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What Every Small Business Owner Should Know About Google Core Updates

By De-de Mulligan

Don't be Frustrated by Google Updates! 

About every quarter, Google changes its core search algorithm in an attempt to deliver better results to the searcher. These significant changes occurred in March, June, and September this year, so you should expect one more in December. 

While Google doesn't divulge what they changed, they do give away some breadcrumbs for you and your team to follow. For example, they have said the update in June was more impactful on SEO than the most recent one. 

However, you have to keep all things in perspective when these updates occur. Did you know that Google makes over 3,200 small updates a year? Some of these updates will decrease or increase your ranking, even if you haven't touched your website or written a blog post lately. 

So...how can a busy business owner brace themselves for Google's impact, primarily if they rely on organic search traffic for visibility? 

Let me share with you my thoughts on this matter. 

 

Three Key Ways to Be Google Core Ready

  1. Follow Google SearchLiason and Google Webmasters on Twitter. 
    By checking your feed once a day or so or going directly to their feed, you will learn about the latest updates straight from the king of search. 

     

  2. At the beginning of each quarter (today, if you haven't already completed it), see where you rank organically on your top search terms. 
    Don't know your search terms? You can sign up for Google Search Console, review keywords on Google Trends, or obtain insight through Google Keyword Planner. Stop making changes to your website in the thirty days before your inquiry. If your ranking goes up or down, you know its due to the core update. 

     

  3. Follow Google's suggestions for better rankings: 

    •  Write original reports, research, or analysis. 
      It can come in the form of a white paper, case study, or eBook. 

    • Write insightful or groundbreaking reports.
      Google is looking for fresh content that's beyond the obvious. 

    • The headline should be descriptive and helpful. 
      Avoid misleading, shocking, or exaggerating titles. 

    • Do you find the content helpful? 
      I've worked with a fair amount of blog writers over the years. Many think it's great to write a blog post that regurgitates what's already written on the web. They make it long. They add a lot of external and internal links. In the end, however, their content is boring and impersonal. Make it useful and your own. 

    • Share who the author is and link their profile to your About page. 

    • Refer to E-A-T standards often. 
      Does your content reflect Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness? If yes, great! If no, work toward building this into your content strategy. 

       

Mulligan Management Group can Help Write Content that Ranks

Are you looking for a better organic ranking, valuable content, or a website audit? We can help you! As a small business ourselves, we understand that keeping on top of all these changes can be challenging. Give us a call at 330-472-7673 for a free, no-obligation quote! 
 

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