As most people know, Google is the biggest search engine, with more than 86% of users starting a search on Google. The Google SEO-affected Broad Core Algorithm update began in May of 2022. This update affected where sites land on Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Google’s Search Central Blog article did not provide specific information about the change. Still, their Core Update article posted by Danny Sullivan, Public Liaison for Search, stated, “Core updates are designed to increase the overall relevancy of our search results and make them more helpful and useful for everyone.” The statement is vague but builds on the information in the previous update announcements dating back to Search Central Blog from August 2019, What site owners should know about Google’s core updates. In August of 2022 Chris Nelson’s article What creators should know about Google’s helpful content update stated that creators should “Focus on people-first content”. Don’t try to write for search engines; write for your human audience.
Google emphasizes ranking sites by E-A-T, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Many SEO experts also believe Relevance is just as important.
Here are some guides to help improve your Google ranking following what is known about Google’s latest update and based on previous core updates.
Expertise
When it comes to Google SEO, you need to prove that you are an expert by creating excellent content. What’s the difference between good and phenomenal content? Good content lists information and shows examples; excellent content goes beyond that.
For example, if your company makes widgets, give your customers all the information you have about your product and show pictures. Then go further and provide context. Tell your customers why your widget is better than the other widgets on the market and why they need it.
Authoritativeness
What makes website content Authoritative? According to Google, you can check the website you are wondering about to see if it answers some of these questions.
- Is the author’s name listed?
- Does the author list an email address or phone number?
- Is there a link to the author’s biography or resume?
These simple adjustments to improve your SEO will result in a higher ranking. You can read more in-depth about Website Authority on sites.google.com, Finding Credible Sources.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is determined by how truthful and unbiased a Website is. According to usability.gov, this can be done if website content includes the following;
- A valuable set of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and answers.
- Links to outside sources for reference
- Other credible websites link to the website as a source.
- What are the author’s credentials?
Here are a few more tips to help convey Trustworthiness.
- Adding an FAQ page takes time, but the results are worth the effort. Start with a few Questions and Answers, then add to it periodically.
- Ask your customers if they will give you a review. Reviews convey trustworthiness to new visitors.
- Make your site easy to use and helpful.
- Avoid errors like broken links.
- Keep your SSL Certificate up to date. An SSL certificate is a data file that shows that the website is more secure. When you look in the browser bar where your website’s URL is, you will see a lock just before the https.
Stanford University also has some guidelines for Web Credibility.
Relevance
Stay in your lane. Keep content relevant to your business. Write about your widgets or services if your company makes a product or provides a service. Your widget company shouldn’t offer medical advice unless that is your industry.
Putting the Google SEO pieces together.
Discovery
You want Google to discover your website to determine if your product or service is relevant to search queries and whether or not you are an authority in your industry. Google does this to bring the person searching for an answer to the best quality answers on the SERP. Bots, also known as *crawlers, “crawl” your website to discover and rank it. You can submit your website to Google Search Console for indexing.
*A crawler bot is a program used by search engines like Google to collect website data from the internet to index the website.
Ranking
Website ranking is achieved with high-quality content and links to your website.
- Search engine crawlers discover your content by downloading your website’s robots.txt, scanning it, and checking links.
- Search engine crawlers decide how relevant your content is by indexing it (based on keywords)
- Search engine crawlers rank your content in search results based on your site’s SEO authority. Authority directly impacts ranking strength.
5 tips to make your website searchable on Google
- Know what keywords your customers will likely use when searching for your product or service, but don’t overuse them and don’t use keywords that are irrelevant to your content. Write something your customers would want to read.
- Create a Google Business Profile if you have a store; it’s free!
- Write a business-specific meta description that is between 150-160 characters. This description will show up on the SERP just below the link to your website.
- Submit your website to Google Search Consol.
- Optimize your images, so they load quickly. Google penalizes your site for slow page load time.
To sum up the Google SEO changes
Building your online reputation takes time. No one can start with Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. The optimum way to begin your process is with a digital marketing plan that includes creating content relevant to your industry. The more relevant content you publish online, the more your expertise will show. Publish through various channels continuously, and you will gain more trustworthiness and authority. Once other people and businesses start citing your work and sharing it, you are well on your way to managing an excellent website that is more visible on Google and increases your business.