Google does not stop trying to improve its search system. The internet giant has confirmed a new core update to its algorithm (called the May 2022 core update), which will begin rolling out globally starting today and may take a week or two to fully roll out.
Google announces the new core update of its algorithm
In the history of the internet giant, many updates have been made to its algorithm, changes that have made its search engine the most used in every corner of the planet.
This is the first core update to its algorithm this year. The previous core update was developed in November 2021 and, despite its undeniable impact, it was not as relevant as other updates in the past. In any case, if Google continues with its pattern of two major updates a year, it is likely that this new core update will have a relevant impact, as it did during the summer of 2021.
In that case, Google deployed its first core update in two phases: a first, developed in June and another at the end of July. A large number of users discovered important changes in their positioning, with one winner standing out from the rest of the sites: AliExpress , with a gain of 149.47% in its visibility. Well below this average and in second place we find Casa del Libro, with a profit of 23.98%, and in third place Etsy, with 14.34%.
And where there are winners there are also losers, in this case Ebay showed the greatest decline in the eCommerce and marketplace sector with a decrease in its visibility of -11.86% , followed by Milanuncios with -11.31% and Booking (-9, 58%).
What is a core update
According to Google itself, “major updates are changes we make to improve search overall and keep pace with the changing nature of the web. While nothing in a major update is specific to a particular site, these updates can produce some noticeable changes to the performance of sites.”
In reality, Google makes purposeful changes to the way it ranks search results almost every day. Although most of them are not noticed, they help to continue fine-tuning its algorithm, seeking to reward the most relevant and most appropriate content for each search carried out by users. However, there are occasions, like this one, in which a core update occurs, or central update, which has a greater impact at the SEO level .
“Sometimes we roll out updates that may be more noticeable. We try to advertise them when we think website owners, content creators, or other users might need to take action. For example, when we implemented the speed update, we provided information and advice months in advance .
Several times a year, we make major changes to our search algorithms and systems, which we call “major updates.” These changes, which sometimes also affect Google Discover, are designed to meet our goal: to show users relevant and trustworthy content in search results.”
How to deal with a core update
Despite the fact that Google claims that there is generally nothing you can do after a core update to its algorithm and that these changes are solely focused on improving the way its system evaluates content in general, there are still a few things you can do. review in order to improve your content and of course, improve your position in Google, beyond this update or the following ones.
To check if your page and content have the appropriate settings, Google suggests that you answer the following questions :
Content and quality questions
- Does the content provide insightful analysis, original information, or research?
- Does your content offer a substantial, comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does the content display insightful analysis or relevant information, beyond the obvious?
- If your content is based on other sources, do you avoid simply copying or rewriting these sources, and instead offer additional, original value?
- Does the title of the content or the page offer a descriptive and useful summary of the content?
- Does your title avoid being over the top or shocking?
- Is this the kind of page you want to tag, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Would you expect to see this content in a print magazine, encyclopedia, or book?
reliability questions
- Does the content present information in a way that you would trust it? Pay attention to putting clear reference sources, background on the author or the website that has published it.
- Is the content written by an expert who knows the subject?
- Is your content free of spelling or style problems?
- Is the content mass-produced, or outsourced to a large number of creators, or distributed across a large network of sites so that individual sites don’t get as much attention?
- Does your content have a lot of ads that distract or interfere with the main content?
- Does the content display correctly on mobile devices?
Beyond asking yourself these questions, consider other people’s honest assessment of your website and content , and of course, taking an assessment of the pages you’ve published that have the most impact, what kind of searches these pages are. with greater impact, and with it you will understand how others that you have published before are evaluated.
Remember that these are general recommendations and that there are no specific actions that you should take to recover in the event that you are negatively impacted by the latest core Google algorithm update.
