How to Stay Up to Date with Google Algorithm Updates

Google’s algorithm updates are always changing. Whether you properly adapt to these changes or not determines if Google algorithm updates will help or hurt your healthcare company’s SEO.

These are the top reasons why an algorithm change or update can affect you:

• Organic search traffic
• Search ranking and visibility
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Conversions

What are Google search algorithm updates?

The main reason Google updates its algorithm every so often is to improve user experience and help users find what they are looking for as quickly and accurately as possible. Each time a new update comes out, Google reviews the SERP ranking of websites based on expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, also known as E.A.T.

Although Google updates its algorithm daily, they roll out a more robust update every now and then which adjusts the rankings of different factors for its search results. In fact, Google updates its algorithm around 500-600 times a year which makes adapting to Google algorithm updates critical for healthcare marketing businesses.

Why it’s important to track Google algorithm updates

Most people think of the algorithm as Google’s way of punishing websites, but it should really be thought of as a way to reward websites for providing a good user experience and quality relevant content. Although Google is notoriously inconspicuous with its algorithms, those in the SEO community spot these updates before Google even confirms them.

When we say Google is inconspicuous, we mean that they don’t really hint at any upcoming changes to their algorithm which can make it difficult to plan ahead for the big changes when they DO come. As a result, healthcare marketers should stay on the lookout for any changes in search traffic on a regular basis.

How to track the Google algorithm updates

Every once in a while, Google will use their Twitter account @searchliasion to confirm or deny any algorithm updates but that’s usually done for the bigger updates. Google tends to be secretive about this because they update their algorithm very frequently. They update at least one to two times a day, which would mean that they would have to continuously announce changes to the public that may not even impact their rankings. Since it is hard to adapt to all of the changes that come about due to Google’s algorithm updates, healthcare marketers should focus on things that look out of the ordinary.

For example, if you notice significantly fewer search results than before, that could mean that Google will be launching a new update soon. If you are tracking traffic, then you might also see some large fluctuations during the update. It’s a good idea to remember that these fluctuations can last for days, even weeks.

During this time of changes, your rankings may fall, rise, and even come back to normal. As a healthcare marketer, it is important to let your clients know that this is normal and nothing to be worried about… unless these fluctuations last longer than a few weeks.

Tracking Google algorithm updates

Now that we have covered how to track algorithm updates, let’s look at different tools and strategies we can use to track updates.

1. Keep a close eye on web traffic

Search for the most valuable keywords in your browser’s private mode. Google highly prioritizes personalization so even if you are in private mode, Google will still use Cookies and other data to results closest to your search.

Some helpful tools are Accuranker and MozCast.

2. SEMRush

SEMRush has a feature that lets you look at your keyword rankings from the perspective of a user in a different location. This can be helpful data if you’re looking to serve clients from different states or even different countries.

3. Follow @searchliasion on Twitter

As mentioned earlier, Google announces larger updates on this Twitter account. Recently, however, they have been getting into the habit of sharing content that’s related to any upcoming updates which can prove to be very helpful.

Staying ahead of Google algorithm updates

In order to keep your company’s website from dropping in rankings and keeping its online presence, no matter how the algorithm changes, it is important to keep producing high-quality content, user-friendly content.

Make sure that your company’s website is kept up to date with the latest information. Nothing is more frustrating for a user than reading content that’s 5 years old and is most likely irrelevant today.

You can also create a content calendar to keep track of the blog posts your healthcare company puts out based on the development schedule. Employees at your company can also set a goal to create content at least a month in advance so as to have a constant flow of updated content that users will find helpful.

Recovering from an algorithm update

After reading this blog, we hope that you’ve gotten a better idea of how Google’s search engine algorithms work and how they’ve revolutionized SEO. With this information, healthcare marketers and companies can better understand how to stay at the top of Google’s rankings.

At KNB, we take into account Google’s algorithm updates and make sure that clients don't fall short of these changes.

If you are looking for an agency that can help your company recover from Google’s latest algorithm update, book a free consultation with us today and we can get you on the road to recovery!