You know how search engines like Google are always changing things up to try and improve search for us regular folks?
Well, for website owners, big algorithm updates can seriously mess with your traffic and rankings.
So staying on top of the latest shakes ups and tweaking your strategies is key to SEO success.
In this article, I will share some tips on how to handle things when your search engine gets a major face-lift.
Understand Why the Big Changes Happen
Whenever Google or Bing releases some huge new algorithm update, it’s usually to make search results higher quality and more relevant for users.
For example, Google’s Panda update back in 2011 cracked down on low-value content that didn’t really teach readers anything new. And the Penguin update in 2012 penalized shady link schemes and spammy backlinks.
Getting the reasoning behind big updates gives you the right context to adapt properly. Check industry blogs and forums to stay in the loop on new launches and how they could impact your site’s rankings.
Don’t try to “hack” or cheat the system. Just focus on useful, high-quality content that aligns with search engines’ goals as they evolve over time. This should help you when your search engine is replaced.
Regularly Audit Your Own Website
It’s a smart idea to regularly audit your site to find any issues that might get penalized under new algorithms. Some key areas to inspect:
- Page Speed: With so much mobile usage now, site speed really matters. Test your pages regularly and optimize images, code, etc. to improve load times.
- Mobile Friendliness: Make sure your site is fully optimized for mobile with a responsive design. Google loves mobile-friendly pages.
- Thin Content: Avoid generic pages with little useful info or value for readers. Beef things up with detailed articles, videos, infographics, etc.
- Broken Links: Crawl your site to identify and fix any faulty internal or external links.
- Schema Markup: Proper schema markup to structure your content improves SEO. Confirm it’s implemented correctly.
Doing regular website checkups allows you to catch and fix problems before they totally tank your rankings.
Use Diverse Link-Building Strategies
Google updates aim to penalize fake link networks and over-optimization. Focus on getting quality, relevant backlinks from diverse sources:
- Guest Posts: Reach out to reputable sites in your industry that accept contributor posts.
- Interviews: Become a source for influential sites by giving interviews and quotes.
- Community Engagement: Provide value through comments on forums, Facebook groups, Reddit, etc. and link to your content where relevant.
- Blogger Outreach: Contact bloggers who may be interested in your content and pitch guest posts.
- Q&A Sites: Share your expertise on Quora, Yahoo Answers etc. and link to your content when possible.
The key is to come across as a real expert, not a spammy robot. Aim for quality over quantity with your backlinks.
Keep Tabs on Your Site’s Performance
You can use handy tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, and rank trackers to see how your website’s performing during big algorithm shakeups.
- Traffic Changes: If your organic search traffic suddenly spikes up or down, your rankings are likely being impacted.
- SERP Analysis: Check where your pages rank for key terms compared to competitors. Losing positions?
- Ranking Volatility: Major ups and downs suggest issues with pages bouncing around in rankings.
- Crawling Errors: Fix any crawl errors like 404s in Search Console to ensure proper indexing.
Keeping an eye on things allows you to respond quickly if any problems emerge to get your SEO back on track.
Make Changes Gradually and Watch What Happens
When tackling issues found in your website audits or performance monitoring, it’s best to make changes slowly one step at a time rather than all at once.
For example, if you discover some shady backlinks pointing at your site, don’t disavow them all immediately. Start with just a small test batch to see how it affects your rankings first.
The Bottom Line
Adaptability is key to surviving major search engine shakeups.
By understanding why algorithm changes happen, regularly checking your site, monitoring impacts, and tweaking your approach bit by bit, you can stay ahead.
Even if your rankings bounce around temporarily, hang in there. Keep optimizing pages to align with evolving best practices.
Sure, big updates can feel like a rollercoaster ride. But with grit, vigilance, and commitment to giving searchers awesome results, you can tame that algorithm beast and come out on top!
