By now, we have developed a clear understanding of how Google’s algorithms play a key role to rank web pages in SERP. We also know that Google keeps updating its search engine algorithms to allow web users to revise their SEO strategies in the best interest of their websites. If you have heard about Google’s broad core algorithm before but could not make much sense of it, this article will help you understand what exactly is the broad core algorithm and how it affect your content strategy. In March 2018, Google introduced a type of algorithm update that eventually came to be known as a broad core algorithm update. This update affected the SEO rankings of many websites raising questions about how to optimize web content to rank it as per the algorithm’s guidelines. Here, we will help you to understand all that you need about SEO updates in the context of the broad core algorithm to help you devise the right digital marketing strategy for your website.
What is Google Broad Core Algorithm Update?
To put it simply, the broad core algorithm update is a change to Google’s basic search engine ranking algorithm and systems. It is a collection of different algorithms that collectively record and interpret different signals from web pages. These signals include backlinks, keywords, URL structures, etc. The key goal of all these algorithms is to rank the content that best answers a relevant search query. For example, SEO services providers may remember when Google launched its Panda update. This algorithm update was incorporated into Google’s core algorithm. Similarly, the Penguin update also became a part of Google’s core algorithm.
Any update announced by Google labeled as a “core algorithm update”, can refer to making tweaks or changes to the current aspects of its baby algorithms like Panda, Penguin, and/or more. While this may be valid, Google never reveals its secrets to users. Even experts like internet marketing services providers can not tell how a baby algorithm update affects any part of ranking web pages. We can only receive guidelines from Google officials to improve our SEO practices.
Objectives of a Broad Core Algorithm Update
According to Google, the key objective of broad core algorithm updates is to improve search results. While this may be true, such updates can affect multiple sections of (what we can call) SEO ranking techniques. There are many websites that fail to rise to the demands of competition on search engines. Such websites often remain buried down the search result pages making it almost unlikely for users to find them when searching. Google’s broad core algorithm updates keep changing the rules for ranking websites making it an ongoing battle for top-ranked, as well as, low-ranked web pages alike.
For example, if you have a business website ranked among the top few results with a lot of potentially correct backlinks, you may continue to survive at the same position on the SERP until the next algorithm update arrives. If you continue to follow the same old SEO techniques to retain (or improve) your website’s rank, you may drop below on the list sooner than you know.
Google’s core algorithm updates give web users a chance to improve their search engine rankings by beating the top-ranked websites based on their SEO techniques.
What Can You Do To Survive Through Each New Update?
As mentioned earlier, it is very unlikely of Google to reveal any of its algorithm secrets. Many websites have suffered and may continue to suffer in terms of rankings with each new core algorithm update launched by Google. However, Google officials share some key guidelines to help web users to retain their winning position on search engines. The most typical yet effective advice is to build accurate and high-quality content.
Over the years, Google has shared many hints and ideas about how to produce quality content to retain (and improve) a website’s rank in SERP. In August 2019, Google shared a list of recommendations in a blog post to help web users in creating quality content (suitable for SEO). These recommendations were basically presented in the form of questions.
We have listed all these questions regarding content creation and quality (as posted by Google) below to help you develop a clear understanding.
Google’s Recommendations:
Content Creation & Quality
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete, or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
- If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
- Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerated or shocking in nature?
- Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia, or book?
To further improve your content for the best search engine rankings, the below-listed additional questions can help you devise the right content strategy for your website.
Presentation and Production Questions
- Does the content have any spelling or stylistic issues?
- Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
- Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
- Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?
Comparative Questions
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?