Google had multiple algorithm updates in the first quarter of 2020. After the COVID-19 outbreak, however, many parts of the organization were shut down to address safety concerns presented by the global pandemic. For this reason, many industries and analysts were on the lookout for what Google would do due to the increased dependence on online platforms and businesses.
Google has made many updates to its system that reach over a thousand updates throughout the year. Core updates, on the other hand, are only made three or four times for businesses to adapt to its new rating systems. The recent May update has forced digital marketers to consider making significant changes to their tactics in delivering better results to their clients.
Core algorithm changes to Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
The latest algorithm update brings several core changes to hit countries around the world two weeks after May 4, 2020. Its effects have been felt after two weeks of the implementation of SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) rankings. Various changes in terms of marketing volatility have been affected on different fronts. This has essentially forced digital marketers to reassess the structure and methods of their marketing strategies to receive better results amid the new update.
Although volatility doesn’t indicate that strategies are moving in the right direction, it does indicate movement of where online activities are preferred. For instance, mobile devices have generated 22% more volatility in SERPs rankings in the last few days compared to desktop SERPs. Because of this, different industries have received a substantial amount of positive growth in SERP rankings due to higher keyword visibility scores.
SERPs trends as a result of the algorithm changes
Structural changes seem to have a significant effect on mobile SERP features in the past month. Some of these trends are listed below:
- Top of Page ads is up to 32% from a previous 11.6%.
- Bottom of Page ads is up to 24% from its previous 2.8%.
- Sitelinks have increased to 74% from the previous 71%.
- Top Stories increased to 22% from its previous 9%.
- People Also Ask is down to 38.75% from its previous position of 39%.
These features are shown to have a significant increase in rankings for various websites. Another interesting fact to note is that the top 20 SERPs indicated that Google is rewarding pages built with higher page load speeds. These pages are provided with higher rankings, which are included to an average of 14.39% of the pages.
Potential trends and practices to observe in the future
Some businesses have felt a blow from the recent core update, but Search Engine Optimization (SEO) experts advise companies not to make significant adjustments to sites and digital marketing strategies just yet. Experiencing keyword drops in traffic is a typical aftereffect of Google’s updates. A clear trend is visible, however, that businesses that have invested in SEO tactics are less affected by the drop in organic traffic and are more rewarded by the positive upswings in the algorithm’s updated ranking systems.
Conclusion
Structural changes, such as technical corrections in observing features that are preferred by Google’s algorithm, will help improve your SERPs rankings in line with the recent trends. If you do not have the expertise to get it done, you can always depend on the help of professional digital marketers. Updates to the algorithms are necessary to make sure that the optimization of search engines is capable of providing the best results for users.
This should empower businesses to do the same in their business strategies by observing the positive practices that receive higher SERPs rankings. Optimized websites with fast load speeds and informative and credible content make for a strong contender in being seen as a reliable service not only by Google’s algorithm but also by your customers.
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