Google took everyone by surprise in the middle of the corona-virus pandemic – the online giant launched a new controversial update. What’s more, it happened on International Star Wars Day…

The update came as a shock for many, but Google updates are nothing new. They are launched regularly, at least several times a year. They are designed to improve Google’s search engine and, obviously, they can be launched even during the pandemic.

For instance, last year’s major update happened in June and was commonly known as the “Diversity Update”. The update was appreciated by the industry – mainly because it prevented the same domain appearing multiple times at the top of the results page. Simply put, it’s time to relax, as not all updates are designed to wreak havoc in the online world. Some of them fix issues that annoy us constantly, we just don’t realize it until they’re gone.

So what’s this new update all about? Let’s take a closer look at the most important aspects:

Core updates – what are they?

Google has released core updates regularly for the last few years. According to their official blog:

“Several times a year, we make significant, broad changes to our search algorithms and systems. We refer to these as “core updates.” They’re designed to ensure that overall, we’re delivering on our mission to present relevant and authoritative content to searchers.” Google

So what is the new update all about?

As you probably already know, Google announced the new update on May 4, 2020. The new algorithm is simply called “May 2020 Core Update”. The message from Google reads:

“Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the May 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.” Google

What are the effects of the update?

Early observers of the update noticed that the update increased the SERP volatility when compared to previous versions of the algorithm. According to RankRanger, the impact of the new update is greater than the previous one, released in January.

• the volatility for the top 3 results went up from 35 percent to 38 percent;
• the volatility for the top 5 results went up from 55 to 63 percent;
• for the top 10 results it went up from 88 to 93 percent.

What’s more, certain niches experienced even higher volatility:

• travel niche – volatility varied from 31 percent (top 3 results), to 56 percent (top 5 results), to 91 percent (top 10 results)
• retail niche – volatility varied from 37 percent (top 3 results), to 61 percent (top 5 results), to 88 percent (top 10 results)
• finance niche – volatility varied from 47 percent (top 3 results), to 72 percent (top 5 results), to 97 percent (top 10 results)
• health niche – volatility varied from 38 percent (top 3 results), to 63 percent (top 5 results), to 94 percent (top 10 results)
• other niches have shown high volatility, such as real estate, pets & animals, and people & society
• the average volatility for both retail and travel increased from 1.9 points in April to more than 9.3 on May 6, just after the update’s launch

Unfortunately, the reason behind the increased volatility is unclear, as Google provides limited information. Some experts suggest that the volatility may be caused by the shift in consumer interest during the quarantine. These industries are also some of the hardest hit during the pandemic, so this theory seems reasonable.

The winners of the SERP battle after the update

SEMRush has provided information on the winners of the SERP battle during the pandemic and after the update. For instance, news websites and aggregators have seen better SERP positions, followed closely by online communities and business & industrial websites.

So, your website was hit – what should you do?

If your website was hit by the update, don’t panic! According to Google, the updates are not designed to penalize websites or webmasters. They are designed to fix flaws and improve user experience.

Essentially, there’s nothing wrong if pages perform worse after the core update. They definitely didn’t violate webmaster guidelines and have not been manually reviewed by Google’s team, as it usually happens to the pages that violate the guidelines. What’s more, core updates don’t target specific websites or inner pages. They are designed to improve how Google assesses content as a whole. The changes may cause some websites to do better.

What should do you if there is nothing to fix?

There are multiple answers to this question. In some cases, getting less traffic isn’t quite a bad thing. The most obvious reason is a user’s “search intent”.

Let’s say you are getting a lot of traffic – a lot of people who search for various phrases which are not related to your website or your keywords. Yes, you get that traffic, and it looks good on paper, but there’s a catch. These people are not interested in your website, they accidentally landed on your website, and they bounce off your website quickly.

In this particular case, you must get the right traffic, not a lot of traffic. It’s about quality, not quantity.

So what’s Google’s advice when it comes to the recent core update?

Google is notoriously vague about their updates, no matter their impact. The team has a social media presence, but communication is poor. For instance, they direct all Twitter questions to a blog post from August 2019, “What webmasters should know about Google’s core updates”.

Google always reminds webmasters about the importance of high-quality content. Simply put, they confirm that quality is the most important measure for content. Google also provides a set of questions that you should ask yourself when it comes to content. Here are a few of them:

• Is my content substantial and original?
• Is my content trustworthy and well-researched?
• Does my content provide good analysis, preferably beyond what’s expected?
• Is the content referenced by authority websites?
• Is the content free of errors, clear and well-produced?
• Is the content interesting for readers? Does it provide value for readers?

Google suggests asking colleagues, friends, or anyone with some experience to review the website’s content. Also, you should pay attention to Google’s E-A-T standards (an acronym for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)

Content is king. At least that’s been the mantra of marketers for several years.

Is this really so? The answer is mixed. Because content is only “king” if it is created right. It must be “picked up” by search engines when consumers conduct generic searches for information related to the topics content writers offer. 

The problem is this: many content writers, especially those who are relatively new to the “business,” do not understand all of the facets of SEO. And they make mistakes that send their pieces out into the content “ocean,” never to be found and read. 

Here are the common mistakes that new content authors tend to make.

