Why is it important to follow Google Update Changes?
Google uses a number search algorithms and signals to govern the way it ranks relevance for queries in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Tracking the SERP changes along with your Website Traffic can help you identify issues with your SEO strategy.
How do I keep informed about the latest Google Updates?
This Google algorithm update resource page keeps you informed about:
- Confirmed Updates: These are updates that have been officially confirmed by Google.
- Unconfirmed Updates: These are algorithm changes reported by SEOs, Industry Experts, and SERP tracker. There was no official confirmation.
Does Google confirm all Updates?
Gary Illyes, a Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, confirmed that “most algorithm updates go unnoticed, but we may communicate about the named ones, like mobile friendly.”
Webmaster Trends Analysts, John Mueller and Gary Illyes confirmed that Google makes “changes almost every day” with “3 updates a day on average,” respectively.
How do I know if I have been hit by an update?
Use your Search Console to identify traffic \ visibility drops, and compare them with the algorithm change history.
You can view the Performance of your site for the last 12 or 16 months in the Google Search Console to identify the date of any falls in clicks or impressions. You can then compare those dates with our algorithm history and read up on what updates affect your site.
You may find that you have been hit by one, or multiple updates:
How do you know if there has been a Google Update?
We cover news of the latest Google updates (including Penguin and Panda) and rumors, which may affect your ranking in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP’s). Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature of Google (to help prevent Black Hat SEO’s gaming the system), it is not always easy to understand or see the changes Google makes, especially as Google tweaks its algorithm daily.
By keeping track of the changes in the SERP’s in combination with your own rankings as well as feedback both in the SEO community and Google itself, you can sometimes extrapolate what you need to do on your website to increase your website’s ranking.
The common sources we use to gauge this information are as follows:
- SERP Trackers – Trackers such as the Mozcast, Algaroo, and Rank Ranger can identify when movement happens in the SERP’s, allowing us to investigate possible causes.
- Google Announcements – On occasions, announcements or snippets of information are made by Google either directly (via blog posts) or indirectly by their employees (i.e., John Mueller, who does the Webmaster Central Hangouts).
- Forum Chatter – A great way to determine whether an update or algorithm change has hit is by monitoring popular forums where webmasters hangout.
- Other News Sources – We keep an eye on other news sources to see if they have either picked something up we missed, or even been privy to exclusive conversations with Google or its employees.