Recent (Unnamed) Google Algorithm Update

This update is related to content. It could mean that Google will give a ranking boost for content that is focused on solving problems instead of targeting specific keywords.

Here’s a screenshot of Google Analytics for Q1 of 2018 for a website that’s responded well to the update (the last annotation is around the date of the algorithm change):

Details are scarce right now, but here’s what we know:

• This update was in the first week of March and it was to the broad core algorithm. This was confirmed by Google themselves. A broad core update is different from the core algorithm updates that happen almost every day. Broad core updates happen several times a year.
• It comes on the heels of another core algorithm update in December named Maccabees or Fred (think Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, etc.).
• Google’s Danny Sullivan stated that Google was not targeting low-quality websites. He also explicitly said that there is nothing wrong with sites that are losing rankings and there’s no way to “fix” them. It’s not a matter of rewriting the content when it starts to take a downturn.
• This update was focused on providing better search results.
• According to SearchEngineJournal, the key takeaways are that Google is trying to better understand user intent and content. This is about providing content that is useful for a searcher – how convenient it is to find products or an answer, how easy it is to compare products and prices, user experience – instead of keyword-driven content focused solely on ranking. Behavior (bounce rate, time on site, pages per session, etc.) will be more important than just total visitors and traffic.

1. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-confirms-algorithm-update-occurred-last-week/242325/
2. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/core-algorithm-update/242425/
3. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-algorithm-update-25384.html
4. https://searchengineland.com/google-confirms-core-search-ranking-algorithm-update-293961
5. https://www.seroundtable.com/google-confirms-core-update-25390.html