• Not Understanding Current Seo Algorithms
• Making Mistakes With Keyword Use
• Writing Like An Academic
• Not Maintaining A Production Schedule
• Not Knowing Your Audience
• Focusing On Product And Services Rather Than Customers And Value
• Not Using Images And Media
• Not Actively Seeking Back-links
• Not Including Social Proof

 

1. Not Understanding Current SEO Algorithms

These are not published for everyone to see. And they have evolved over time. These evolutions are the result of a couple of things. Google wants to make sure that the content it ranks well is actually providing what searchers want. And technology has developed that makes it easier to comb through content and decide if it is valuable.

What content authors should know is this: Google wants to see high-quality content that provides real value. And its criteria for real value include meeting needs and addressing the pain points of readers along with popularity and relevance of the content topic. While a content author may not know all of the ranking details, these criteria should drive all that he writes.

2. Making Mistakes With Keyword Use

In times past, the more keywords an author could get into a piece of content, the better. Google is much smarter than that now. It actually punishes content that is stuffed with keywords. And, because searchers are now using search phrases rather than just single words, algorithms have changed to meet those behaviors. With this in mind, authors must do the following:

• Research the most popular and relevant keyword phrases that searchers are using. There are plenty of tools out there like SEM Rush and Moz Keyword Explorer for this purpose.
• Pick just a couple that is the most popular. Use them in the title, the meta description and, depending on the length of the piece, intersperse them naturally within the content. 
• Don’t force a keyword phrase into content if it doesn’t just fall naturally within the context. 

3. Writing Like An Academic

In college, you wrote essays and papers. You had to use very formal and scholarly English. Now you are in the business of writing content for the normal and average readers. They don’t want lofty composition. They want creative, nuts and bolts English that they do not have to work to understand. 

• Dump the complex sentence structures. Simple sentences do best.
• Dump the “high-end” vocabulary. Use simple vocabulary that a 7^th grader could understand.
• Write your content as if you were writing a letter to a best friend. This is the style and tone you should use in your content.

If you are struggling to simplify your content, then use some resources to help you edit your content. Many writing services have copywriting experts to do this. Check out Grab My Essay or Studicus for starters. And use a tool like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor that will give you a reading level and suggest how to simplify your writing. 

4. Not Maintaining A Production Schedule

Readers who access your content want to see new stuff on a regular basis. If they don’t, they won’t come back. And traffic will suffer. Setting up a calendar is critical, along with topics to be addressed within that schedule.

Productivity can be an issue here, so use some of the great tools out there to keep you focused, on task, and meeting those deadlines. 

5. Not Knowing Your Audience

Smart marketers have developed personas of their ideal customers, and these should be used when writing content. When writers do not have an intimate understanding of their audiences, they will not produce content that will engage, educate, and even inspire them. When readers land on content that does not honor their preferences, they will bounce. Google does not like this. It means that traffic flow is not good. Good traffic means that visitors come and actually stay a while. 

Consider the difference in writing style and tone for millennials as opposed to senior citizens. The vocabulary and tone will be vastly different. Likewise, a piece of content for Red Bull will be totally different from one written for Rolex Watches.

6. Focusing On Product And Services Rather Than Customers And Value

It’s easy to fall into the habit of showcasing products or services, in order to get those conversions/sales you want. But today’s consumer is turned off by hard selling techniques. And Google is not excited about this type of content.

Instead, focus on consumer needs, pain points, and the solutions they want. What solutions does your product or service provide?

One of the best examples of this is Dollar Shave Club. They identified a problem – men using disposable razors and yet running out of them, forgetting to stop at the store to buy them, and then being forced to use an old dirty one. It set up a subscription service that would deliver razors to the door. Problem solved. It’s content, including an amazing initial explainer video, went viral. This is the kind of thing Google loves. 

Jim Jenkins, Content Manager for Trust My Paper, puts it this way: “We are in the business of providing writing products and services to our clients. We don’t ‘sell’ our products. We focus on what the client will get as a result of using our services – better grades in school, for instance. When we can solve their problems, we get their business and their recommendations.” 

7. Not Using Images And Media

One of the things we know about consumers today is that they want what they want quickly and easily. They don’t want to read walls of text. Anytime content can be delivered via photos, videos, and even some of the newer technologies of AR and VR, it will be a winner. There will plenty of shares, and traffic will increase. Google likes lots of traffic. It says that your content is popular and relevant.

8. Not Actively Seeking Back-links

Backlinks come from places outside of your site or blog. They come from related niches that have found your content to be valuable. Getting quality backlinks takes time but the more you get the better for your SEO rankings.

Courting reputable related businesses, publishing on their blogs, and getting them to put links to you in their content is important. A word of caution: Do not solicit backlinks from unrelated or questionable sources. You will be punished for this.

9. Not Including Social Proof

Consumers rely on other consumers for recommendations more than ever before. If you are not including comments, photos, and even videos of happy customers, then you are missing out on lots of traffic and, of course, sales. And that traffic translates to higher SEO rankings.

Don’t Panic

If you are new to this “world” of content, there is no reason to panic and think you cannot do it right. You can. And the more experience you have with content creation the better you will become. Take these 8 common mistakes to heart and make a commitment to avoid them.

Author Bio: Erica Sunarjo is a content writer and blogger for several venues, including the writing services Best Essay Education and Wow Grade. As an experienced content creator, she is a contributor to LiveInspiredMagazine.