Major Google Update Took Place On 25 June

An update to Google’s algorithm has had a significant impact on rankings. What are the implications for your SEO?

It is no secret that Google issues tweaks and updates to its algorithm all the time. However, not all updates are the same, and online chatter has gradually increased as the full implications of an update that took place on 25-26 June became clear, and MozCast reported higher than usual temperatures.

The world of Google algorithm updates is always shrouded in mystery, and it can sometimes take time to get a full picture of what each one means. The best information sources are the streams of chatter in the blogosphere among researchers and those involved in search engine optimisation services.

This is because Google itself very seldom makes announcements on the subject, and when asked, simply gives the stock answer that they make updates every day, and today is no different. On 25 June, Google’s John Mueller was true to form, and parried questions with the usual reply.

However, following a few days of quiet muttering, it has quickly become apparent that this latest update was actually the most significant that has been seen so far this year.

Are You Affected?

One of the reasons that there was initially only a limited amount of chatter was that this latest update seems to have had little or no effect on the top ranking sites. That’s the good news. But hold fire on that sigh of relief, because it does, however, appear to have played havoc with sites ranked in positions six to ten on the search results.

Reports came in of fluctuations in all industries and sectors, with those in food and drink, retail, gambling and the health and fitness niches hit harder than the rest.

What To Do

The response from Google that was mentioned earlier might sound trite, but it is actually the key to weathering this and every other such storm. Every time there is a Google update, webmasters fall into two categories – the ones who run around the henhouse in a flurry of squawking and feathers, wondering how it has all gone so wrong and why life is so cruel, and the ones who sit back smirking as their site has gone up in the rankings.

Any you can bet that the same old chickens consistently appear in each of the two camps. So the real question is not “what can I do about this update,” but “what can I do about updates, because as Google rightly says, they happen every day.”

If you can nail that one, you will successfully transition from squawker to smirker, and the route to success might be right there in Google Analytics. See what you can learn from your historical data – after all, if you were adversely hit by this update – well, you know the rest, there is a good chance you will see previous dips and find that they correlated with other specific updates.

Ultimately, with the right SEO approach, involving white hat strategies, good quality content and so on, Google updates should hold no fear for you. But by examining your historical data in this way, you can gain valuable insights on what aspects of your site are potentially creating an issue for Google, and you can take the first steps towards putting them right.