Digital Marketing.
Another Google update: why all the fuss?
06/06/19
Recently the world of digital was full of rumour, worry and discussion. The cause? Google has announced a core update to its algorithm that was implemented on June 3rd 2019. This was rare, as Google generally rolls out its updates without announcing anything. The news prompted posts on LinkedIn, with businesses asking questions ranging from the speculative, “What will it mean?” to the more worrisome, “What will I have to change?”
The answer is, unsurprisingly, ‘not much’. Google has for a number of years made it very clear that following best practice should stand you in good stead for rankings. The fear and doubt comes from an earlier time, when ‘gaming’ the rankings was more common practice and Google’s previous updates managed to destroy many of the ‘black hat’ methods favoured by early SEOs.
What prompted all of the news articles?
What was unusual, however, was the fact that Google pre-announced it. This is a rare step, but a sign of the increasing relationship between SEOs and Google itself. Where once SEOs were trying to guess at Google’s intentions, building strategies and tools that estimated how the algorithm worked based on various clues, Google is now trying to strengthen its relations with SEOs.
For businesses, this means that you’ve never operated in a more open and collaborative SEO landscape. By following the guidance Google lays out and using an agency or SEO consultant who understands best practice, you can increase your organic rankings in a fairer manner.
What should I do?
- Google’s advice is to continue following best practice and therefore don’t change anything.
- However, because these updates can take weeks to settle, it is still worth paying attention to rankings over the coming months.
- Relevancy is always important - a ‘broad’ update like this one will not focus on any specific niches or techniques, so continue ensuring your pages are as relevant as possible and you won’t experience problems.
- If you’re confused or feel lost with your SEO strategy, feel free to contact Inspired and we’ll help talk you through this and previous Google updates and devise a strategy that works for you.
As relations between Google and SEOs continue to strengthen, we’ll see more updates being pre-announced. Remember: don’t panic. If you’re already following good, ethical SEO strategies then you’re likely going to be unaffected. If you’re not, we can help you create one.
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