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Once again, change has come to the Digital Marketing world. What this means is that Google has launched another algorithm update. During this week, Google launched what is called the June 2021 Google Core Update. This comes as SEOs have been awaiting an update since the one that occurred last December.
There already have been reports that some sites are going through website traffic gains and losses. Some sites gained up to 125% in traffic, while others lost up to 70%. At the same time, they cautiously await what will occur in the July Update.
You’re likely wondering what this is all about and what this means for SMBs, mid sized brands, and enterprise firms. Today, we’ll discuss exactly that and what your brand can do to get ahead of these core updates.
What Does A Google Core Update Do?
Each day, Google makes a few changes to help improve the search experience for their users. Some are noticeable while some are not, but it helps them improve over time. With that said, there are several instances during the year where Google makes broad, significant changes to its search algorithm. These types of big changes are what are known as Core Updates.
Core Updates are made to ensure that Google is doing its part to present relevant and authoritative content to searchers. Google works to confirm these updates since they produce notable effects like drops or gains in some sites.
They do this to ensure that sites going through drops don’t try to fix the wrong things. These changes are all about how Google is working to improve how they assess content overall. Big changes like these can cause pages that were not rewarded properly in the past to perform better.
What This Means For Brands Like Yours
You’re likely wondering what this means for brands small to big. It all comes down to providing top-tier content for your audience that provides unique value. That’s how you help brands as yours get ahead of these Core Updates. Here are some questions for you to answer on how you can improve your content.
- Does your headline provide a helpful and accurate summary of your content?
- Do your subtitles describe each section of your content well?
- Does your content provide unique or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
- Is your content written by someone who knows the topic at hand well?
- Is your content free from spelling and/or grammatical errors?
- Does your content pass the Readability Test (a score of 60 or better)?
- Does your website provide a seamless user experience across all devices?
- Is your content within the appropriate keyword usage percentage (0.5%-3%)?
- Does your content provide original value that helps contrast your site from similar sites?
- Is your content made to focus on the needs of others or to please search engines?
- Is this the kind of page that you would share with a friend?
You also should consider doing an audit of the pages that were most affected by the core updates. You’ll want to pay close attention to how they fare against these questions. This helps you figure out which areas you’ll need to address to maintain and grow your online presence.
What Can Your Brand Do To Ensure That Your Content Is Top-Tier?
It all comes down to delivering content that addresses your audiences’ pain points and points them in the right direction. To make that happen, you’ll need to use what is called the “EAT” Method. This stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
You’re probably now thinking about what these three parts of this method are all about. Read on, and I’ll tell you all about it.
Expertise
This refers to the high skill level or knowledge the content reader has in a certain field. For YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics, such as medical advice, formal expertise is a must. As for Non-YMYL topics, it comes down to showing everyday expertise. For example, someone on a support page sharing their experience on how he/she beat cancer counts as that. Expertise is a big part of creating top-tier content.
Authoritativeness
As for this part of the “EAT” method, this refers to the reputation of the content creator. When others see a person or a website as their go-to source for information, that is authority. A prime example of this is people searching for symptoms and treatments on WebMD. Raters check for authority through independent sources like these.
- Reviews
- Expert advice
- References
This is surely something to keep in mind as you create website content.
Trustworthiness
This crucial piece of the “EAT” method talks about the legitimacy and transparency of the content creator. Rates look at many key things as they evaluate trustworthiness.
- Content information
- Content accuracy
- Proper citation of trustworthy sources
These three pieces are crucial as you create content for your website. After all, trust is a major factor in helping you attract the right people to your website.
The “EAT” method goes a long way in helping you ensure that your content is of top quality. To add to that, it helps avoid surprises or negative results from core updates like this one.
Always Put People Over Search Engines To Help Grow Your Online Presence
As you seek ways to overcome any core updates from search engines, always keep your audience in mind. Create content that speaks their mind, addresses their pain points, and inspires them to take action. In other words, seek to please people instead of just trying to please search engines.
To achieve this, ask yourself the hard questions on how you can improve your content. Afterward, use the “EAT” method to help guide your content creation efforts. When you take a People-First approach, you’ll be well on your way towards being ahead of core updates. Most importantly, you’ll grow your online presence, and eventually, your brand overall.
What else do you feel is essential in helping brands get ahead of core updates? Which steps should brands take to ensure that they’re producing top-tier content? Questions. Comments. Please feel free to share your thoughts below.
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