Is your Small Business Ready for Google Core Updates?

There has been much chatter lately about September’s Google core updates and to what extent a website’s search engine page results (SERP) will get a hit or not. Well, there’s no easy way to say this, but if the website lacks structure and quality content and neglects a good user experience, it will take a big hit, and ranking and traffic will inevitably drop. 

Call me optimistic, but I see every update as a window of opportunity for my clients (for those who don’t know me, I help women entrepreneurs and small business owners rank higher in search results without paying ads). A small business can quickly implement additional strategies to support its search engine marketing efforts. 

But before going more in-depth on leveraging Google core updates to boost your small business, the first thing is to know the logic behind the dreaded update.

Google Core Updates in a Nutshell 

The September 2022 Update is a classic “broad core update,” – meaning it doesn’t target a specific region, language, or website category. Updates like these aim to assess content and determine what pages serve the best answers to searchers’ queries. 

Of course, these changes may boost pages that were previously unnoticed, and some websites may face drops, while others will experience gains in their traffic.

I guess Google embraces the “put yourself in other people’s shoes” mindset. 

Google’s mantra has always been to provide users with the best browsing experience: search results, website loading time, images, content including comments, and reviews.

So, in simple terms, Google focuses on the overall quality of your content and the trustworthiness of your website.

Other Google Updates you should know about:

• Core Update (released September 2022). 
• Helpful Content Update (released August 2022). 
• Product Reviews for English language (released July 2022). 

If you want to go down the rabbit hole, here is the link to all the Google Search Ranking Updates

Take advantage of Google core updates. 

Contrary to what most small businesses think, every update is an opportunity for growth, especially when you are a small business. When you know the rules of engagement, you can quickly implement additional strategies to improve your search ranking page results (SERPs).

I understand if you don’t want to read all 167 pages of Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, but having an idea of what Google is looking for, puts you on the right track to get to that coveted page 1 rank! 

5 Things You Should be Focusing On:

1. Find out how healthy your website is, and do a website audit.
2. Work on errors first, then fix what highly impacts searches.
3. Determine whether or not your content provides honest answers and if they are helpful to users.
4. Provide original information, and include reporting, research, or sources from authoritative websites to support your content.  
5. Include a comprehensive description of the topic.

There you go, don’t fret about Google updates. Instead, take advantage and leverage the power of small businesses.