I like to stay updated on what’s going on, not just using my own testing and observations but seeing what others in the industry are experiencing. Google algorithm changes happen all the time and if you’re doing SEO for yourself or for clients, it’s a necessity to stay on top of what’s happening!
Earlier today I was looking at a few blogs, and one of the sites I like to check out often is SearchEngineLand.Com. They discussed what some of us have referred to as the “Phantom Update”. An update a lot of people suspected, but most have thought it was some tweak to Panda.
Turns out Google confirmed there was an update, but it had nothing to do with penalizing sites, just a change to the overall algorithm how they assess quality of the content on a website.
Never Miss Another Blog Post Enter Your Email Below
What I’ve Noticed During the “Quality Update”.
First off, there is nothing that has been said by the big G on what the changes are, or what they’re looking for in this algorithm tweak. It’s possible that maybe there were some signals that reduced the strength of sites that use doorway pages, there is a bit of correlation in the data I’ve collected but nothing of statistical significance.
I have noticed visibility changes here on the Income Bully blog as well. The date most people agree that the change was made is May 4th, but I’ve noticed massive changes here starting May 2nd and 3rd. Almost double the traffic, a very large increase in organic traffic but this also could have been from starting the 31 days of blogging challenge.
Below is a graph taken from webmaster tools that will show an increase in organic impressions around May 3rd and 4th. Each horizontal line represents 1,500 impressions.
As you can see, that’s a pretty big increase in organic visibility with this site, with direct correlation on the date that algorithm is thought to be tweaked.
What This Update Means For You
While we don’t know the exact signals, there are a few things I’ve noticed since this change has come to effect.
The first thing I noticed is that it seems that perhaps a content quality signal could be content length.
This has been said many times before, for years now but I never saw any significant correlation to rankings and content length so I just dismissed it as just another myth in the world of SEO. Going forward, until I see enough evidence otherwise, I will have to assume that the length of content would have to be considered as a “quality signal”. How much it is weighted, has plenty of room for debate.
The second thing I noticed isn’t exactly a new concept but perhaps something that carries a bit more weight now. What I’m talking about is supporting content expanding on a topic. This kind of falls into the same line of thinking I have had previously when it comes to on page optimization for Local SEO, where I’m always talking about location relevance and industry relevance.
Of course, the whole “relevance” thing has been a very weighted part of the local algorithm, but not as much when it comes to regular organic SERPs. Perhaps we’re seeing that change?
To give an example of supporting content and expanding on a topic, let’s say you’re writing a blog post about “How To Choose a Web Design Company”. You have your introduction to the content, you also write about your main point but you can also expand on it and pick up on some long tailed keywords by sectioning your content like this:
How To Choose a Web Design Company – Title of the post
Tips On Choosing a Web Designer – Section of post (h2 tag) with (h3 tags) outlining each tip. Mistakes To Avoid When Redesigning Your Website – Another section of the post with an h2 tag
Hopefully that gives you an idea on structuring your content.
Summary
Staying on top of everything Google does is nearly an impossible act. However, it shouldn’t be a surprise to us that they continue to want quality content, and a quality website.
But what does quality content mean? What is a quality site?
Defining that is impossible since a definition made today will be different tomorrow. One thing is for sure though, as a blogger, webmaster, or business owner with a website, your job to improve the quality of the user’s experience is never complete.
What are your thoughts? What do you think could be a quality signal in this new update? Let me know in the comments below!
Great post Nathan.
If the update is related to relevant & quality content, I welcome it with open arms.
I, like Google, am all for optimizing the user experience. It would be nice to see the thin junk sites start to fall off.
At the same time, providing tremendous opportunity for those willing to put the work in.
Yeah for sure. With every algorithm update there are winners and losers. I also would like to see the junk sites fall off.
I also have been reading that Google’s update includes “fact checking”. In other words, another quality check. The articles on this reference Wikipedia as an example of a site with good fact checking and thus has good quality in Google’s eyes. Overall the length of a page and validity of content factor into this. Checkout Backlinko.com. They have an article on “skyscraper” content that relates to this.
Yeah, skyscraper or pillar content are pretty much the same. Brian was just able to brand the hell out of that term! LOL. As for fact checking, I’m a bit worried on that as some industries aren’t exactly based on fact, or are in a situation where facts seem to change often, just like SEO.
I’m glad about all these updates Google makes. Because I hate spamming not only as an online user but as a SEO consultant as well. 🙂 It degrade the work of hard working of smart SEO consultants who help websites earn search traffic in a risk free way.