Google is the biggest search engine on the globe. In the trendy business landscape, performing sufficiently within Google’s search engine results is essential for online success. It’s broadly accepted that Google can terminate numerous algorithm updates almost daily. However, they can also significantly impact website rankings, often causing fluctuations that can harm a site’s visibility and traffic. Recovering from a Google Core Update can be challenging, but it is not impossible. These are generally more powerful in nature and cause more turbulence in search engine results pages (SERPs).
This comprehensive guide will explore strategies and best practices to help your site bounce back after being affected by a Google Core Update.
What is Google Core Update?
A Google core update occurs when Google implements comprehensive and significant modifications to its search engine algorithm and infrastructure. These updates enhance the search experience by delivering users more pertinent, reliable, and valuable content. Typically, core updates happen multiple times throughout the year and are officially confirmed by Google. With the release of a new core algorithm update, search engine results pages (SERPs) exhibit heightened volatility for approximately two weeks, sometimes extending beyond that period. Consequently, some websites may experience decreases in traffic and keyword rankings, while others may see improvements. Google generally provides advance notice of its intent to launch a new core update via its Twitter channel, typically taking one to two weeks to implement fully.
Tips to Recover Your Site from a Google Core Update:
Before recovering your site to identify potential issues, it’s essential to take a moment to familiarize yourself with Google’s search quality rater guidelines. These comprehensive guidelines outline Google’s website requirements and expectations, shedding light on how Google assesses elements like Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, collectively referred to as E-A-T. Below, we will explore some essential tips to recover your site from a Google Core update:
Understand the Google Core Updates
The first step in recovering from a Google Core Update is understanding what the update entails. Google often releases information about these updates, and it’s essential to review their official statements and documentation to gain insights into the changes. After pinpointing any technical issues, you can organize them into a roadmap, prioritizing them based on their impact and the resources required. Proceed to address these issues systematically while monitoring your progress. Building a collaborative relationship with your website developers is crucial because certain elements may necessitate their expertise for implementation. Within the roadmap, you can designate responsibility for each technical fix, ensuring clear communication and mutual understanding of the tasks between both parties.
Evaluate the Impact on Your Site
Once you clearly understand the update, assess how it has impacted your website. Attempt to dissect which aspect of the Google algorithm this update aimed to impact. To achieve this, it’s crucial to comprehend which sections and categories of pages on your website bore the brunt of the changes. Identify and contrast the pages that experienced the most significant reductions in both traffic and impressions, as well as those that saw the greatest drop in their average rank. You can use various tools and metrics to gauge the extent of the damage. Some key indicators to look at include:
Organic Search Traffic
Analyze your website’s traffic data to identify any significant drops in organic search traffic immediately after the core update rollout.
Keyword Rankings
Check the rankings of your target keywords in search results. Have they changed significantly since the update?
Click-Through Rates (CTR)
Assess whether your site’s CTR has changed, indicating how appealing your titles and meta descriptions are in search results.
Conversion Rates
Review your conversion rates, as a decline may suggest that the quality of your website’s traffic has been negatively affected.
Perform a Content Audit
A critical aspect of recovering from a core update is ensuring that your website’s content meets Google’s quality standards. By conducting site audits, you can guarantee the quality, relevance, and alignment with search intent in your content, ultimately delivering the optimal experience for both users and the Google algorithm. It’s imperative to identify concerns like keyword cannibalization and thin content. Key steps in this process include:
Identify Low-Performing Content
Use tools like Google Analytics to identify pages with low traffic or high bounce rates. These pages may need improvement or removal.
Evaluate Content Quality
Assess your content’s quality in relevance, accuracy, depth, and uniqueness. Make necessary improvements or updates.
Remove Duplicate Content
Eliminate any duplicate or near-duplicate content on your site, as this can negatively impact rankings.
Address Keyword Stuffing
If your content has an excessive use of keywords, rewrite it to make it more natural and reader-friendly.
Build High-Quality Backlinks
Google Core updates do not directly single out subpar link profiles. An inadequate backlink profile can still harm your website’s positioning in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Therefore, it is essential to monitor your backlink profile diligently and steer clear of low-quality backlinks. Ensure that your website does not have any spammy links pointing to it. If you come across such links, consider creating and submitting a disavow file to remove links that could potentially harm your rankings and overall website well-being. Focus on building high-quality, authoritative backlinks that are relevant to your content. Here are some strategies to consider:
Outreach and Guest Posting
Reach out to reputable websites in your niche and offer to guest post or collaborate on content. High-quality guest posts can earn you valuable backlinks.
Content Marketing
Create exceptional, shareable content that naturally attracts backlinks from other websites in your industry.
Monitor YourLlink Profile
Regularly monitor your website’s backlink profile using tools like Ahrefs or Moz to identify and address any issues.
Focus on E-A-T
Google has consistently underscored the significance of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in the realm of SEO, addressing this message to all content creators, including publishers and bloggers. This emphasis on E-A-T has become a focal point in their guidance on how to rebound from algorithm updates, emphasizing the need to deliver the utmost quality content for your audience. This holds especially true for websites falling under the “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) category, which provide information, products, and services affecting their readers’ well-being, financial stability, health, or security. Consequently, YMYL websites must deliver high-quality, reliable content to their users while concurrently establishing trust with Google.
Monitor Progress and Adapt
Recovering from a Google core update is an ongoing process. After implementing the above steps, closely monitor your site’s performance and rankings over time. Be patient, as it may take some time for Google to reevaluate your site. Regularly check for updates and improvements in your analytics, and continue to refine your content and SEO strategies as needed. Enhancing your on-page SEO can enhance the quality and accessibility of your content for both readers and Google. Stay up-to-date with industry news and best practices to ensure your website remains competitive and resilient to future core updates.
Final Verdict
Recovering from a Google core update can be a challenging but essential process for maintaining or improving your website’s search engine visibility. By understanding the update, evaluating its impact, conducting a content audit, building high-quality backlinks, improving page speed and mobile-friendliness, focusing on E-A-T, and monitoring progress, you can increase your chances of recovering and thriving in the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization. Keep in mind that SEO is an ongoing effort, and staying adaptable and responsive to future updates is key to long-term success.