Keep up with Google Algorithm Changes

One of the more challenging aspects of working in SEO are the almost constant algorithm changes that Google makes.  In fact, it can be overwhelming and frustrating just trying to keep up with all of them; even for those of us who do this every day.  Many of the changes Google makes are small changes that do not significantly impact your site and when there is a major change, Google does a good job of announcing it and providing plenty of lead time to make the needed adjustments. The two biggest and most recent changes that Google released were Panda and Penguin, both of which came out in 2016.  These two algorithm changes were significant and you likely saw your rankings fall if you didn’t make the necessary changes to your site in time.

Here at lodestar marketing group, we are often asked by clients “Why does Google make so many changes and so often?” That’s a great question and the answer is quite simple: to keep up with demand.

”Google’s mission with search is pretty straightforward: to give users the most valuable solution to their query. It sounds simple, but with almost five billion web pages on the web, Google search is taking on a massive undertaking. The constant changes in search algorithm are attempting to improve results for 40,000 searches every second and 1.2 trillion every year.” Joe Howard, Search Engine Journal. 

We know all of these changes can be overwhelming; even the small ones that seem to happen regularly, so to make it less overwhelming, here is a brief list of the changes that you really need to pay attention to:

1. Major Algorithm Updates like Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird
2. Major user behavior changes such as moving from desk-top to mobile, speed expectations; over time we all seem to want things to load much more quickly. And CTR curve changes
3. Major Click-biasing changes such as the knowledge graphs, Google answer box and image carousel

You may be thinking, “Well, this definitely narrows it down and makes it less overwhelming, but I have no idea what to do with this information.”  That’s where lodestar comes in. We know exactly what to do with this information and we walk our clients through Google changes regularly.

Algorithm Updates: The primary change that the most recent algorithm updates brought was a more content driven search engine. If your site was ad-heavy with little relevant content, you likely saw your search rankings fall.  Content Development is one of our primary services that we offer our clients. We specialize in building content that Google likes and can easily find in a search query, such as blogs, white papers, and engaging social content.  Our clients saw virtually no negative movement in their search rankings when the algorithms changed because their sites provided relevant and abundant content that the new algorithms found.

Behavior Changes: One of the biggest changes Google implemented was switching from a desktop friendly algorithm to a mobile friendly algorithm.  What drove this change? The fact that the majority of us now do searches via a mobile device rather than a desktop or laptop. As our collective search behaviors changed, so did the algorithm. This change required everyone to switch to a mobile friendly website and if you didn’t make that change in time, your search rankings suffered.   However, here at lodestar, our clients were ready because we had prepared their sites in time for the change. Our Web design services allowed our clients to transition seamlessly. We quickly adapted them to the mobile friendly platform while maintaining the usability of the site.

Have more questions, we’re happy to help! Contact us.