Google’s algorithm updates are a constant source of anxiety and concern for website owners and digital marketers alike. With every new update, Google changes the rules of the game, sometimes making significant changes to its ranking factors and leaving many websites scrambling to adapt. This can result in a significant loss of traffic and revenue for those who are caught unprepared.
As we approach Google’s next algorithm update, it’s important to take proactive steps to ensure your website is ready. To avoid the negative impact of Google’s next algorithm update, website owners and digital marketers must stay ahead of the curve and prepare their websites for the upcoming changes.
By taking proactive measures before the update, they can ensure that their website continues to rank high and attract traffic from search engines.
Google Algorithm Update
Do you have any idea how many algorithms updates Google dishes out every year? The answer might surprise you. While we usually only hear about the major ones, the reality is that there are way more updates happening all the time.
To give you a sense of the scale, in 2020 alone, Google made a staggering 4,500 changes to its search algorithm! If you want to keep up with the big boys and stay ahead of the next algorithm update, you need to have an ongoing optimization plan in place.
It’s common knowledge that Google places a high value on user experience when it comes to search rankings. But if you’re not regularly updating your content, you’re essentially putting your entire website at risk.
So, here’s the deal: if you want to stay competitive, you need to integrate ongoing optimization into your content plan. Don’t just sit around waiting for the next update to hit you like a ton of bricks. Take action now to ensure that your website is optimized and primed for success.
Step 1: Go to Google Console
Google Console, also known as Google Search Console (GSC), is a free web-based tool provided by Google that allows website owners, administrators, and digital marketers to monitor and improve the performance of their website in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
With Google Console, website owners can track various metrics related to their website’s search performance, such as the number of clicks, impressions, and average click-through rate (CTR). It also provides insights into the keywords and phrases users are using to find your website and how often your website is appearing in search results for those queries.
In addition to performance metrics, Google Console also provides critical information about the health of your website, including crawl errors, security issues, and mobile usability issues. This allows website owners to identify and fix issues that may be hindering their website’s performance in search results.
Basically, Google Console is an essential tool for anyone looking to improve their website’s visibility and performance in search engine results pages. By using the insights and information provided by Google Console, website owners can identify and address issues that may be preventing their website from ranking higher in search results and ultimately driving more traffic to their website.
What I want you to do is navigate your website’s portfolio, take a look at your traffic, and compare it to the previous year. By using the date picker, you can even compare the traffic from the last 30 days to the same period from the previous year. Your goal should be to identify the pages that have experienced the biggest drop in traffic and update them accordingly.
Step 2: Look At Pages With Decreased Traffic
Identify the pages on your website that have taken the biggest hit in traffic – those are the ones with the most potential for a traffic boost. If these pages have lost their ranking, it’s probably because they’re not as up-to-date, thorough, or in-depth as the competition.
Luckily, Google Search Console can show you what keywords these pages rank for. Once you have this information, you can do a quick Google search to see what your competitors are doing differently. This will give you some fresh ideas on how to make your content more user-friendly, up-to-date, and valuable to your audience.
Step 3: Update Your Website
Now, I want you to roll up your sleeves and get to work on your website.
First things first, navigate to your website’s portfolio and take a peek at your traffic. Then make a comparison between this year and the previous year.
You can even dig deeper by using the date picker to compare traffic from the last 30 days to the same period from the previous year. The aim is to identify the pages that have experienced the most significant drop in traffic and update them accordingly.
With everyone and their mother producing content these days, you need to keep up with the competition by updating your content regularly.
Let me tell you something – Wikipedia’s content is always ranking at the top of Google’s search results. How do they do it? They keep their content fresh by using cutting-edge tools like GPT-3 and other AI-powered tools that make content creation a breeze.
So, don’t sit around twiddling your thumbs – get to updating!
It is necessary to keep content fresh and updated regularly. When Google sees that you’re frequently updating your content, they know it’s relevant and valuable to users.
Step 4: Keep Track of Your Biggest Money Pages
To keep up with Google’s algorithm updates, it’s crucial to monitor your website’s main money pages on a monthly basis. These are the pages that attract the most traffic from Google. Spend a few minutes each month reviewing the top 30, 40, or 50 pages and identifying the ones that need to be updated to provide more value to users.
Even if your traffic hasn’t dropped, updating your content is always beneficial. Focus on enhancing the user experience instead of worrying about Google’s algorithm. This is the best way to stay ahead of the game. While backlinks and website design are important, Google prioritizes user satisfaction over everything else.
If users leave your site because they find your content unhelpful, having a million backlinks won’t matter. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that users are satisfied with the content on your website. By prioritizing user experience over SEO factors, you’ll be able to rank higher in search results over time.
With the ever-changing landscape of Google’s algorithm, it’s important to stay ahead of the game by taking proactive steps to ensure that your website’s content remains fresh, relevant, and valuable to users.
We suggest keeping track of the top 30-50 pages that bring in the most traffic and identifying which ones need to be updated. Moreover, recommend using Google Search Console to see which keywords these pages rank for and conducting Google searches to see how competitors are providing value to users.
It’s also important to keep track of your website’s traffic, identify the pages that have experienced a drop in traffic, and update them accordingly. By regularly updating your main money pages and prioritizing user experience over SEO factors, you can stay ahead of Google’s algorithm updates and maintain or even improve your search rankings.
With these strategies, you can prepare your website for the next Google algorithm update and ensure its long-term success.
