*IMPORTANT*
GOOGLE ALGORITHM UPDATE
approx 4 minute read
Google recently announced a major update, or rather a series of updates, to their broad core algorithm.
What’s a core algorithm?
A series of complex calculations that decide where your website appears, if at all, in Google’s search results.
Is it a big deal?
Google makes changes all the time (in one year as many as 9 per day on average) and they don’t usually say anything.
When they do make a core update, there’s a big announcement. Followed by much commotion and hoo-hah in the Search Engine Marketing circles.
It’s a sure sign the changes are big ones and potentially rather disruptive.
Oh really? So why should I care?
Because it could lead to a big drop in your website traffic.
Simply falling just one place in the search rankings could mean losing 13% of your visitors.
Cascade out of the top 3 and lose around 60% of the clicks.
Tumble to the bottom of page 1 and see your organic traffic virtually disappear.
It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom of course…
It’s time to update
You may have received an email from Google regarding your Google Analytics account which they are requiring you update.
Google is making their current Analytics obsolete on July 1, 2023 and they will ‘automagically’ create a new GA4 account for you for free. You can read more about this here.
BUT the default measurements and set up will not look like what you are used to and it is unlikely to measure the right data you need to inform your business and marketing decisions.
Nettl can transfer your current Analytics to Google’s new GA4 to ensure that the set up will give you the data that’s meaningful to your business.
The one off cost to transfer is $149 +GST per website, email us if you’d like us to help.
It’s not all about Analytics
In addition to Google rewriting their magic formula, your business evolves.
Markets move, customers change, competitors adapt.
SEO is an ongoing activity that improves user experience, relevance, and authority amidst all these changes.
So sometimes a pause, review, and reboot are helpful.
To help align your SEO strategy and content with your business today (and tomorrow).
What can I do to help my rankings?
The best way to get ready for a core update is to worry less about what the algorithm changes Google are doing and more about what you are doing and focus more on how to add value to your visitors.
How?
The job of the search engine is to always recommend the best sites for the user’s query.
So your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to:
- Make sure your site provides the best information or solutions for that query.
- Make it easy for Google to recognise this.
What should I do to monitor whether my site has been impacted?
1. Check-in with Google.
Put a little time aside to explore Google Analytics and Search Console.
You’ll be able to take a look at the data.
- How many website visitors?
- Where did they come from?
- What device are they using?
- What search terms brought them here?
- Where’d they go?
2. Use other keyword tracking tools
Specialised tracking tools can monitor performance across a wide range of criteria.
Such as device, location different search engines and even analysing different user intent.
They will notify you when your rankings change.
And you can have them monitor your competition too.
See how they are performing for the same keywords and key phrases.
If someone has gotten the jump on you following a recent update, it might be worth a deeper dive to investigate why.
There are plenty of other free (and freemium) SERP tracking tools available.
To name just a few.
3. Just keep swimming
Your website ranking can go up as well as down.
Think of the search landscape as fluid. Forever in motion.
It’s important to work consistently to improve your website.
Google once likened core updates to a list of top movies…. One way to think of how a core update operates is to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later in 2019, you refresh the list. It’s going to naturally change. Some new and wonderful movies that never existed before will now be candidates for inclusion. You might also reassess some films and realize they deserved a higher place on the list than they had before.
So what they’re saying is, your website doesn’t need to change for your ranking to change.
A website that hasn’t changed in a year is less likely to receive accolades.
You see, SEO is a little like going to the gym: Go consistently, work hard. You’ll see results.
Stop going. What happens? Well, you may need to loosen that belt again.
Not sure where to start?
We make that easy. Get in touch and we can discuss upgrading your Analytics account, updating your website and providing ongoing SEO to ensure your business is getting the most out of your online shop front.
