Google Activates Core Algorithm Update In May

What Is The Purpose Of The May Google Core Algorithm Update?

Google core update for May 2020

Google’s May, 2020 algorithm update targets sites with poor content. On Monday, May 4th Google announced it was activating a new Core Algorithm update. This follows another major Core Algorithm update in January 2020. Google releases Core Algorithm updates every few months and the January Core Update was three months previous to the May update.

In Google’s announcement, they state, “Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the May 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.”

Here’s what Google says about it’s most recent Core updates. Websites that exhibit strong trust signals such as high quality backlinks will probably improve in Google SERP rankings with the new updates. Backlinks would not only strengthen a single subpage but have a positive impact on the entire domain.

Affiliate sites seem to be among the big losers of the May 2020 Core Update, as they do not have particularly high quality, or relevant content, and also lack a high quality link profile identifying them as a strong brand. The age of a domain does not seem to play a role here.

What Are Google Core Algorithm Updates?

Each day, Google usually implements one or more changes designed to improve search results. Most aren’t noticeable, however, they are designed to incrementally improve search results for users. Note here that these algorithm changes are not designed to help website owners. Most updates to Google Algorithms are not major and have little impact on website rankings.

Does Google Announce Every Major Algorithm Change?

Google is now making public announcements for Core Algorithm updates. Google previously would not comment on major algorithm changes. In the last two years Google is announcing major update roll outs to their algorithms. The “Page Load Speed” update was well publicized by Google so everyone in the industry knew when this update was implemented. Google has stated that on several occasions per year they do make major changes to algorithms, referred to as “Core Updates.” According to Google these updates are based on their mission to display authoritative and relevant content to Internet searchers.

What Websites Are Losing Ranking Positions?

We are seeing that web pages without a strong enough link profile and brand are among the losers. Sites that are losing or have already lost rankings exhibit three distinct traits:

  • Lower quality and less relevant content
  • Lower authority related to low quality backlink profile
  • Less trust due to weak branding.

Please note, these results indicate that the May, 2020 update is primarily an “E-A-T” algorithm. E-A-T is an acronym for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

What Can I Do About Rankings Drop Due To Google Update?

Google has some general advice on what to do if you are negatively impacted by a core update in the past. There aren’t specific actions to take to recover, and Google is rather vague about this issue. In fact, your site may be just fine, simply not as good as your competition. However, Google has offered a list of questions to consider if your site is hit by a core update. See information below for information on how to improve your website.

How Do I Know If My Site Was Downgraded With Google Update?

If your web pages lost rankings during a Google update, we recommend the following: Find out which websites now rank higher than yours. Analyze content on those higher ranking sites. If the higher rankings sites have more content, or fresher content, or more relevant content, then you need to address these issues.
If you do not have Schema markup, you must add Schema markup immediately. Site organization: Check for broken links, robots.txt directives and other code that may block Google from crawling your site.

How Can I Improve Expertise For My Website?

Here specific actions you can take to improve Expertise:

  • Promote your content on social media.
  • Contact local media (newspapers, podcasts) to find out if you can submit Press Releases.
  • Google uses reviews as a trust factor for SEO. Ask your customers to place reviews on your Google My Business page.

How Can I Improve Authority And Trust For My Site

To improve your website authority and trust, do the following:

  • Use your website “About Us” page to add information about promotions or events or awards or any public recognition for you or your business.
  • Add Schema Markup on your site to give Google more information about your business and web pages content. We recommend using JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Objects) markup.
  • Create a Testimonials or Reviews page that lists all your customer reviews.

If you want us to provide professional help to review and implement upgrades for you website E-A-T call us at (503)828-6268 to discuss your situation. After we review your online business, we can implement a website marketing campaign to boost your E-A-T and your web presence, especially on Google.

Vancouver WA SEO is your expert SEO in Vancouver Washington.