In the last ten years we have seen several updates from Google in its search algorithms. The search engine has continuously improved to give the user the best possible results.
It is always interesting and funny (not to say tragic) to observe how companies and SEO professionals deal with these updates. It is always an avalanche of analysis on specialized sites, impact predictions, and desperate SEOs planning the next excuse they will give to clients because of their mistaken optimization “strategies.
Index
Before stating my point of view I will give a brief summary, for the reader who eventually does not follow this topic, of Google’s main updates in the last ten years. Feel free to skip this part if you want.
Major Google Updates
2011 – Panda
Panda was the first major Google update of current times. This update was about cleaning up the search results by removing sites created exclusively to be ranked. Two types of sites were affected: affiliate sites (which existed to link to other pages) and sites with very little content. It was the beginning of the end for sites ranking with low-quality content.
Focus of the Panda update: more relevant user content.
2012 – Venice
The Venice update was a milestone in understanding the local searches made by users. After this update, Google search results now include pages based on the location of the searcher.
Focus of the Venice update: local searches.
2012 – Penguin
The Google Penguin update analyzed the links that sites received from other sites and whether these were genuine or were bought to fool the search engines. Penguin has tried to discourage buying, exchanging, or artificially creating links. If it found artificial links, Google would assign a negative value to the site in question, instead of the positive link value it would have received previously.
Penguin has permanently changed web link building. Instead of getting paid, low-quality backlinks, sites had to work on building a successful link building strategy by targeting relevant links.
Focus of the Penguin update: relevant link building.
2013 – Hummingbird
The Hummingbird update introduced the fundamentals of voice search. It has made the search engine much more attentive to every word in the search, ensuring that the entire phrase is taken into account and not just isolated terms. This update was critical to better understand the user’s search and provide answers instead of a list of results.
Focus of the Hummingbird update: valuing naturally written content, not just over-optimized content for a few words.
2014 – HTTPS/SSL
Seeking to value the security aspect Google has decided to reward sites with HTTPS implementation, which make the connection between site and user more secure. Widely questioned as to whether it really had a direct impact on results, this update helped the advancement of other technologies such as the HTTP2 protocol, contributing to better site performance.
Focus of the HTTPS/SSL update: enhancing websites that offer a more secure experience for visitors.
2015 – Mobile Update
The famous “Mobilegeddon”. At the time, 50% of searches were already done from mobile devices. The Mobile Update gave mobile-friendly sites a ranking advantage in Google’s mobile search results. Despite its dramatic nickname, the update did not instantly compromise the ranking of most sites. However, it was an important change that heralded the increasing importance of the cell phone.
Mobile upgrade focus: pages optimized for mobile devices.
2015 – RankBrain
RankBrain is a state-of-the-art algorithm that uses machine learning to handle searches. It can make assumptions about words it doesn’t know, find words with similar meanings, and then offer relevant results.
Its launch marks another big step for Google to better decipher the meaning behind searches, serving better results. In March 2016, Google revealed that RankBrain was one of the top three ranking factors. Unlike other factors, you can’t “optimize for RankBrain” in the traditional sense, except by writing quality content.
Focus of the RankBrain update: value quality content.
2018 – Speed Update (Mobile)
Recognizing users’ need for fast information delivery, Google implemented this update that made page speed a ranking factor for mobile searches, as was already the case for desktop searches. The update affected (negatively) mostly sites with a slow mobile version.
Focus of the Speed Update: Enhancing fast pages for mobile devices.
2018 – Medic
This major update of the algorithm caused quite a stir leading to some changes in the ranking. Although many medical sites were hit with lower ratings, the update did not just target these. The goals of this update are not quite clear. It may have been an attempt to better match the results to the search intent or perhaps aimed at protecting the users’ well-being from dishonest information.
Focus of the Medic update: value true/honest content that is more aligned with the search intent.
2019 – BERT
Google’s BERT update has been heralded as the “biggest change in the last five years.” It is a machine learning algorithm that uses a neural network-based technique for natural language processing (NLP). The name BERT is short for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers.
BERT can discover the full context of a word by looking at the words that come before and after it. That is, it uses the context and relationships of all the words in a sentence, rather than one by one.
Focus of the BERT update: improvement in the interpretation of a survey and the intent behind it.
2021 – Google Page Experience
The update due in 2021 and already announced by Google (not necessarily under this name) is expected to mess with search results. Google Page Experience aims to provide better positioning for better performing websites.
Focus of the Google Page Experience update: value the user experience (speed, interaction time, layout, etc).
I left out some updates like Possum (2016) and Fred (2017) but they were also important.
So let’s move on to my point of view.
What is the problem with “SEO professionals”?
I recently came across an article with the following title “Google’s major algorithm updates and how to use them to your advantage“. Knowing the behavior of most professionals in the area, I decided to look for some more “pearls”. Here goes: “Google’s Algorithm: understand how it works and learn how to rank in 2020“, “Action plan after Google’s algorithm update“…
Is it serious?! Look at the focus of the updates!
Does there need to be an update or is someone (in this case Google) telling you content producers and SEO professionals to focus on: natural, relevant, honest, quality content; relevant link building; safety for users; mobile optimized pages and user experience?
I think not. The above factors should be the constant pursuit of any SEO professional. Making the Internet a better place by bringing a better experience to users, that should be the focus.
I have colleagues in my profession who play at piloting SEO projects, in the same way that product managers play at piloting agile methodology projects (I have already commented on these in another article).
These same professional colleagues have their hands full with every Google update and lose nights of sleep “measuring” the impacts and devising “strategies” to improve ranking. That doesn’t make sense!
Read also: 10 pros and cons of being an SEO professional
“It was the fault of the upgrade!”
Many SEOs blame Google updates for their losses and try to figure out what specific ranking factors they need to work on. That is the wrong way to think about the problem.
If your SEO strategy is vulnerable to an update or algorithm that seeks to benefit the user then your SEO strategy is bad.
Is it possible that a Google update is responsible for a drop in your page rankings? Of course. But I say again, if this happens rethink your strategy, don’t blame Google.
Don’t hate the player hate the game.
If your company has lost positions and you think it was the fault of an update, make sure you have all site events and updates properly logged otherwise you won’t be able to really understand what the impact of the update was.
Your company does not have SEO professionals? Never hire one that justifies increases or decreases in positioning/traffic due to Google updates. If you already have one that does this, consider replacing it.
Google Updates: A Holistic Approach
Think of the SEO journey at your company or your client as natural and rewarding. Pursue a holistic approach to SEO, focusing on the various aspects involved. Think about how the visitor will find your pages in the search, how he will be received on the site, and delight him with the performance of the page (speed, look, content).
Make sure you offer a quality product that speaks to your target audience. This way, you don’t have to worry every time there is an update in the search engines. You will be protected from a fragile strategy that can lead your business to ruin.
Concentrate on your site!
Continue reading: 10 Important Items for On-Page SEO