A few words about the August update of the site ranking algorithms from Google. In other words, briefly about maintaining the position of the site in the search in connection with a new signal from Google.
The August update was called "More content by people, for people in Search". As the name implies, the algorithm is aimed at evaluating content and content that the audience likes gets a higher rating compared to materials that do not meet user expectations.
Here are some signs of low quality content for Google.
- Content is created primarily to attract visitors from search engines, and not to meet their needs.
- Lots of content on various topics.
- Content created using automation tools.
- Publication of mostly foreign materials.
- The content is created on “hot” topics without taking into account the interests of the target audience of the site.
- After seeing your content, visitors get the feeling that they need more information from other sources.
- Do you write articles of a certain length because you have heard or read that Google considers it to be optimal? (This is not true.)
- We decided to touch on some specific topic in which you have no experience and knowledge, only to attract search traffic.
- Your content promises to answer a question that isn't actually answered (for example, it's about a release date for a product, movie, or series that hasn't been confirmed).
If you answered “yes” to most of the questions, you should review your content policies.
Content authors are encouraged to strike a balance between user benefit and search engine optimization. If you answer "yes" to the following questions, then you are on the right track.
- Your business or website is targeted at a specific audience that will benefit from your content if they reach out to you.
- Your content clearly confirms that you have personal experience and in-depth knowledge in the field to which it belongs (for example, you were a buyer of a product or service, you visited a certain institution, etc.).
- Your site has a specific theme or was created to solve a specific problem.
- The visitor gets enough knowledge from your content to reach their goal.
- Your content is liked by the user who has read it.
- You adhere to recommendations for key updates and product reviews.
A few words about the new ranking principles.
Google has a new signal, the purpose of which is to weed out content that is of little use or not at all relevant to users by assigning it a low rating, which will generally affect the search position of the entire site. That is why it is better to remove ineffective and low-quality content from the site.
As for improving the position of the site, after finalizing the content, the information from Google will not please the owners very much. As stated in the Google Search Center, it can take several months for pages that have found these improvements to reposition. If the algorithms detect that the site has not been updated with low-quality content for a long period, then its position in the Google rankings may improve. In general, nothing new, because SEO specialists are well aware that organic website promotion takes time and high-quality content. Sometimes it is cheaper to create a new site than to modify an existing one and bring it to the first position in the search, especially if the positions were lost a long time ago and the content was not professional.
