On 1st August 2018, Google announced and released a search algorithm update, which led to a large number of companies and SEO communities reporting of
fluctuations within their search rankings and traffic.
This was first picked up by our online rank checker, AWRCloud,
which had detected fluctuations from the algorithm update since 1st August.
So which SEO techniques were penalised, and which were rewarded?
Google has been vague in the past with the exact changes it makes, which is also the case with the latest algorithm change. However, the SEO community
has been in talk about this and have highlighted some of the key ranking factors:
- Mobile-first index
- Site speed
- Content
But the question you're probably asking is:
How can you stay at the top?
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly:
Whilst having either a responsive or mobile-friendly site has always been a given, it's now more essential than ever and you may receive a harsher penalty
if your website isn't; this could include either your current search rankings plummeting or you not being able to rank for your brand name.
To make sure your website is mobile-friendly, you should avoid your mobile site covering up content. Try to include only the most important information
and relevant text to be indexed for mobile-first. You should also try to include application forms, phone numbers, call-out buttons, etc.
Website Speed
Google has always wanted to promote pages that load faster, as this gets users to the desired information as quickly as possible, giving them the best
user experience. After all, if there were two websites, where you knew one took 1 second to load and the other 20 seconds, which one would you pick?
It's a no-brainer.
Luckily, Google PageSpeed Insights is here to help; it will highlight some things that you can improve on your website when it comes to loading speed.
Some of these are fairly technical, however, it also covers the basics, such as having a good amount of bandwidth for hosting and making sure pages
aren't filled with heavy videos and uncompressed images (which should be made below 100kb where possible).
If you're using WordPress, an alternative plugin you can use, LiteSpeed, can offer fast and effective routes to improve file compression and other issues
surrounding page speed.
Content:
Content is dominant in the world of search engine ranking and Google has adopted the policy of E.A.T (Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness).
Your content should contain benefits to the user, but also proof of your expertise and reliability in that area. Your content should be enticing and
contain copy that people searching for and want to read, instead of content that has been added just for the sake of SEO. A good way you can
find some relevant content titles is to look through suggested questions prompted during a Google search query.
This pie chart from SearchEngineLand shows the percentages from each sector that were impacted by the algorithm update.
A tip for businesses in the health sector which have been affected by this recent algorithm change, is to use content that includes professionals within
the sector or tools. An example of this would either be a health calculator or a form built into the page. Within each piece of content, you should
try to include your brand (where possible) and how it relates to your customers.
Here at Website Success, we have an in-house marketing team that specialises in SEO, so if you have any further questions or need help with anything, please
don't hesitate to give us a call at 01243 888555, contact us through our contact page or pop into our
Chichester-based offices.
Thank you for reading!
