How Do You Stay One Step Ahead of Google Algorithm Updates

Your company's profitability can be massively influenced by the quality of the services and products you sell and the SEO strategies you use to enhance your brand's visibility in global markets. One problem with SEO, however, is its dependence on the ranking factors used by search engines. Is everything going well, and is your search results visibility within the expected parameters? Unfortunately, everything can change in an instant due to an unfortunate algorithm update. Google rolls out major updates to its algorithm every year, and sometimes, these changes can produce sharp volatility and financial losses for unsuspecting businesses.

Staying one step ahead of these updates is crucial, whether you are a regional company or a national enterprise looking to expand your services globally. By being prepared for Google's algorithm changes, your website can maintain its visibility, achieve the same level of traffic conversions as before, and ensure high UX satisfaction for your target audience. Google claims that algorithm updates are not designed to penalize sites that no longer fit within its guidelines. But the figures speak for themselves. After almost every major update, the volatility in programs like SEMrush skyrockets, which means there are massive changes in search page rankings.

Admittedly, Google does not directly penalize sites that do not follow the guidelines imposed by crawlers. But it rewards those that do with a better score in the SERP. The problem is that algorithm changes are secretive, and it is impossible to know what modifications will be made to the crawlers and how they will interact with your site. In theory, as long as the E-A-T rules, the Core Web Vitals, and the general guidelines for external links are followed, your site should not be massively affected. But theory is one thing; practice is another.

Core Updates and Volatility Changes

Google generally rolls out around three core updates per year, although there are years, such as 2023, when there may be four or even five. Core updates are significant changes to the algorithm used by the search engine, which usually comes with increased volatility and shifts in targeted industries. What are some changes implemented by Google in the last couple of years? For one thing, a significant update was the introduction of a new language model in October 2018.

BERT, which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, was created to better structure the context behind indexed texts and has been one of the most influential ML frameworks used in recent years for natural language processing purposes. Likewise, since 2018, Google has adopted a mobile-first initiative that prioritizes sites well-optimized for mobile devices. This approach makes sense from a market share perspective, as over 57% of internet traffic comes from smartphones.

Different Ranking Factors

In 2021, Google introduced the Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor, with the changes fully rolled out for mobile and desktop devices by February 2022. And recently, in 2023, Google introduced no less than four core updates. What is the reason for these updates? Google rarely details the changes produced by its algorithm updates and only specifies how they improve rankings for websites that promote quality content. What does quality content mean?

For Google, this represents qualitative trust-worthy articles that comply with E-A-T rules and that benefit from external links from expert sources, reviews for products or services accompanied by images and personal opinions, and, more broadly, that respect the elements outlined in the Google Search essential guideline. If your site complies with white-hat SEO practices, it should not be massively affected. But this will also depend on the complexity of your services and the domain you operate in.

Not all algorithm changes implemented by Google can be considered core updates. Some changes are minor and only affect niche industries, while others are language-locked and do not affect all sites. For a change to be considered a "core update," it must increase volatility and affect sites in multiple regions. This does not mean that a minor update cannot affect your business. If your company operates a blog section where you review products, then a minor spam update could affect profitability more than core updates. Algorithm changes affect all sites differently, and that's why they are hard to predict.

What Are Some Tips to Stay Ahead of Google Updates?

To begin with, you need to seek the professional services of a search engine optimization company. Although effective, the problem with SEO is that it is a full-time job requiring great concentration from your employees. Do you want the quality of your services to remain high? In that case, you must outsource your SEO needs to a third party. How can the company you call prevent disruptions caused by algorithm changes? By staying informed. Google doesn't provide much information about upcoming algorithm changes. Nevertheless, they always give a head-up a few days before they are introduced.

By reading blog posts and following social media channels, a professional company can get a general idea of future algorithm updates' impact on search engine rankings. However, the best way to minimize updates' impact on business profitability is by adopting white-hat SEO practices and prioritizing users' experience. Google updates affect different regions and industries, but they all have the same thing in common: they are meant to improve how users interact with websites.

As long as your pages post quality content that meets the E-A-T guideline and you don't engage in spammy practices, disruptions to your services will be minimized. Admittedly, the more complex a site is, the more significant the impact of algorithm changes can be. But even in the case of multinational conglomerates, as long as the content is qualitative and the practices imposed in the webmaster guidelines are followed, the search ranking should return to normal after a short period of volatility.

What If I am a Regional Business?

Are you the owner of a company in Miami that provides services to clients in your nearby area? If so, you will need to use the professional services of an SEO agency in Miami to handle the online optimization operations of your business. If your firm focuses on local SEO, then the algorithm changes implemented by Google will not have the same level of volatility for you. At least as long as services like GMB or Google Maps are unaffected.

An agency specialized in Miami SEO could identify keywords used by your target audience, optimize your GMB profile, provide the latest contact information pertinent to your business, and create locally relevant content. Are you searching for the best SEO company active in Miami? In this case, you should use the services of an agency with experience in link-building strategies that can implement a mobile optimization campaign designed to improve your website speed and keep you in tune with the requirements of the CWVs.

An algorithm change, although not as disruptive to local businesses, can influence link profile management, alter ranking factors, or modify the impact of GMB elements. Collaborating with a professional company can be helpful to stay one step ahead of algorithm changes and continuously improve your services with the help of white-hat SEO methods. Can you personally take care of your company's SEO strategy? Yes, but that would be wasteful of your time. SEO entails complex techniques that require professional tools. By outsourcing your SEO requirements, you will reduce your workload. And your saved time could be reinvested in the other departments of your business.

It’s All About Staying Prepared

The way we use search engines will change massively in the next few years, with giants like Bing and Google currently engaged in a war for AI market supremacy. With the introduction of its AI assistant, Bard, Google is starting to break away from the competition. However, this also changes how search engine core updates are delivered. Until November 2023, there were no less than four separate algorithm core updates, not including the minor ones related to spam practices and search indexation. 2023 was a year of volatility in the SEO industry, and things will continue on the same path until AI becomes an integral part of how we approach search engine queries.

How can businesses prepare for future algorithm changes? By staying informed and respecting the content guidelines laid down in webmaster guides. Even if, in the next few years, the majority of searches will be carried out with the help of voice commands and smart assistants, the sites that will register high traffic will still be those that respect the rules imposed by search engines. Algorithm changes are part of the reality of a search engine optimization strategy. And where there is a need for market growth, there will be a market for professional SEO firms.