Google algorithm updates are mostly about ranking the most relevant and user-friendly webpages on search results and lowering the ranking of pages deemed less relevant or user-friendly. It is a misconception that Google has penalized you if your webpages have lost traffic after the Google Algorithm Updates. If it were a penalty, Google would have sent you the notice about Webmaster Guideline violations through Google’s Search Console.
The Good News is that you can take certain steps to recover your search rankings after an in-depth website audit.
Here are the 12 best ways to regain your SERP rankings after Google Core Algorithm Update
1. Measure Core Web Vitals
Look at your Google Search Console Core Web Vitals report to understand where your website lacks in terms of LCP: Largest Contentful Paint (Above the fold content should load quickly), FID: First Input Delay (render-blocking javascript). CLS: Cumulative Layout Shift (stop page content from moving as the webpage loads). Most importantly, look at errors specifically affecting your website on the mobile device as Google uses the website’s mobile version to rank and index your website.
2. Understand User Intent
If you have lost traffic after the Google core algorithm update, look at the keywords that have dropped in ranking or disappeared from SERP. Analyze the intent and content of the page on which these keywords were trying to rank. For example, if you are an eCommerce website trying to rank on general terms or informational intent keywords, but the content on the webpage was mostly about buying or selling, it’s best to focus on buying intent keywords. Google Algorithm wants to show the webpages that closely relate to the intent of the searcher’s query.
If someone is looking for ”how to use air purifier’’ an article or informative blog has the best chance to rank on it. On the other hand, the ‘Buy Air purifier’ search term gives eCommerce websites better chances to rank. Pick your battles wisely. Revisit the content, Title tag, H tag, and other SEO elements to target the keywords that would best match users’ search intent and your business goals. You can also target POA (people also ask) and other rich results to get additional traffic.
3. Update Meta title and description on affected web-pages
SERP Competitors – Look at the websites that are now ranking higher than you in SERP. For example, if you are an eCommerce website but notice Amazon or Walmart ranking higher than you, it would not be easy to compete with them. If you an informative blog but have lost keywords to popular news or authoritative service website, you are bound to lose traffic.
If your ranking has tanked after Google Update, the solution is to create original content, re-write your Meta title and description to make them more eye-catching to increase the number of clicks (CTR). Even if you are not ranking on top positions, an impressive Meta title and description with a good CTA (call to action) can get you the desired traffic. For example, if your Meta title is “Top 10 SEO Tools’ change it to “Top 10 SEO Tools [Updated for 2023]” or “Top 10 SEO Tools [Free eBook Inside]”. Check your Google Search Console for more information on pages that are receiving fewer clicks after the update. Look for queries they used to rank earlier and update the Meta tags accordingly. The key is to create original, helpful content and provide accurate answers to the user’s query.
4. Test and increase your page speed
Websites with slow loading speed provide users a bad browsing experience. Google will most likely downgrade the ranking of webpages with poor loading time. Test your website with PageSpeedInsights and check your CDN (Content Delivery Network) and cache settings. Compress the images and evaluate any plugins or 3rd party extensions on your websites that can possibly increase the page load time.
5. Reduce the number of Affiliate ads, banners, and links
If your website or blog is using excessive affiliate ads, it’s time to cut them short. Intrusive 3rd party ads and banners lead to a bad user experience. Except for Google AdSense, if you are using Amazon affiliates or any other advertising or affiliate links, reduce their quantity, especially on pages with thin content. Also, mark all affiliate links as no-follow and sponsored. Check your rankings again. It is likely to improve once the scripts loading the affiliate ads are reduced.
6. Author Bio is critical for search ranking
To recover from Google Core Algorithm Updates, ensure all your posts have an author byline. Google is very particular about the expertise of authors who provide information that falls under the YMYL category. For example, topics related to health, finance, and the well-being of people. Apart from that, having an author bio with social links enhances the user experience and trustworthiness, increasing your chance to rank on desired keywords. You can increase your website’s chances of a quick recovery by including the author’s information and relevant reference links to trustworthy sources in the article.
