Google announces an algorithm update and your site is starting to show signs of being affected – now what?
Are the two even related? We’ll cover all that & more in this complete guide to dealing with & recovering from Google algorithm updates the right way…
Remember – Why Do Algorithm Updates Happen?
Google’s July 2021 Core Algorithm Update is a great, recent example.
Unlike many of the updates that are speculated to happen throughout the year, this was a confirmed algorithm update which means that Google themselves issue statements about the update. However, since it is a “broad core update” – meaning that it is not specific to a region, language or website category, there is no specific guidance passed on from their end or any suggestions as to what it is aiming to address.
Basically meaning that the goal of the update is simple: help Google get better at assessing content and determining what pages serve the best answers for searchers across the board.
In such cases, Google has in the past typically only referred to their existing documentation/guidance on Core Updates which is that there isn’t necessarily anything fundamentally wrong with pages that may perform worse after a core update. The changes made to their systems are intended to issue improvements to how well it is able to assess content quality overall. If you’re interested in how we approach Core Algorithm Updates, as well as specific updates such as the Anti-Spam update, confirmed in June of 2021 – keep reading…
How To Know If Your Website Was Affected By & Determine The Impact Of A Google Algorithm Update
Before you even start planning your recovery – you first need to figure out whether your site has been affected at all & in what way…
Confirm There Actually Was An Algorithm Update That More People (i.e. Not Just You) Are Observing
Fortunately, if you already use Rank Math (our SEO plugin for WordPress) this is incredibly easy to do since we overlay both confirmed & unconfirmed algorithm updates in Rank Math Analytics – as well as on our website so it’s extremely easy to follow along and access any information relevant to updates including but not limited to:
- Any official statements made by Google
- Comments from throughout the SEO community
- Insights & general trends that seem to be as a result of the update
- and more…
Though do note that especially for the unconfirmed updates – it can take a few days (at the very least) after you start to observe some of your sites being affected for them to show up.
Refer To Your Analytics Data
Now that some time has passed and you’re more likely to be able to come across useful insights when diving into Google Analytics & Google Search Console data – here’s how you can generally make the best findings:
Using Rank Math Analytics (Quick & Easy)
Rank Math’s Analytics module makes it incredibly easy to access the relevant data from Google Analytics & Google Search Console in an extremely easy-to-digest fashion as well as with both confirmed & unconfirmed Google Algorithm Updates made accessible all in one place.
Learn more about how to monitor Google Algorithm Updates with Rank Math here.
At a glance, you’ll be able to access data including your top 5 winning & losing keywords & much more.
All along with the ability to filter Google Search Console and Google Analytics data that is pulled into these Rank Math Analytics reports by country.
This is incredibly important and helpful when diagnosing the effect of Google Algorithm Updates as depending on the target audience of your site looking at worldwide data can often skew or make data look unaffected with variance in data for each of your target markets that naturally occurs.
Using Google Data Studio (Advanced)
If you want to dive even further into the data behind your site and have the time to spend doing so – here’s a neat Google Data Studio template useful for post-algorithm update analysis.
Note: If you’ve never used Google Data Studio in the past and setting it up sounds daunting, this really isn’t a necessary step and is in large part why we built Rank Math Analytics. To make your Google Analytics and Search Console Data more accessible so you can actually dive into reports and pull out the useful data without having to spend hours doing so and overwhelming yourself in the process.
What you’re able to achieve with Google Data Studio is relatively comparable to the way the same data is presented in Rank Math Analytics. So this is a great solution for those of you who aren’t currently using the world’s leading content management system (WordPress) for your websites.
And, you’re also able to filter out specific affected queries to see if there are any trends regarding which are winning or losing similar to that of Rank Math’s top winning and losing keywords report.
1 How to Recover From Google’s Broad Core Algorithm Updates
This might sound like a given, but the step before the actual first step really is to try not to panic.
Because panicking leads to overreacting which then leads to making decisions quickly based on instinct rather than what the data has to suggest.
So take a moment to step back, discuss with other friends in the industry that have (as well as those who haven’t) been affected.
Then you can start planning how you intend to address the changes, and in any case – you should always be comfortable turning to communities. Communities, real support networks like the Rank Math SEO Facebook Group truly are your superpower so that even in situations where it feels like you’re working all on your own in an isolated situation, you actually aren’t.
And last but not least, take a step back to consider the actual impact of this Google Algorithm Update on your bottom line (how serious of a situation are you in as a result), are you in a position where revenue has been significantly affected to the point where your SEO & marketing budget has too?
Or are you only starting to observe effects on search engine rankings (and traffic as a result) but have a business model that has been built in a way to sustain situations like this and is able to continue operating without issue/dedicating the resources needed to take the steps necessary to recover?
1.1 Evaluate the actual purpose of the update (i.e. what is Google trying to address?)
Earlier we covered how to go about determining whether and to what degree a Google Algorithm Update has affected your website.
Fortunately, that is also the first step in evaluating the update’s actual purpose. Now we know that Google’s take on all of its updates is that it is to improve the quality of search results, which is the case, but this alone isn’t enough to make a decision as to what elements of your site to focus on and invest in.
In some cases, although not often – you will see Google themselves confirm the area of interest for algorithm updates. One such example is the recent new spam algorithm update from June of 2021. Exact details, as expected, were still not provided but Google’s Danny Sullivan did confirm the algorithm update was focused on fighting spam.