Over the years, Google has released numerous updates to their website, infrastructure, and software. With each of these updates, you can almost always expect something to change whether it is for the improvement of security or functionality. One such change is called an algorithm update. At WPamplify, we want you to know what Google’s broad core algorithm update means for your website.
What is a broad core algorithm update
Every so often, Google releases a change to this algorithm to improve search results or reduce spam. When these changes are larger in scale, they are referred to as “broad core algorithm” updates. A core update essentially means the importance, order, or values of those 200 ranking factors/signals were tweaked.
Google is never really specific as to the context or the intended function of what has actually been changed because this would give light to the “meat” of the Google search engine. The changes can either positively or negatively affect the ranking of your website. There is no SEO or content specialist that can predict what changes will actually occur.
How Google Ranks Websites: E-A-T
According to the Google Search Quality Guidelines, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EAT) play a large part in the ranking of sites and is Google’s way of trying not to impact people’s lives in a negative way. Because of this, sites that offer advice that may be questionable from non-authoritative references are ranked lower than ones that utilize more authoritative ones. This ultimately reduces the risk of people being scammed or harmed mentally/physically.
EAT applies to informational pages, sites that provide medical/financial/legal advice, home improvement, and more. With the last August 2018 update now being dubbed the “Google Medic Update”, it seems that many different websites are slipping down in the ranks.
Who Is Affected?
Google handles nearly 2 trillion searches per year. Even a slight change to the main algorithm can have drastically affect the ranking of any site. Imagine that there are hundreds of factors a website is ranked in order from most to least important.
As previously stated, Google uses over 200 different ranking factors. Let’s say an update changed 45 of those factors. A change in website rankings would obviously occur, but it cannot be due to one specific cause. The short answer, is anyone and everyone who has a page can be affected by an update to the Google algorithm
Surviving a Core Update
This is a statement Google has made about core algorithm updates:
“Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our results. Some are focused around specific improvements. Some are broad changes. Last week, we released a broad core algorithm update. We do these routinely several times per year.
As with any update, some sites may note drops or gains. There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well. Instead, it’s that changes to our systems are benefiting pages that were previously under-rewarded.
There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well, other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.”
In other words, Google is not going to give you advice on how to fix your ranking should you be affected. This is because the answer can be different depending on what information is queried, as websites that are relevant are weighted against each other. In order to survive a core update, you should:
- Provide content that is high quality and caliber compared to your competitors.
- Focus on the intent of the user and how he or she may reach your page.
- Interpret how Google is ranking your site by understanding their guidelines
- Clean up the architecture of your site.
Let Us Keep You Up to Date
You should also always improve your page, even when reaching a location in the rankings you are comfortable with. Always remain a step ahead of your competitors in order to succeed. Contact WPamplify and let us help you stay ahead of the curve.