7. Give attention to the ‘About Us’ page
Your website’s “About Us” page and associated schema markup provide Google important information about your website and business. Include all the important information about your website, including authors/employees, awards or certificates, testimonials, customer support contact details, and social media links. Apart from the ‘about us’ page, it is best to update your privacy policy to comply with data sharing and protection regulations.
8. Build quality backlinks
Instead of low-quality backlinks, focus your energy on gaining relevant backlinks from quality websites. There are various ways to attract quality backlinks to your websites, including guest blogging, launching giveaways, and social media outreach. Here are 7 Quick and Proven Backlink Building Strategies. Content syndication on websites such as Medium and Quora can also help promote your content and increase visibility. If you have previously engaged in tactics that generate low-quality, irrelevant or spammy backlinks, try to get them removed by approaching those sites’ webmasters. As a last resort, go to Google’s disavow links tool page and remove the toxic links.
9. Revisit your publishing schedule
Google prefers fresh and updated content from websites. Increase the frequency of posting content on your website and regularly update the old articles. From time to time, Google removes obsolete content and replaces it with engaging fresh content. It is best to remove the content if you have reworded, scrapped, or duplicated content from other websites. Take a look at Google’s Quality Raters’ Guidelines (QRG) and publish quality content to meet the guidelines as much as possible.
Analysis of Google’s November core algorithm update showed that Google prefers content that matches users’ search intent. To recover from Google updates, create quality content that solves readers’ queries and regularly publishes such topics.
10. Gain Social Signals
Social signals do play a vital role in search rankings. It is debatable how much value Google places on social signals, but there is no denying that the more socially liked and shared content rank higher than others. Bing Webmaster Guidelines clearly state the importance of social media signals in rankings. If not from Google, you will definitely see improvement in ranking and traffic on Bing and Yahoo. Energize your social media profile and encourage users to like and share your content for better search rankings. Convert your content into interesting infographics or videos and share them on Pinterest, YouTube, and other social media channels. These channels, in turn, would increase traffic to your website.
11. Avoid Excessive Pop-ups
Try to remove and disable distracting popups and annoying opt-in widgets. They slow down the website and provide a bad user experience. Carefully choose the timing and pop-up designs to make them the least disruptive. Such pop-ups are often responsible for low search rankings if not integrated seamlessly into the website. A/B test and see the impact of pop-ups on your website. You can also take a user survey to understand better how your website visitors like them.
12. Prioritize Mobile Friendliness
After Google rolled out mobile-first indexing, it is imperative to have a responsive and mobile-friendly website. Check for any display issues, loading errors, or poor formatting on mobile devices. Make sure the text and images are readable and displayed equally well on all devices. There are many free mobile-friendly test tools, including the one available at Google search console and Bing Webmaster. Resolve all errors that appear in the mobile usability report in the Google search console.
Additional Tip- Check your SSL certificate and mixed content warnings
Having an HTTPS secured website is a must. Make sure your SSL certificate is working fine without any errors and warnings. Also, see if all URLs are properly 301 redirected from HTTP to HTTPS version of the website. Since chrome browser will start to block web pages with mixed content by December 2019, make sure that you have no resources (scripts, images, style, or links) on your HTTPS secured website being loaded using the insecure HTTP protocol. You can check for such mixed content from Screaming Frog Crawl Software, Simply SSL (WordPress Plugin)
Finally, don’t forget to update your sitemap. Submit your updated links for re-indexing in Google Search Console.
Let us know about your experience of recovering from Google Core Algorithm Updates in the comments below.
Hunaid Germanwala is a digital marketer and content creator at Health Products For You since 2014. He has an MS from Ulm University in Germany. His mind is always buzzing with creative ideas and is eager to explore new perspectives. His motto in life is “Better to Light the Candle than to Curse the Darkness.”