The SEO industry is in the midst of an update. Google is implementing the Core update, which will change the way some sites are listed in Search results. Although it’s unclear what the changes are, it’s clear that the changes are designed to prevent people from swindling the system. As a result, your SEO performance could suffer. However, if you’re lucky, you might see an increase in Search referrals.
Penguin algorithm update
Google’s Penguin algorithm update has impacted the SEO industry. It was introduced to fight webspam and penalize sites that try to manipulate rankings by obtaining low-quality links. This algorithm also discourages black-hat link building, which means that a website can obtain backlinks from any source. As a result, website operators are more motivated than ever to create high-quality content.
Since Penguin’s introduction, Google has made several updates and refreshes that have affected its search engine ranking. Google rarely announces algorithm updates, so it is often difficult for non-experts to know when a change is coming.
Also Read: SEO Techniques for Better Rankings Your Business Should Use
RankBrain
To get ahead of RankBrain, SEOs must understand what kind of content users will seek. Some queries depend on the depth of content while others require freshness. SEO experts must also understand how to make the most of related topics on a domain. This is important because RankBrain uses machine learning algorithms to match signals to query intent.
To understand how RankBrain works, it’s important to know how Google interprets the relationship between keywords and phrases. To do this, Google employs a system called substitution, which looks at the context and “concepts” involved in a search query. For example, “New York Times Puzzle” is a group of several concepts, such as “puzzle.” Google looks to see if any of the terms in a search query can be substituted with similar concepts. As a result, it provides more accurate results.
Panda algorithm update
If you are working in the SEO industry, you should know about the Panda algorithm update. This is not a penalty, but an algorithm that affects websites with poor content. Google devalues sites with thin, low-quality content. To avoid getting hit by the algorithm, make sure you only publish high-quality content on your site.
This update affected many websites. Content farms, otherwise known as content mills, were affected, as they tend to publish generalized and low-quality content. Article submission directories saw a huge drop in traffic as well. This update was followed by Google Penguin, which was rolled out in 2012.
Core Web Vitals
The latest update to the Google algorithms is the Core Web Vitals, which is a collection of page-level metrics. The goal of these metrics is to give users a better experience on your website. Fortunately, the new update is relatively simple and easy to implement. The first step is to check the website’s performance using tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
The largest contentful paint, first input delay, and cumulative layout shift are three Core Web Vitals that Google considers important for assessing a page’s performance. These factors measure how fast a page loads, as well as how responsive and stable it is. As Google continues to change its algorithm, it will increasingly reward websites with the fastest loading times.
Google’s mobile-first index
As Google has moved towards mobile-first indexing, it is imperative for website owners to make their mobile version of the site as similar to the desktop version as possible. Otherwise, the site won’t be indexed and won’t receive any traffic. This is because Googlebot can only access desktop content and ignores any content that is only available on mobile devices. This move is a reaction to the rapidly changing trends in user behavior. The rise in mobile traffic has long been evident in the search engine rankings, and now Google is taking the mobile user into account.
Although Google had previously announced that it would begin indexing websites in a mobile-first mode in March 2020, the roll-out is ongoing. While mobile-first indexing does not have any ranking advantage, it does provide faster loading content, which is beneficial for mobile users.