How Google’s Updates Affect Businesses & SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Musts
What you need to know about Google’s Updates
Search engine optimizations and algorithm updates can be overwhelming for anyone, but especially if you’re running a business. Finding the time to read the latest news, and keep up with Google updates may feel cumbersome, but there are ways to help increase your business’s visibility and create meaningful content for your (prospective) customers.
In a previous post, we covered more details about the basics of search engine optimization, and why it’s impactful for your small business.
Now we’ll tackle some of the recent Google news, and what you can do about it for your online business.
Google Updates: Technical SEO Considerations
In Google’s announcements, they’ve signaled how their updates will be structured, and spread out over the next few months.
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), there are different facets, including technical SEO, that Google prioritizes. Among the top priorities they’ve outlined are: site speed and mobile-friendly websites.
Site Speed
Making sure your website speed is up to par is crucial, so that when visitors land on it, they’re not infinitely waiting for a page to load, or scrolling through lots of content to get to what they need.
It’s about creating a fluid user experience – are customers easily able to purchase and find products, or sign up for your services? How long does it take for landing pages to load? All of these considerations affect the overall user experience, which ultimately affects the buyer journey, too.
Curious to know where your website speed stands right now? Get PageSpeed Insights to measure performance.
Search engine optimization plugins and updates
Mobile-Friendly Websites
As consumers increasingly rely on online research to make online buying decisions, it is not enough to “just” have a website that functions on desktop, or laptop, anymore. Most social media traffic (and paid social media/Google Ads traffic) will come from mobile, so page load speeds and optimizations are key to reach different audiences.
Convenience allows all of us to shop online 24/7 – whether we’re at home, or on the go. In fact, trends show mobile commerce behaviors with 79% of mobile users making a purchase from their mobile phones. Here are some other interesting statistics that show just how important a good mobile experience is.
So, it’s no surprise then that having a fast, easy-to-navigate mobile experience on your website is key. Google also uses mobile-first indexing, which affects how your site is ranked. Moz recently shared tips for mobile optimization that are worth a read, as well.
Good User Experience & Great Content
According to Google, their page experience update “introduces a new signal” that its search algorithm will use “alongside hundreds of other signals to determine the best content to show in response to a query. Our systems will continue to prioritize pages with the best information overall, even if some aspects of page experience are subpar. A good page experience doesn’t override having great, relevant content.”
While this is great news, it also emphasizes the importance of marrying a good user experience WITH creating that great content.
Try this exercise:
When you think about some of your favorite websites or companies, who comes to mind? What makes browsing these websites memorable for you? Does it have to do with content, or user experience, or maybe both? Write down your impressions on a piece of paper, and see if there are any consistent takeaways you find.
Keep this exercise in mind when you build your own online business presence. Think about your clients, and how you are uniquely positioned to answer their needs and questions with your SEO efforts. Yes, SEO is a constant effort. Even when you’re not actively writing new content at the moment, it’s advised to refresh old content, revisit what you wrote in the past, and build out more ideas for content based on what resonates with your audience. Looking at Google Analytics or Google Search Console can provide you with invaluable insights as to what your website visitors are finding useful, or are spending time reading about on your site.
Understanding Google Search Console