Per year, Google search algorithm has been updated Thousands of times to ensure that the most relevant and reliable results are listed in the most conspicuous position.
This continued commitment to searcher experience and the quality of results helped Google reduce the number of irrelevant results that appeared on search results pages by more than 40% Search engines say that in the past five years.
Although most of these updates have not been noticed, there will be an update that really shocks the SEO ship every once in a while.
In this column, we will review the updates that have shaped SEO in the past year and how they affect your future plans.
Here are the five most influential Google search updates since 2021.
1. Page experience update
Google Start to roll out The long-awaited June 2021 page experience update and Announced completion September 2nd.
Since the first disclosure in November 2020, SEO professionals and marketers from all walks of life have been anxiously waiting for this.
With this update, marketers can see page experience scores in a new report in Google Search Console.
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Page experience It’s self-explanatory; it aims to improve the searcher’s experience on every website. The score takes into account:
- Core network elements: A set of metrics that measure page performance from the perspective of user experience.
- Mobile availability: The page must have no mobile usability errors.
- Security Question: Any security issues on the site will cancel the good condition of all pages on the site.
- HTTPS usage: Must provide a page HTTPS Eligible for a good page experience status.
- Advertising experience: Sites must not use distracting, disruptive or other advertising techniques that are not conducive to a good user experience.
Since its initial launch, Google has clarified that Safe Browsing is not a ranking signal.
August 4, 2021, updated to This Google Search Center blog post It was pointed out that “the safe browsing system continues to play an important role to ensure the safety of Google search users, and any markup will continue to be displayed in the Search Console outside of the page experience report.”
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2. Google link spam update
Google July warns marketers The link spam update will have measurable results for those affected:
“In our continuous efforts to improve the quality of search results, we launched a new link spam today, which we call “Link Spam Update…
Sites participating in spam links will see changes in search, because our algorithm will re-evaluate these links. “
The update announcement is buried in a Google Search Center Blog Post Under the subheading’Improve our system to combat spam links.
It wrote:
“In our continuous efforts to improve the quality of search results, we launched a new link spam today, which we call “link spam update.”
This algorithm update will be rolled out in the next two weeks and will be more effective in identifying and eliminating link spam across multiple languages. “
At the time, Google advised SEO professionals and marketers to make sure they followed best practices Entry and Outgoing link, Create Premium contentAnd focus on improving user experience.
“Use appropriately marked links to increase the visibility of your website and monetize it through appropriately marked affiliate links,” the announcement read.
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3. Summer Broad core update
Google begins to roll out June core update, No time to achieve everything it wants to do, and then start where it stopped In July.
Danny Sullivan tweeted then:
“Some of the improvements we plan for the June 2021 update are not fully prepared yet, so we are moving forward with the existing parts, and then we will follow up the rest in the July 2021 update.
Most sites will not notice any of these updates, which is typical for any core update. “
However, as Roger Monti in His analysis Regarding how the core algorithm update faltered in July, it is a bit unusual for two spam updates to occur before that.
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SEO professionals speculate that this update has brought about an increase in People Also Ask results, which may target image search results in some way, and may even inadvertently increase spam in search results.
Google’s long-term (and somewhat frustrating) advice on core algorithm updates is that there is nothing you can really prepare for or recover other than staying great all the time. This is no exception.
But it’s interesting that Google’s John Muller Suggested in the Search Central SEO office hours gathering in October Improved content is more likely to help you recover From algorithm updates rather than technical fixes.
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4. April product review update
In April, Google released an update aimed at rewarding higher-quality, deeper product reviews with higher visibility in search.
The update went live on April 8, 2021, and is specifically aimed at “simply summarizing the streamlined content of a bunch of products.” Google says.
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The first launch only affected English language reviews, and Mordy Oberstein wrote an excellent article Overview of who appears to be affected Why.
Google said at the time, “Although this is separate from our regular core updates, the advice we provide about creating quality content for these content is also important here.”
search engine Respected Content creators ask themselves about their product reviews, whether they:
- “Express product expertise in appropriate places?
- Show the product’s appearance or usage with unique content that exceeds the content provided by the manufacturer?
- Provide quantitative measurements on how the product measures various performance categories?
- Explain what differentiates the product from the competition?
- Cover similar products to be considered, or explain which products might be best for certain uses or situations?
- Based on research on a particular product, discuss its advantages and disadvantages?
- Describe how the product has evolved from previous models or versions to provide improvements, solve problems, or otherwise help users make purchasing decisions?
- Determine the key decision factors of the product category and the performance of the product in these areas? For example, a car review may determine that fuel economy, safety, and handling are key decision-making factors and rating performance in these areas.
- Describe the key choices of product design and their impact on users beyond what the manufacturer says? “
Google recently announced that Another product review update Will be launched within three weeks of December. This aims to reward authentic, high-quality reviews.
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Five, MUM introduction
Google’s MUM plan is undoubtedly the most influential announcement in the search field this year.
Multitasking Unified Model (MUM) uses the power of AI to help searchers complete more complex tasks.As of Preliminary announcement Regarding it, MUM has trained 75 different languages and is praised by Google as 1000 times more powerful than BERT.
MUM understands information from text and images, and Google plans to expand its capabilities to include video and audio.
Pandu Nayak, Google researcher and vice president of search May 18, 2021, Announcing, “We will bring MUM-supported features and improvements to our products in the coming months and years.”
We have seen the practical application of MUM technology in Google search-in processing and Understand inquiries about vaccine information And creating New ways to explore and discover topics, For example.
MUM will allow Google’s algorithms to understand search queries, content quality and relevance in more detail in the coming months and years.
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This will not be an optimization “for” thing; on the contrary, MUM is a technology that needs to be understood and understood because it will undoubtedly continue to improve the standards of content quality, relevance, and practicality.
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Other Google updates and notable stories
This is by no means a complete list of Google updates that have shaped the SEO world in the past 12 months.
Here are some other developments that you need to pay attention to at least as you develop your digital marketing strategy for the coming year.
Article ranking
Google announced in February that its algorithm could be considered Paragraphs on the page as an additional ranking factor, Used for English inquiries in the United States.
November core algorithm update
comprehensive, Feedback from the SEO community Shows that this update is quite mild. As Jim Boykin of Internet Marketing Ninjas said, “In general, this is just another algorithm update…Every time there are winners and losers.”
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October Search Quality Assessor Guidelines Update
Google add Five revisions to its search quality evaluator guidelines October, including updated guidelines on how to research reputation information for websites and creators, and changes to the way “crowd” is defined in the YMYL category.
Google Update Schema Marking Requirements
In October, Google changed HowTo, QAPage and SpecialAnnouncement modes To simplify these structured data types.You might want to see Changes to structured data used for comments,same.
Google algorithm updates against defamation
New York Times A report in June stated that Google plans to use algorithms to suppress the publication of unverified or slanderous websites.learn more Matt Southern’s article on updates.
Prepare for a successful SEO strategy in 2022
You don’t have to pay attention to every update of Google. However, understanding new features, changing SERP opportunities, and major Google updates provide important background information on what you see in website performance data.
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ICYMI, you also want to have SEO 2021 State of Search Engine Magazine As you navigate the ever-changing search environment and figure out how to turn the challenges of the past year into opportunities in 2022, you will have the industry survey results at hand.
If you are looking for educational resources to get team members to start running in January, be sure to check Our e-book library, Browse These on-demand webinars, And transfer into SEJ show podcast.
I wish you success in SEO!
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Featured image: Shutterstock/Dilok Klaisataporn
