During the first week of August, Google came out with what it called a “broad core algorithm update”. This was publicized on many platforms including Twitter, and has been the cause of significant buzz among website publishers. Also known as the Google Medic Update, because it mainly concentrates on medical and health sites, it has affected other sites as well, and across every country in the world. If your website has had an unexplained drop in rankings since August despite availing the finest SEO packages India has to offer, then the Medic Update might have something to do with this.
The new update has significantly altered Google’s algorithm factors, which means the way your content now gets ranked is a lot different. The one thing that has not changed is the importance of focusing on improvement of brand equity.
The Main Changes Made to Ranking Factors
- At its heart, the update is aimed at rewarding sites, which are “authoritative”, as opposed to “lifestyle” websites. To differentiate the two, Google checks Expertise, Authority, and Trust (EAT) factors, which it covers in the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines. EAT is basically used to discard low-quality websites to make room for more sites containing safe and helpful information, besides products and services.
- ‘Tone of voice’ has taken on added importance. Medic seems to favor content written or recorded in the third person over first and second person. It also looks to be penalizing use of colloquial language.
- Subjectivity too has gained significance. With first and second person narratives getting scaled back, grand and unverified claims along the tune of “we are the best in the business” can now get publishers in trouble.
- The tone used in writing content should be professional, expert, or both. This lets you gain more ground where search ranking are concerned. In contrast, if it looks like the work of a layman, higher ranking spots become all the harder to achieve.
- Meta-titles may be more significant to content publishing from here on out. Google is certainly rewarding more objective meta-titles rich in keywords, but that said, overstuffing is not a good idea; in fact, previous updates even tried penalizing it.
As mentioned already, Medic Core update affects different sectors, to varying degrees. Google’s search volume has definitely not gone down, which means any site that “loses” according to the new rules gets promptly replaced with one that “wins”. The best way forward is to react quickly and make necessary changes before the competition beats you to it.
Getting Back in Google’s Good Graces
Google has said the new change only focuses on treating heretofore under-rewarded sites better, and not punishing pages that do not meet the above criteria. That means at this point, the most that publishers have are theories floated by Search Engine Optimization experts on what would constitute best practices for regaining superiority in rankings.
E.A.T. Theory
Expertise, Authority, and Trust are important words now, especially when used in that order. A publisher can fix their E.A.T by doing the following.
- Improving the about page, as well as the bio pages for individual authors. Adding details like expertise and credentials is a smart thing to do.
- Displaying more client testimonials and reviews for services and products where visitors can spot them easily, and spreading these across multiple platforms.
- Bolstering the company’s authority on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Wikipedia.
- Furnishing every page with contact information, or even just having a strong Contact Us page with details on how to quickly get in touch.
- Garnering good press coverage through highly regarded outlets.
Query Intent Theory
This theory holds that search ranking hinges on how much your site’s content matches the searchers’ intent. It makes sense when you consider that many sites with “authoritative” content still saw drops in rankings. The best way forward here is matching content on top funnel pages, to your best idea of what users want to read when they have a question that needs answering.
Content Theory
Content length has been seen to affect SERP position ever since the update came out. Pages with longer content fared better against competition. That means well-written expansive articles are now more appreciated that they used to be. As long as the subject matter keeps from twisting around and confusing readers, or steeping out of relevance, longer content seems to be a good idea, at least until a turnabout update is released.
On the whole, Google is now pushing for sites which can quickly and precisely answer searcher’s queries, while also leaving them feeling sure they got what they were looking for. User experience is still top priority, and even though the company says, “There’s nothing wrong with pages that may now perform less well”, it is obvious they want publishers to make changes that conform with the new arrangement.
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