Search engine giants Google are rolling out the first of their two-part Core Update in June, they announced last week. The second part will take place in July.
The June Core Update is the first from Google in a little over 6 months, an unusual delay as Google usually rolls out updates every two or three months, and as with any Core algorithm update, business website owners can expect some fluctuations in rankings.
Whilst there is no way of knowing whether or how a site may be affected in terms of its ranking, Google says, but that “SEO [experts] who manage a lot of sites will likely see a lot of changes in Google search results.”
The June rollout is global and will take about two weeks, with Google confirming once the process is complete. This is also due to finish ahead of their planned Page Experience Update scheduled for later in June.
What to do if your site is impacted
In the event that your website experiences a negative effect from the June Core Update, Google advises to wait until the July rollout has been completed as this will in all likelihood bring about a recovery in your rankings.
However, if the updates cause a longer-term impact, they advise reviewing your content and SEO to ensure the following questions – which relate to their Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (EAT) metrics – can be answered:
- Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis?
- Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
- Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
- If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
- Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
- Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature?
- Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
- Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?
Expertise questions
- Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
- If you researched the site producing the content, would you come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognized as an authority on its topic?
- Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
- Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors?
- Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to your money or your life?
Presentation and production questions
- Is the content free from spelling or stylistic issues?
- Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
- Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
- Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
- Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?
Comparative questions
- Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
- Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?
If you’re concerned about your website, SEO and rankings and want to discuss how to prevent your rankings from being permanently affected, speak to the team at Realnet today for friendly, expert advice.
Call us on01223550800 or email info@realnet.co.uk – we look forward to helping you!