Google Has Changed Its Approach to Implementing Updates to Make Them Less Frightening

No discussion about Google updates can be complete without mentioning the names of Panda and Penguin that remain the game changers. It has dictated the way SEO should evolve and have ensured that the changes provide a new direction to SEO for taking it to the next level. The specialty of Panda and Penguin updates is that these were not one time updates. You can never forget these as these have now become features of Google’s core algorithm, and it is essential not to lose sight of these.

Content and links are the most distinctive elements of SEO, and Google is continually evaluating and refining these elements to improve SEO and provide users with much better experience. The Panda and Penguin updates go through periodical improvements, which are also updates, but the changes happen so gradually that we hardly feel it. When discussing updates, the picture that comes to mind is that there have been some changes in the algorithm functions. However, this is not the case always because some updates have brought about significant changes in the layout and functionalities that have changed the user’s experience in any ecommerce SEO company as well as other types of SEO.

It now appears that Google is now entering into a modern era about updates.  The updates that are happening during this period are set to become game changers that will have the highest impact in determining the future course of SEO by defining the behavioral pattern of search engines in future.

RankBrain

RankBrain is among the few updates that Google had announced although the announcement came months after the rollout in October 2015. The impact of the update was so noticeable that it captured the headlines as Panda and Penguin had done earlier. The specialty of the update is that it creates a rippling effect that keeps on lingering and does not allow forgetting it. Taking a close look at RankBrain makes it clear that the update is in continuation to the Hummingbird update as it focuses on the aspect of better understanding of user queries by looking at the semantics. It does aim at providing better user experience but without affecting the ways of implementing SEO. Thus, it does not impact users in the manner Panda and Penguin did.

The highpoints of RankBrain

In trying to improve the understanding about user-intent that lies hidden in the semantics of search queries Google has introduced a machine learning system through RankBrain. It is not just an algorithm change or addition but much more and herein is its specialty that would drive search engines in a new direction in future.

Understanding the user intent behind queries is what Hummingbird tries to achieve by analyzing complex queries and phrases. However, the complexity of search words can often become baffling, and this is where RankBrain comes into play. Although two queries might have different structure, language and method of framing, it could relate to the same question. While one query might be straightforward, the other might be vague. Hummingbird is unable to understand the correlation between the two queries, but RankBrain can resolve the issue successfully.

As RankBrain can efficiently handle the complexities of language phrasing, it can work its way into the heart of the queries to figure out what users are looking for. That Google has used machine learning in updates for the first time bears enough signs about the future path of search algorithms.

Quality updates

The signals and factors that determine the quality of content keep undergoing modifications. The quality updates that Google releases often may go unnoticed by SEO marketers because, since the May 2015 update, there have not been many talks about other significant quality updates. To understand better what constitutes quality content have a look at the ‘search quality evaluator guidelines’ that Google has published and keeps revising.

The updates related to fighting spam keep surfacing, and the last notable one was the ‘intrusive interstitial’ penalty released in January 2017. The update targets websites that aggressively use pop-ups or interstitial.

An update released in March 2017 is still pending Google’s official acknowledgment but the impact of the update Fred seems to be imminent. Sites with low-quality content and those pursuing black hat techniques in link building have felt the heat.

Possum

Possum is an informal update released in September 2016 that made its presence felt by making websites experience brisk ranking volatility. Since Google has not yet acknowledged the release, the update earned the moniker Possum, a name given by the SEO community. Because of the update, local search entries started including businesses located outside the city limits that indicated the growing importance of location of the actual searcher.  It appears that location filtering is now happening due to the update. It helps to separate individual, that belong to the same site.

Changes in featured snippets

For the past few years, Google has been encouraging featured snippets that carry the gist of the website content and appear prominently against searches by popping up to make its place below the ads but above the search result. The momentum kept growing until there was a reversal in October 2017 when there was a significant drop observed.  Interestingly, at the same time, Knowledge Graph panels came into prominence that indicated a balancing act by Google trying to create the right mix of snippets and Knowledge Graph in presenting information in search results. Moreover, Google has doubled the length of snippets in November 2017 to make it more elaborate.

The trend of updates in the last three years reveal that Google is in favor of smaller or micro-updates instead of the critical updates that instill fear in the minds of SEO marketers. Moving away from its earlier method of implementing massive algorithm changes that take the SEO world by storm, Google now administers smaller changes in a series that allow gradual adaptation, removes the fright from the minds of users, and make them accept the updates on a more positive note.