If you’ve ever felt like you’re on a rollercoaster ride with Google’s ever-changing algorithms, you’re not alone. Google’s Core Algorithm Updates are known for keeping you on your toes, and it’s become increasingly challenging to keep up – not to mention get ahead. These algorithmic shifts have the power to make or break your website’s performance, so it’s crucial that you understand the specifics of each new update, its effects, and the right course of action.
But how do you stay on top of these search engine updates and optimize your SEO strategy for success? How do you take advantage of each algorithm change and turn it into an opportunity to rank higher? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how.
How To Understand Each New Google Core Algorithm Update
Whenever Google rolls out a new update, you no doubt ask, “So, what changed this time?” And as an SEO professional, your entire strategy rests on the answer to this question. The impact of an algorithm update can be unpredictable – a change that benefits one website might harm another. Therefore, it’s important to stay fully informed and continually adapt your SEO strategies to remain competitive.
The key to surviving Google’s constant algorithm shifts is understanding:
Make sure you’re analyzing official statements from Google and only consulting reputable industry resources for insights into the latest algorithm updates. It’s also important to stick to data-based evidence. These correlations can be used to uncover patterns that reveal which strategies are effective after the update. But of course, it doesn’t stop at simply understanding each Google algorithm update – there’s much more involved in keeping your website’s rankings intact amidst the changes.
Let’s break down the essential steps needed for you to start mastering Google’s Core Algorithm Updates.
Step 1: Collect & Analyze Pre-Update Data
The data-collection stage forms the foundation for your analysis post-update – so the more data you have, the better you’ll understand the update’s effects. As soon as you hear that a new algorithm is going to be released, you’ll want to start gathering data on your website’s landing pages, including:
- Rankings.
- Organic traffic.
- Backlink profiles.
- On-page elements.
You’ll also want to segment the pages into relevant groups based on content, keyword focus, or user intent.
Maintain Focus On Your SERP Competitors
But don’t forget about your competitors! While focusing on your website is important, it’s also crucial to keep an eye on how your competitors are doing. Be sure to collect data not only on the sites that rank above you but also those below you in the SERPs, as this information will help you identify trends and changes across the landscape. It’s best to use a tool to automate the data collection process and provide more comprehensive results.
Pro Tip: There’s a newer SEO technology that many competitive digital marketing teams use: the search engine model.
Use Search Engine Models To Enhance Your Strategy With Data-Driven Insights & Predictions
Search engine models allow you to define, create, and deploy statistical replicas of any search engine environment. They’re basically a map that you can use to navigate Google’s algorithms. These models work by simulating the complex algorithms and ranking factors used by search engines to predict the order in which websites appear in search engine result pages (SERPs).
Here’s how we recommend you use this technology to collect and analyze your data:
- Build 2-3 search engine models for each major area or template of your site. This will give you a representative sample of models that should provide guidance for all the pages that use that same template.
- Group the models logically into teams. Models that center around landing pages using one particular template could be placed together in the same team, ensuring consistent recommendations within a group and allowing you to spot patterns specific to issues with that part of the site.
- By adding the search engine models now, your team will track each competitor site’s history as well. This way, you can receive alerts when competitors change their content/link strategy.
Get the full checklist and make sure your strategy stays on track.
Step 2: Monitor Post-Update Changes & Assess The Impact
To truly know the effects of an algorithm change, you’ll need to monitor the rankings and organic traffic of your landing page groups after the update. Don’t forget to also collect the data for each landing page that shows up in your SERPs – this allows you to sort the winners and losers when all is said and done.
If you’ve set up your search engine models, it’s essential to regularly re-calibrate them (preferably every 90 days) to reflect the latest ranking changes. Be sure to track and visualize changes in weights for each modeled algorithm before and after the update. Also, ensure that top-performing sites in these boosted algorithms continue to perform well in their respective SERPs and that sites that were doing poorly now perform worse.
Conduct An Analysis Of How The Algorithm Update Affects Rankings
From here, you’ll want to conduct a statistical analysis:
- Analyze the relationship between ranking changes and each of your SEO software’s algorithms. Create a “fitness” equation that prioritizes tasks based on your team’s objectives, like sorting by task ROI.
- Identify patterns and correlations that reveal which strategies are impacted by the update. Copy the winning patterns and remove or replace the losing patterns.
- Understand that a confluence of algorithm changes may have caused issues with your landing pages, not just one specific algorithm change.
Keep up with your progress with this checklist to remain on task.
Step 3: Adapt Your SEO Strategies & Priorities For Success
So you’ve collected and analyzed your data – now it’s time to take action. Start adjusting your SEO strategies based on your statistical analysis from step 2, making sure to emphasize factors that show strong correlations with improved rankings.
