8 major Google algorithm updates, explained - Tronic Global
1. Panda
Launch date:
February 24, 2011
Hazards:
Duplicate, plagiarized or thin content; user-generated spam; keyword stuffing
How it
works: Panda assigns a so-called “quality score” to web pages; this score is
then used as a ranking factor. Initially, Panda was a filter rather than part
of Google’s ranking algo, but in January 2016, it was officially incorporated
into the core algorithm. Panda rollouts have become more frequent, so both
penalties and recoveries now happen faster.
How to
adjust: Run regular site checks for content duplication, thin content and
keyword stuffing. To do that, you’ll need a site crawler, like SEO PowerSuite’s
Website Auditor.
If you have
an e-commerce site and cannot afford to have 100 percent unique content, try to
use original images where you can, and utilize user reviews to make product
descriptions stand out from the crowd. For more tips on content auditing, jump
to this six-step guide.
2. Penguin
Launch date:
April 24, 2012
Hazards:
Spammy or irrelevant links; links with over-optimized anchor text
How it
works: Google Penguin’s objective is to down-rank sites whose links it deems
manipulative. Since late 2016, Penguin has been part of Google’s core
algorithm; unlike Panda, it works in real time.
How to
adjust: Monitor your link profile’s growth and run regular audits with a
backlink checker like SEO SpyGlass. In the tool’s Summary dashboard, you’ll
find a progress graph for your link profile’s growth. Look out for any unusual
spikes: those are reason enough to look into the backlinks you’ve unexpectedly
gained.
3. Hummingbird
Launch date:
August 22, 2013
Hazards:
Keyword stuffing; low-quality content
How it
works: Hummingbird helps Google better interpret search queries and provide
results that match searcher intent (as opposed to the individual terms within
the query). While keywords continue to be important, Hummingbird makes it
possible for a page to rank for a query even if it doesn’t contain the exact
words the searcher entered. This is achieved with the help of natural language
processing that relies on latent semantic indexing, co-occurring terms and
synonyms.
How to
adjust: Expand your keyword research and focus on concepts, not keywords.
Carefully research related searches, synonyms and co-occurring terms. Great
sources of such ideas are Google Related Searches and Google Autocomplete.
You’ll find all of them incorporated into Rank Tracker’s Keyword Research
module.
4. Pigeon
Launch date:
July 24, 2014 (US); December 22, 2014 (UK, Canada, Australia)
Hazards:
Poor on- and off-page SEO
How it works: Pigeon affects those searches in
which the user’s location plays an important part. The update created closer
ties between the local algorithm and the core algorithm: traditional SEO
factors are now used to rank local results.
How to adjust: Invest effort into on- and off-page
SEO. A good starting point is running an on-page analysis with WebSite Auditor.
The tool’s Content Analysis dashboard will give you a good idea about the
aspects of on-page optimization you need to focus on.
5. Mobile
Launch date:
April 21, 2015
Hazards:
Lack of a mobile version of the page; poor mobile usability
How it works: Google’s Mobile Update (aka
Mobilegeddon) ensures that mobile-friendly pages rank at the top of mobile
search, while pages not optimized for mobile are filtered out from the SERPs or
seriously down-ranked.
How to adjust: Go mobile and focus on speed and
usability. Google’s mobile-friendly test will help you see which aspects of
your page’s mobile version need to be improved. The test in integrated into
WebSite Auditor so you can check your pages’ mobile friendliness quickly.
You’ll find it in Content Analysis > Page Audit, under the Technical factors
tab.
6. RankBrain
Launch date:
October 26, 2015
Hazards:
Lack of query-specific relevance features; shallow content; poor UX
How it works: RankBrain is part of Google’s
Hummingbird algorithm. It is a machine learning system that helps Google
understand the meaning behind queries, and serve best-matching search results
in response to those queries. Google calls RankBrain the third most important
ranking factor. While we don’t know the ins and outs of RankBrain, the general
opinion is that it identifies relevance features for web pages ranking for a
given query, which are basically query-specific ranking factors.
How to adjust: Optimize content for relevance and
comprehensiveness with the help of competitive analysis. With the help of
WebSite Auditor‘s TF-IDF tool, you can discover relevant terms and concepts
used by a large number of your top-ranking competitors: those are a brilliant
way to diversify your content.
7. Possum
Launch date:
September 1, 2016
Hazards:
Tense competition in your target location
How it
works: The Possum update ensured that local results vary more depending on the
searcher’s location: the closer you are to a business’s address, the more
likely you are to see it among local results. Possum also resulted in greater
variety among results ranking for very similar queries, like “dentist denver”
and “dentist denver co.” Interestingly, Possum also gave a boost to businesses
located outside the physical city area.
How to
adjust: Expand your keyword list and do location-specific rank tracking. Local
businesses now need to be targeting more keywords than they used to, due to the
volatility Possum brought into the local SERPs. As you check your rankings,
make sure you’re doing this from your target location (or, better yet, a bunch
of them). You can do this in Rank Tracker under Preferences > Preferred
Search Engines. Click Add Custom next to Google. Next, specify your preferred
location — you can make it as specific as a street address
8. Fred
Launch date:
March 8, 2017
Hazards:
Thin, affiliate-heavy or ad-centered content
How it works: The latest of Google’s confirmed
updates, Fred targets websites that violate Google’s webmaster guidelines. The
majority of affected sites are blogs with low-quality posts that appear to be
created mostly for the purpose of generating ad revenue.
How to adjust: Review Google Search Quality
Guidelines and watch out for thin content. If you show ads, make sure the pages
they are found on are high-quality and offer relevant, ample information. This
is basically it: Don’t try to trick Google into thinking your page is about
something when it really is a gateway page full of affiliate links. Most
publishers make money off ads, and that’s totally legit as long as you are not
cheating.
Comments
Post a Comment