So if you’re paying any attention to the internet whatsoever, you’ve probably read some headlines about Google updates, and might be wondering, “How does it affect my website? And do I need to worry about this?”
And the answer is, “hopefully not”.
If your website and SEO practices haven’t been adhering to Google’s guidelines and best practices (which means that you’re not a Wikimotive customer) then you might see some effects – but it depends on the nature of each update, and how Google is rolling it out. You see, Google is almost always fixing something about the way that it operates which is simply the iterative nature of a massive software company.
Some of these big updates will get a headline and some of them will just quietly trickle out, and hardly anybody pays any attention to them. What’s the big difference? Well, typically the ones that grab headlines are the ones that will have a big ranking change for sites that aren’t complying with those guidelines and best practices we mentioned.
Maybe that site has been optimized through “Black Hat SEO” practices. Perhaps it offers a really poor user experience, or is outdated (ex. a website that isn’t designed to be mobile-friendly). This sort of non-compliance can cause keyword rankings to slide, which causes traffic to slide, and a loss of market share – all due to one algorithm change.
However, if you’re doing your job…if you have a good SEO company that’s constantly refining the way that your web site works through “White Hat SEO” practices, focusing on user experience and qualitative answers, you’re less likely to feel any effects.
So, to recap. Google algorithm updates are happening all the time.Most are minor, but the major ones are designed to penalize sites that fail to comply with Google’s ranking guidelines. Sites that focus on user experience, providing content written for the human consumer, and are optimized through white hat SEO practices are less likely to be penalized.