Google Algorithm Update 2020 – How Will This Affect My Business?
“May the 4th be with you” – commonly known as Star Wars Day. Traditionally on May fourth, Star Wars fans from across the globe dress up as their favourite characters and celebrate this fantastic film franchise. However, this year Google had something else planned for this special day. This year on May 4th, Google released a core algorithm update called “Google May 2020 Update.” No animal names or references to Star Wars this time around.
Even though Google is constantly updating their algorithms, the May 2020 update was a core update. A core update brings a whole list of changes to the search algorithm and systems. In other words, lots of big changes, unlike the constant smaller updates Google regularly releases. Core updates such as Panda, and Penguin before it, caused short term problems for websites. Website ranking was continuously in flux. Once the dust settled, there were definite winners and losers. However, these core updates generally made the search easier by delivering results that were ultimately more useful for users. The same thing is happening with the Google May 2020 update.
Okay, that’s great, but my website dropped 10 places since May 4th. What is going on?
As we all know and are horribly familiar with the state of the world right now, Google felt the need to adapt to the changes in search patterns by users. Not only has the world changed since March, but also the way we search and what we’re searching for. If your website was ranking well in local search before the update, but now seems to be jumping around, it’s because local search results have seen large scale fluctuations since the update. Some of the early winners in local search have been nutrition and recipes, fitness, and news, to name a few. This makes sense given the fact most of us are home and looking at how to stay healthy. We also have had our eyes glued to the news to try and make sense of what is happening locally and around the rest of the world.
What can I do to come out on top after the Google May 2020 update?
Thin content is once again a big loser in this update. As long as you have quality content that adds value to your audience, once things settle down with the update, your site should regain some if not all of its positioning, especially if you are in one of the categories that have been positively affected: Nutrition and Recipes, Fitness, News, Drugs, Alcohol and Rehab, Science and Medical, News, Banking and Finance, Music and Entertainment, Natural Medicine, History.
Regardless of what category you fall into, now is a good time to reassess your content and make sure your site is well-positioned for success.
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