Core Algorithm Updates

Main Takeaways: Google announced a Core Algo Update rollout on September 12th and it will take about 2 weeks to finish. 

Why It Matters: Danny Sullivan from Google did share this update might amplify the effects of the Helpful Content Update. This of course is not confirmed and fluctuations in performance should be anticipated.

Next Steps: No action needed at this time but iQuanti SEO team will continue monitoring any updates and share as we learn them.

Main Takeaways: This article summarizes all the changes this year.

• There were 10 confirmed Algo updates.

• There is a brand new ranking system called the helpful content update. There were 2 rollouts of this.

• May and September updates were the biggest.

• The 2 helpful content updates seem tame so far and did not cause widespread impacts.

• Product review updates didn't have major impact, focused on enhancing Google's ability to identify high-quality reviews.

Why It Matters: All these changes impact not only SEO but digital marketing and website optimization. 

Next Steps: No action needed at this time but iQuanti SEO team will continue monitoring any updates and share as we learn them.

Main Takeaways: This is the 4th rollout that is part of the original Product Review Update from Google. It started July 27, 2022 and will finish in 2 to 3 weeks. As this was a surprise rollout (Google was announcing each update prior to any updates), there is no clear explanation of what this update entails.

Why It Matters: Google continues to focus their priorities on ensuring sites are creating robust, trustworthy content, especially around reviews.

Next Steps: No action needed at this time but iQuanti SEO team will continue monitoring any updates and share as we learn them.

Main Takeaways: Google always rolls out updates to their algorithm, focused on improving their ranking process and ensuring SERPs are serving users useful, trustworthy resources.

Why It Matters: Any time a Core Algo Update is rolled out, sites can see major fluctuations in traffic, keyword, and site performance. These changes can be positive or negative. A negative impact does not always mean your site is necessarily doing anything wrong but rather another site is stronger.

Next Steps: In our ongoing data reports, we always monitor if any changes we're seeing were due to an algorithm. If there is a negative impact, iQuanti SEO can pull a competitor analysis to identify what sites are now ranking higher for priority keywords  and analyze optimizations that can be made on your site.

Main Takeaways: The Product Review Update started in April 2021 and Google has been staggering out additional updates - December 2021 and now March 2022.

Why It Matters: If your site creates any review type content, it's important to ensure the content has some of the following:  

• Use multimedia assets such as video, visuals, and audio

• In-depth details like the benefits, how the product performs, etc.

• Comparisons of how a product performs against competitors' products

Even if your site is not focused on review type content, these guidelines from Google are a great reference when creating product content. It focuses on helping consumers see why they should purchase or use your brand.

Next Steps: Incorporate the guidelines into new and existing content around your products, services, and brand as a way to establish more trust and authority.

Main Takeaways: The Page Experience Update was focused on rewarding sites that provide a good user experience for visitors. It was first rolled out to mobile sites and incorporated measurements on LCP (Largest Content Paint), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), and FID (First Input Delay). As of February 2022, Google is now rolling it out to Desktop.

Why It Matters: The Page Experience Update was a major announcement for Google and introduced new ways for the algorithm to measure how quickly people can interact with a site, if larger assets take time to load, and more. Google wants to ensure that any visitor to your site has a good experience and can access the information they need.

Next Steps: In our ongoing Tech Checks, iQuanti SEO monitors any areas of improvement for sites to score higher on these 3 new KPIs.