you can easily spot with Screaming Frog
Remember, we are always ready to help you with digital marketing, whether it’s search engine optimisation, Google Ads, Facebook or something else entirely. Contact us here!
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