The May 2020 Google Core Update, and What it Means For Your Business

Anyone with knowledge of SEO understands that Google updates its algorithm periodically, to keep search results beneficial for its users. It's like a refresh of good and bad page qualities that are done to make sure the search engine is able to connect its audiences with the most relevant, high-quality content. May 2020 saw the latest Google Core Update announced and being implemented, with some webmasters within the global SEO community describing significant losses in web traffic.

With plenty of businesses finding it already challenging to market themselves during the global coronavirus pandemic, the websites worst-hit by the May 2020 Core update have questioned whether the engineers at Google could have better timed this review of their search algorithm. While the announcement made by Google has planned for the update to be implemented and slightly adjusted throughout the rest of May, here's what you can expect if you are wondering whether your business has seen a loss of traffic due to Google's latest update.

Which Businesses Were Affected the Most?

Google Core Updates affect how its search algorithm rates the quality of websites. In a general sense, these updates are made to improve search results for Google's users, so as to match their searches with the highest quality and most relevant content by businesses like yours. However, Google has been known to keep a little ambiguous about what's specifically been changed with each of its updates. Without having to guess at whether your site could use an update to its content, especially after this recent Google algorithm update, we've had a look at some of the feedback webmasters of different businesses have had to provide.

Sites dealing with topics such as Travel, Healthcare, Real Estate, Pets & Animals, and content related to people & society were among the most affected during the latest algorithm update. These were noted especially across both desktop and mobile searches, according to a recent report published by SEMRush. Using their proprietary sensor tool, the search engine optimisation tech giant noted a distinct 1.4 point increase in the May update's effect on influencing SERPs and search positions, as compared to an early January update. Search rank volatility is also another metric commonly used in the SEO world, to determine the effects of an algorithm update on website rankings on Google. Among the list of broad industry categories featured, the categories noted by SEMRush were among those to show the highest amount of increased search rank volatility, between up to 4 points.

What Can You Do to Secure Your Web Traffic Despite this Google Update?

It's evident that Google's latest algorithm update has specifically readjusted website categories such as recipes, mostly due to the surge of searches for them as a result of COVID-19 related isolation. While most webmasters who have suffered traffic losses have described the update as poorly timed, it is perhaps a necessary move made on Google's part to ensure the bulk of results turned up for such searches remain of high content quality. Other reports by webmasters sharing their losses on public forums have seen descriptions of up to 40% losses in traffic.

If you have either struggled with producing quality content for your site or are exasperated by the recent update, it helps to have a professional website audit conducted by an external agency. Many SEO agencies conduct this as an introductory service, and it always helps to hear from the experts as to how best your content can be maximised to benefit Google Core Updates. For more information on Google's latest broad core update, refer to their official Webmaster Central Blog.

Book In for a Site Audit with ITCC

If you've experienced a significant loss of traffic and think it in part to do with the latest Google algorithm update, we can always help to have a look at your site. A professional web audit by our SEO team can focus on assessing which areas of your site are lacking, especially when compared to an analysis of your competitors. Among the key qualities we look out for when assessing a client's website are:

• Content & quality
• Expertise,
• Presentation & Production, and
• Competitive comparisons.

Needless to say, any next steps your site will require to bridge that gap in rankings is what we specialise in. Whether you've seen losses to traffic in May due to the Google update or not, it might be as good a time as any other to get in touch with our team for a site audit today.