You know how search engines like Google are always changing things to try and make searching better for us regular folks?
Well, for website owners, major algorithm updates can seriously affect traffic and rankings.
Therefore, keeping up with the latest developments and adjusting your strategies is key to SEO success.
In this article, I’ll share some tips on how to handle things when your search engine gets a major facelift.
Understand why big changes happen
Whenever Google or Bing releases a major algorithm update, it’s usually to make search results higher quality and more relevant to users.
For example, Google’s Panda update in 2011 clamped down on low-value content that didn’t really teach readers anything new. And Penguin’s 2012 update penalized shady link schemes and spammy backlinks.
Getting the reasoning behind big updates gives you the right context to adapt properly. Check out industry blogs and forums to stay on top of new releases and how they might affect your site’s rankings.
Do not attempt to “hack” or cheat the system. Just focus on useful, high-quality content that aligns with search engine goals as they evolve over time. This should help you when your search engine is replaced.
Review your own website regularly
It’s a smart idea to regularly audit your site for any issues that could be penalized by new algorithms. Some key areas to inspect:
Page Speed: With so much mobile usage now, site speed really matters. Test your pages regularly and optimize images, code, etc. to improve loading times.
Mobile Friendly: Make sure your site is fully optimized for mobile with a responsive design. Google loves mobile friendly pages.
Thin content: Avoid generic pages with little useful information or value for readers. Spice things up with in-depth articles, videos, infographics, etc.
Broken links: Crawl your site to identify and fix any broken internal or external links.
Outline marking: Proper schema tagging to structure your content improves SEO. Confirm that it has been successfully implemented.
Regular website reviews allow you to detect and problem solving before completely closing your ranking.
Use multiple link building strategies
Google’s updates aim to penalize fake link networks and over-optimization. Focus on getting quality and relevant backlinks from multiple sources:
Guest Posts: Reach out to reputable sites in your industry that accept contributor posts.
Interviews: Become a source of influential sites by giving interviews and quotes.
Community involvement: Provide value by commenting on forums, Facebook groups, Reddit, etc. and link to your content when relevant.
Blogger Spread: Reach out to bloggers who might be interested in your content and submit guest posts.
Question and Answer Sites: Share your experience on Quora, Yahoo Answers, etc. and link to your content when possible.
The key is to look like a true expert, not a spambot. Aim for quality over quantity with your backlinks.
Monitor your site’s performance
You can use helpful tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and rank trackers to see how your website is performing during major algorithm changes.
Traffic Changes: If your organic search traffic suddenly increases or decreases, your rankings are likely to be affected. SERP Analysis: See where your pages rank for key terms compared to competitors. Lose positions? Ranking Volatility: Significant ups and downs suggest problems with pages bouncing around in the rankings. Crawl errors: Fix any crawl errors such as 404 in Search Console to ensure proper indexing.
Keeping an eye on things allows you to respond quickly if issues arise to get your SEO back on track.
Make changes little by little and see what happens
When addressing issues found in your website audits or performance monitoring, it’s best to make changes slowly one step at a time rather than all at once.
For example, if you discover some shady backlinks pointing to your site, don’t disavow them all right away. Start with just a small test batch to see how it affects your ranking first.
The bottom line
Adaptability is key to surviving major search engine transformations.
By understanding why algorithm changes happen, regularly reviewing your site, monitoring the impacts, and gradually adjusting your approach, you can stay ahead of the curve.
Even if your ranking bounces temporarily, wait. Continue to optimize pages to align with evolving best practices.
Of course, big upgrades can feel like a roller coaster ride. But with rigor, vigilance, and a commitment to giving searchers amazing results, you can tame this beast of an algorithm and come out on top!
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