Understanding Google’s search algorithm is the key to a successful marketing strategy. In this article, we’ll explore and let you know all about the latest Google updates and algorithm changes. That’s because Google search is the main search engine that most people use to look for information all across the internet and the world. As such, if your website ranks highly on Google search, you are guaranteed of good traffic and a high conversion rate, which most often means new customers.
Unfortunately, ranking high on Google is not easy. Unless you are in tune with what Google’s search algorithm is looking for, you could waste time and money with no results. That’s why when it comes to SEO, it is always best to engage the services of SEO experts such as Stan Ventures. You can check them out to learn more about their services.
That aside, there are several things that you need to know to complement the efforts of your chosen SEO company. To keep you up-to-date, here is what you need to know about the latest Google updates.
Latest Google Updates
1. Google intends to maintain its EAT (Expertise, Authority, Trust) philosophy
For some time now, Google has been quite assertive about maintaining it’s EAT standard. Essentially this means that Google intends to continue ranking websites with the most accurate and useful information on its first page.
For a website owner, this means that you need to invest more in creating the right content. Don’t just populate your website with any content, make sure that whatever features on it is relevant to the user. To achieve this, you need to think like your clients.
Ask yourself, is what I have posted on my website useful. If yes, then you are good to go. With the right content and other SEO tools, you should be in a position to rank on Google’s first page.
2. No follow and UGC-links will start passing link juice
One of Google’s updates in 2019 was about no follow and UGC-links. This will be quite useful to business owners going into 2020. As such, when designing a website, it is important to ask your web developer to take note of these two attributes. It will play a role in helping your website rank better in 2020. Google intends to make them a critical factor in web rankings starting in March 2020.
3. Google rolled out BERT for 70 languages in December 2019
BERT stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers). It is one of Google’s best algorithms for language processing. We’ll explore and let you know all about the latest Google search updates and algorithm changes to a successful marketing strategy.
The goal of the new language processing algorithm is to establish a relationship between a word and others, rather than doing it word-by-word. The goal is to make search more powerful and give users much better information.
So, as a business owner seeking to make the most of your marketing dollars, you should make use of keywords that can easily be queried and related to other more high-value keywords. Unless you are an SEO expert, this is not something you can do easily by yourself.
You need to engage the services of a top SEO expert. They have the know-how to make the most of this Google update for a better ranking of your business website.
4. The local Search Algorithm update
This is another of Google’s updates that every website owner needs to understand and keep updated. The company announced in November 2019, the fluctuations that were experienced in organic search in late 2019 were the result of this update.
In addition, the update was on the company’s neural networks to generate local results. While the company announced that webmasters don’t need to do anything following this update, it is important to take note of it. Since the goal is to localize search results, it would be prudent for a web owner to ensure that the content they generate is highly relevant to the local area that they intend to serve.
5. Unconfirmed Google algorithm updates
Since November 2019, Google has made several unconfirmed updates. One of them is about footer links. In an unofficial document, the company announced that it distribute links in the footers and templates of websites. As unnatural links.
While the company did not confirm the presence of these updates. So, a website owner needs to take note of them and respond. That’s where the services of a good SEO company comes into play. Moreover, an SEO expert can easily tell whether such unconfirmed updates have been affected or not and take the necessary measures. We’ll explore and let you know all about the latest Google search updates and algorithm changes to a successful marketing strategy.
Finally, with the above information on Google’s latest updates. So you should be in a position to get your website to rank better on Google. This will help you take your business to greater heights in 2024.
Google Algorithm Updates & Changes: A Complete History
- 1998: Backrub / Google Google’s journey began with “Backrub,” a primitive version of the search engine. The main focus was on backlink analysis, setting the foundation for future algorithms.
- 2000: Google Toolbar Google Toolbar was introduced, allowing users to perform searches without visiting Google’s homepage, which was the beginning of SEO as a practice.
- 2003: Florida Update Florida was one of the earliest updates, targeting deceptive SEO practices and keyword stuffing, emphasizing the need for quality content and ethical SEO strategies.
- 2005: NoFollow Attribute The NoFollow attribute was implemented to combat spammy links, allowing website owners to specify whether search engines should follow links on their pages or not.
- 2009: Vince Update The Vince Update strengthened the visibility of big brands in search results, emphasizing domain authority and trustworthiness.
- 2010: Google Caffeine Caffeine was a significant infrastructure update designed to speed up indexing of websites and integrate social media content in the search results, pushing SEO towards real-time optimization.
- 2011: Panda Update Google Panda prioritized high-quality content by penalizing websites with thin, duplicated, or plagiarized content, urging content creators to focus on value and originality.
- 2012: Penguin Update Penguin targeted over-optimized websites using manipulative linking schemes and keyword stuffing, emphasizing the importance of natural link building and relevant content.
- 2013: Hummingbird Update The Hummingbird update enabled Google to understand search queries better. Focusing on conversational search and semantic understanding, emphasizing the importance of content context and relevance.
- 2014: Pigeon Update Pigeon enhanced local SEO by giving preference to local search results, urging businesses to optimize for local keywords and use location-based SEO strategies.
Latest Google Algorithm Updates & Changes
- 2015: Mobilegeddon Update Mobilegeddon prioritized mobile-friendly websites in search rankings, emphasizing the importance of responsive design and mobile optimization.
- 2016: Possum Update Possum diversified local search results and prevented spam from ranking well. Emphasizing the significance of optimizing for local SEO.
- 2018: Mobile Speed Update This update made page speed a ranking factor for mobile searches. Highlighting the importance of optimizing website speed for enhanced user experience.
- 2019: BERT Update The BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) update improved Google’s understanding of natural language. Focusing on the context and intent behind search queries.
- 2021: Page Experience Update This update emphasized user experience. Taking into account factors like mobile-friendliness, secure browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines, underscoring the necessity for user-centric optimization.
