Major Google Algorithm Updates

Search engine optimization is an essential part of digital marketing, both for Australian professional agencies as well as individuals who wish to advertise their online platforms. However, there hardly any rules set in stone in this industry because Google, a key player search engine, keeps changing its search algorithms.

At first, these updates where cosmetic and years apart but nowadays, algorithms change so often that is hard to keep track of all of them. Another big issue is that there is no telling when the next change will happen and what exactly it will involve. This poses a natural question: is there a way to prepare your website for major algorithm changes by Google? We think it is.

What remains pretty much the same during algorithm updates?

Since Google uses several hundreds of ranking signals to match the results to users’ queries as much as possible, they cannot change a whole lot. Knowing what signals are likely to remain unaltered helps you make a better SEO strategy.

One of the signals that are unlikely to change much in the near future is page authority and domain indicators of links. The quantity and quality of links that point to a specific web page are pretty much standard so they are unlikely to change for the years to come.

Furthermore, link source diversity is such an important part of SEO that tweaking it just a bit can disrupt the entire system. Keywords are also unalterable because they are used linking and referral. The age-old (if the terms can be used for an invention less than three decades old) practice of inserting several keywords and linking then internally and externally is still something you can go by when optimizing your website. Finally, semantic search is a feature that Google will count on for years to come.

The future of SEO is voice search

Although voice search too off only a decade ago, voice search is the future of SEO. People in Google are aware of this so they will only develop this feature; not do away with it. The reason for the voice search’s popularity is the fact that Internet users are more mobile than ever, accessing online content from their smartphones and tablets.

Not only does voice search save time but it is ideal for car drivers to type in (orally, of course) the location in their GPS device. Furthermore, people, especially seniors who have had issues with typing letter on ever-smaller keyboards can nor input data with pressing anything, even it were a touchscreen. 

Apart from voice search that your web platform needs to be optimized for, speech recognition is another software solution you should prepare to implement if you still haven’t done so. As the service becomes more advanced, it will be able to distinguish between different languages and accents so a heavy Australian English accent will no longer be a problem for many users nationwide.

Improved rapport with customers

The main reason why Google is constantly updating its algorithms is to price users with organic data because they too want to keep as many users possible in Australia and across the globe. Having said this, it is clear that providing customers with clear-cut, concise answers is imperative for any SEO agency as well as individuals who dabble in online marketing.

You should find out what your customers need by enabling quick answer boxes and a 24/7 presence on social platforms. If you install a system in which a customer has the possibility to ask you something business-related and get their answer in a timely manner, Google search algorithms are going to rank your website high.

Google’s Quick Answer box

What is more, if you are able to come up with unique and clear-enough content, Google will feature you in their own “Quick Answer box,” boosting your traffic significantly. In general, marketers who use the HTML list format have a greater chance of being featured Quick Answer boxes that are to the liking of most users.

HTTPS will only grow in importance

In 2014, Google started giving more importance to HTTPS, a secure version of HTTP, as a ranking signal. Since then, Google has encouraged websites to make the switch to HTTPS, as part of its effort to improve users’ search experience. The vast majority of website owners were happy to jump on the bandwagon since being on the same page with Google (pun intended) was in their best interest too.

Seasoned marketers and SEO specialists have already secured their websites with the 2048-bit encryption certification and so should you. The move is fairly cheap but it significantly improves server performance that results in a more responsive web presentation. An alternative is 301 redirects for sites' HTTP-to-HTTPS URLs. 

Better responsiveness on mobile apps too

Speaking of the time the typical user has to wait to open a page, mobile responsiveness stand neck to neck to desktop one. Marketers need to personally make sure their web sites are not only fast but mobile-friendly as well.

Half a decade ago, Google launched an open-source initiative Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project that aims to significantly improve the performance of Web services on mobile devices. Today, the search engine definitely gives priority to AMP-optimized mobile pages since speed is one of Google’s most favoured signals. 

As you have seen from our article, it is not that hard to stay up to date in terms of changes in Google’s search algorithms. Sure, they can prove to be a real headache for marketers and SEO experts but their end-goal is improving user’s experience when browsing the Web.