Google Algorithm Update September 2020

September started with a bang, especially in PPC, and it kept rolling throughout the month, so let’s get right to the latest news.

Google to Stop Showing Search Queries That Trigger Ads

If you look at your most recent pay-per-click reports, you may have realized that you see many fewer keywords than usual. In the past, Google showed you the keywords, even if there was just one person who searched for that term. Now, to protect user privacy, the company says that they will only show terms where significant data could be collected. Some large firms are reporting seeing up to 20% fewer terms appear in their lists.

If Your Goal is Backlinks, Then Write Short Articles

An analysis done of over 5,000 articles found that those generating the most backlinks had an average of 695 words. The study that ignored articles from major news sources found that timely content was more likely to be shared than evergreen content. The study found that sports, sex and relationships, and fitness were more likely to be shared. Furthermore, how-to articles are the most shared, followed by list videos.

Don’t Wait to Improve Your Site

Google’s John Mueller says that webmasters no longer must wait to see improvements in their rankings if their site took a significant blow during a core algorithm update. He says that sites that are moving in the right direction should see their rankings improve within a few days of making changes as the current system gets input regularly. That is excellent news for many webmasters because, with Penguin and Panda, webmasters had to wait until the next quarter to see vast improvements in their rankings.

Domain Name Not a Ranking Factor

Some studies suggest that having at least one keyword in the domain name is a ranking factor, but John Mueller insists that it does not help a site. In fact, Mueller says that it may hurt a company because it makes it difficult to pivot to a new niche market as conditions change. Instead, Mueller suggests that you focus on creating a domain that can stand the test of time. In order to accomplish this, Search Engine Land, says your focus needs to be on these ranking factors:

• Backlinks
• Semantic Saturation
• Core Web Values
• User Experience
• Structured Data
• Google My Business Listing
• Mobile Optimization

Google Fact Check Guidelines

Google has updated its guidelines for fact check articles. These are the articles appearing under another article when someone searches for a specific piece of questionable data. If you want your site to be considered, you must mark several of your pages with ClaimReview structured data. The content on the page must support your structured data. Accountability, transparency and readability standards must be met. You must have a form or way for users to submit corrections. Each claim must identify a secondary source, and you must use references or another matter to link each claim to its source. The page must have a brief synopsis of the claim and what facts were checked.

If you need help with any of these things or some other SEO matter, then contact us. We are always ready to assist you.