Tackle algorithm updates

Sally says: “Learn how to tackle Google algorithm updates.”

How do you keep track of algorithm updates?

“Google is quite good at informing us of algorithm updates. You will find a lot of fluctuation within the search results, and the media surrounding SEO will report on a lot of the volatility.

However, you should stick with the main ones that Google announces and follow the Google Search Liaison team. There will be changes between those official announcements, but you’re not likely to see a big fallout from them.”

How do you decide which key algorithm updates to act on?

“I usually stick to what Google’s announcing. If you’re seeing something that’s changing a lot in between, then you want to look for changes in the intent to search and movement that happens without any major changes from your competition – when your competitors are not improving their site or their content, and yet you’re seeing a lot of volatility with nothing that seems to have caused that negative impact.

The intent might completely change for search users. You often see this when Google announces an update. You might see a custom clothing brand that’s ranking for a lot of custom clothing keywords then, after an algorithm update, they drop down for a lot of those. That could be because there is a change in intent from B2C to B2B, or Google has refined those results because they believe that the search term is a B2B search term.”

How long do you wait before you decide that a change is likely to be permanent?

“It can be as long as 12 weeks, to be honest. If you’re looking at an algorithm update that has been announced by Google, you want to wait for them to announce that the rollout has finished before looking at the final impact and whether you need to act upon it.

If you’re not looking at an announced update and you’re seeing some volatility, then track it for 3-4 weeks and see if there’s a lot of movement or if it’s quite consistent. If it’s consistently dropping, then you want to act sooner rather than later.”

How do you know whether the intent for a particular search has changed?

“When I’m looking at the intent, I’m looking at Google search results. You can use independent tools and incognito browsers to have a look at what results you’re getting for certain keywords – especially if you’re looking at a brand that’s not doing so well for keywords that they were previously doing really well for.

Go straight to the SERP landscape to identify how results have changed and what type of results you’re seeing.”

What tools do you like to use?

“It could be anything from using SEMrush for keyword research and seeing who’s ranking to just using an incognito browser.

I am wary of using some of the Chrome tools that are meant to give you a better idea of what’s ranking because I find that they can be quite irregular. I stick to tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SE Ranking, and use the keyword research tool to see what’s ranking there.

Some of these tools offer an estimation of the intent for a particular keyword phrase, which you can take into consideration, but I wouldn’t use it on its own. What you’re seeing in search results will be much more informative. You can’t rely on that third-party data because you don’t know exactly how it’s being calculated.”

If there’s been a big change in the competition on a particular SERP, how do you decide whether you still want to compete for that particular keyword phrase?

“Look at what time you’ve got and what budget you’ve got to see whether you can soundly invest in that project and get a return from it. Also, look at whether your brand is actually going to show up for those terms anymore.

If the intent has completely shifted, that might not be something that your brand can compete for anymore. For those more authoritative sites, you’re obviously looking at how much content you can produce in terms of topical authority – and how much you can invest into backlink acquisition to improve your topical authority.

You need to know what your brand is about and what content you should be producing for your brand. You want content that’s actually going to resonate with your users. There’s no point creating content that doesn’t resonate with your users.

Sometimes, you can fall into the trap of trying to match the type of content that your competitors are creating, but they might not be in exactly the same space. Your target audience might be more niche. They might have these clusters, and different pieces of content within those clusters, and then you feel that you need to create the same content to compete, but you’re not staying true to your users and what content will be informative to them.”

Are you just looking at the content when you are analysing the SERP?

“You’re also measuring the authority of the competing domains and looking at technical SEO to see whether there’s anything that they’re doing better in terms of the site structure. That could be a quick win, if you have the resources to implement it. You’re also looking at accessibility and whether there’s a problem with indexing and crawling.

It doesn’t just come down to content. Obviously, you need the content there to compete and, if the intent isn’t there, there’s nothing to compete for. However, it can be a larger mixture of things.

Look at what they’ve got in their backlink portfolio and how well that’s optimized, what they’ve got content-wise, as well as how well their site is structured and how that presents to the user. Also, think about whether there is anything that you’re missing in terms of accessibility for both users and search engines.”

If an algorithm update has resulted in a significantly changed SERP that you don’t want to compete in anymore, how do you find new opportunities?

“The first port of call would be content gap analysis and reviewing that in line with what you’ve discovered. There might be certain pots of content that you don’t want to compete for anymore, and you’d take that out of your analysis. Looking at your competitors is a really good option.

Also, look at what you’re already ranking for. Use tools like Semrush and Google Search Console to see what you have impressions for, but you’re not really getting organic results for, that sits within your intention. Look at where those quick wins are and how quickly you can regain what you’ve lost.”

What are some bad practices that have been negatively impacted by algorithm updates over the last couple of years?

“It’s quite interesting because I don’t think they always get picked up on straight away. I’d say that gateway pages are quite prominent. A lot of SEOs will see it in the competitor spaces for their brand, and these competitors are doing quite well, until one day they get hit by an algorithm update. That’s a really bad practice.

Also, there are obviously spammy backlinks that might not be penalised straight away but get picked up on in an algorithm update. It can even be poor content that was doing well years ago and stayed at that position, then one day an algorithm update comes along, and it completely loses those positions. There’s quite a lot of things that can cause that, but those are some of the most common that I have seen.”

If you lose momentum after suffering from an algorithm update, but you want to stay fighting there, how do you regain that momentum?

“You need to identify what the problem is and prioritise the fixes that need to be implemented, so that you’re concentrating on the areas that will help you regain the fastest.

If you’re looking at gateway pages, you want to restructure your site and make sure that the most informative content that is useful to users is surfacing – not gateway pages that feed news to manipulate search engines and then lead to content several clicks down.

If you’re looking at a spammy backlink profile, I wouldn’t concentrate on disavowing. Concentrate on finding backlinks that are more relevant to your niche and the content that you have, to build a healthier backlink profile.”

How do you predict the sustainability of new-found opportunities?

“Obviously, there’s trend data that can help you out. You can also look at whether the content’s evergreen or whether it’s content that’s going to get users to your site initially but is based on current affairs.

Is it within your niche? Does it help your long-term goals or is it plugging a gap for the short term? If you’re looking for sustainable opportunities, you want to look at the site structure as a whole. Look at your topical authority and building a more holistic overview of the site, rather than the quick opportunities that might not last in the longer term.”

If an SEO is struggling for time, what should they stop doing right now so they can spend more time doing what you suggest in 2025?

“Don’t concentrate too much on Core Web Vitals. There are some quick wins you can find in terms of image optimization, but don’t go too far into it. It can be a large investment that doesn’t always pay off.

Look at your quick wins rather than some of the heavier resources, such as optimizing JavaScript and simplifying the processes for downloading page data. That’s something I’d avoid if you’re struggling with time and resources.

You can look at image optimization, scripts that can be deferred, and prioritising the images, content, and scripts that are needed in the initial download of your page.”

Sally Raymer is an SEO Consultant at SEO in Motion, and you can find her over at SEOinMotion.com.