Stay Updated Wit Last Google Search Algorithm Update

The first page of Google is the holy grail for marketing and we believe at Go Florida SEO that you need to be there. Page one search results account for 92 percent of traffic with clicks dropping by 95 percent on the second page.

But your last Google search won’t always match the next. Google updates its algorithm every so often to provide a better search experience for users.

Google’s November 2019 algorithm update is sure to leave an impact on how your business ranks. It’s time to adjust your SEO strategies to account for these updates.

Here’s what you should know about the latest algorithm update.

Navigating the Algorithm

Google’s search algorithm helps your customers navigate through hundreds of billions of web pages. The high number of fake websites, viruses and spam online can distort search results without the help of strict regulation.

Google scans that content of your website pages to ensure the content is both credible and useful. If your content meets Google’s standards, it’s more likely to have high search rankings.

There isn’t one main algorithm, but a series of algorithms that match your keywords, location, the expertise of web sources and the relevance of web pages. The usability of your web pages is also an important consideration.

Here are the top factors that influence how search results are determined:

• Meaning of search words
• Web page relevance
• Quality of content
• Usability of web pages
• Context and settings

These areas combined help Google analyze the performance of its algorithms. The factors listed also influence where changes are made when updates are released.

The Last Google Search Update

The November 2019 Local Search Update included changes that have left a major impact on website owners. According to Inc., a range of websites are reporting a 30 to 40 percent drop in traffic.

Unfortunately, Google won’t share all the details of what exactly changed in its algorithm update. This is to prevent unfair SEO practices that allow poor content to rise to the top.

The downside is that credible web pages might suffer if they don’t structure content in a way that the algorithm likes. Unlike a human reviewer, a search formula can’t always discern the human intention behind a web page.

Categories that might suffer the most are travel and food bloggers. Travel spam is extremely popular and has elements that have caused it to rise in search rankings following the last update.

BERT

It’s important to understand deep learning to understand how the recent updates impact your business. BERT, or bidirectional encoder representations from transformers, is a technology that aims to understand natural language.

Gone are the days when mentioning keywords in every sentence yields high search rankings. The overuse of keywords in the new search update can actually lead to a poorer SEO result.

Website owners and bloggers should focus instead on content relevance skipping over the instinct to flood an article with keywords. The BERT system detects what users want by the way their keywords are phrased more than simply by the use of keywords.

Neural Matching

The one change Google is sharing in detail is the inclusion of neural matching in its search algorithm. Neural matching is a more in-depth method of deciding a user’s intention in a search using artificial intelligence.

Google began the rollout of neural matching in 2018. The hope was to uncover more about user intentions when searching for local business names.

Google calls neural matching a ‘super synonym system’ because it matches words to others that are closely related in meaning.

This new tool is extremely helpful to search for users who might not know the correct term for a problem they need to fix. By simply describing the issue using similar words, they still yield search results that can answer their questions.

One example Google search liaison, Danny Sullivan offers is the search “why does my TV look strange?” The result in his screenshot example shows a list of information about the Soap Opera Effect since it’s one of the latest issues with newer HD TVs.

The relevance of the search results for a strange-looking TV takes into account what’s happening in the latest tech news and the frequency of the issue.

Now users should expect new results when searching for local companies that include a list of results closer to the intention of the search. The launch of neural matching happened in countries around the globe in a variety of languages.

How to Keep Up

It’s impossible to dissect the algorithm down to the letter. Google shares specific features more to promote itself as a leader in innovation than to help small businesses rank higher.

The latest search algorithm update was not a major change for all web pages. The overarching best practices for SEO still remain the same.

As long as you’re looking for ways to appear organically in search results, you’re making the right move. An AI can easily detect the fraudulent use of keywords on a web page.

Consider adding a blog with articles about a range of topics on best practices in your business. Keeping the content within a narrow range of subjects can be helpful in improving your SEO performance.

Any content you add should be less focused on self-promotion and more on problems customers face. Get feedback from customers directly if you aren’t sure how to expand your content marketing.

Staying the Course

Your customer’s last Google search will improve with the inclusion of AI neural matching. This can be to your benefit as long as you stay the course.

Hiring an SEO consultant can help you avoid a lot of these little issues. Continue with the SEO best practice of including only relevant, useful content on your website. Become a thought leader through strong, authoritative blog posts that solve customer problems.

For more information on improving your SEO strategy, check our blog for updates.