Friday, December 21, 2018 |
Google Medic update released on 1st week of August hits the ranks of many websites.
You may or may not be one of them. If you’ve escaped that hardest hit, you’re lucky. But, don’t leave everything upon “luck”. Rather, know how you can continue to maintain your rank despite this Google Medic update.
What is Google Medic Update?
Google update its algorithms several times in a year. According to Danny Sullivan, the co-founder of Search Engine Land, it’s also a “broad core algorithm update.”
Unfortunately, it’s hard to know what factors have made some websites lose their rank. Even more unfortunate is ‘there’s no way to fix it’, as Google says.
Why the Update is Named Google Medic?
As you’ve already known, the nickname of the update is ‘Medic’.
So, what industry does Google aim to hit?
Yes, you’ve guessed it right. It’s the health and medical industry. As per a study conducted over 300 websites by SEO Roundtable, more than 42% of affected sites belong to this category. However, this data doesn’t show that websites of other industries haven’t got the brunt.
Actually, Google is considering the domain authority while ranking. As a result, websites with high domain authority continues to enjoy their ranks whereas the small websites suffer.
Many digital marketing experts have thought that Google has considered mobile page speed while ranking. But, Google has made it clear that page speed wasn’t the problem. In this regard, Danny Sullivan further said, ‘It’s just a broad core.’
Broad Core Algorithm Update: What is it?
Basically, Google has shrouded it with mystery.
Google constantly updates its algorithm. But, most of the times, they went unnoticed. They do so to give more specific results to the searchers. As for instance, Panda focuses on quality content. Penguin penalizes sites practicing black-hat SEO tactics. Unlike Panda and Penguin, this algorithm doesn’t point out a single factor.
And, why this update has targeted specific websites no one understands. Google takes it as a general approval. Search Engine Land said that this ‘core update’ has been introduced to bring changes in the ‘search engine itself.’
Though Google is hiding the factors they’re considering for ranking, yet we know some of the factors that really matter in website ranking. These are:
- Responsiveness
- Keywords in meta tags
- HTTPS
- Page Speed
And the list is endless…
In this update, Google has changed the value they’re giving to each factor. But Google is emphasizing on the fact time and again that the suffered sites haven’t done anything wrong. Google is just valuing some factors where your competitors might have performed better than you. Accordingly, they’re ranking the sites.
On What Google Medic Update was Focusing?
Dive into Google’s Quality Rater Guidelines to know that.
As per the update in July, 2018, it is giving important to E.A.T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust). This has enabled the search engine to show the most relevant results to its users. It means you’ve to pay more attention to create quality content to reach your audience.
If you’ve just set up your website, then create an ‘About Us’ page. Include all your awards you’ve received till date for offering those services your website is promoting. Boasts yourself as much as you can (certainly, with proof like testimonials and rewards). Also, include authors’ bios.
Though we’re not sure, yet the data shows that Google is prioritizing overall authority to give ranks. While doing so, the search engine is not only considering the site’s reputation but also the reputation of the authors individually.
It means if multiple authors are creating content for your website, all of them should have high credibility to get recognition from Google. Therefore, you should thoroughly screen the authors’ profile before accepting blogs and articles from them.
Precisely said, a website with credible authors and solid efficiency proof will get preference from Google.
How to Beat the Google Medic Update?
Consider your users’ intent while creating content. That’s the only way of escaping the hit of Google Medic Update safely. You should know whether your users are looking for information or planning to buy your products.
Now, how will you do that?
Well, for that, you’ve to focus on keywords. Does the keyword have words like ‘discount’, ‘affordable’, and ‘buy’? If so, your users may want to buy your offerings. On the contrary, if the keywords contain words like ‘examples’, ‘meaning of’, ‘how to..’, your users are looking for information.
Thus, producing quality content alone will not work. You should also pay attention to whether the produced content is matching your users’ intent.
Moreover, find out which pages are getting more visitors. Work more on those pages to drive sales.
The Bottom Line
While the exact way to regain the lost traffic is still unknown, experts advise to stick to the fundamentals to recover the loss eventually. If you go on maintaining the quality of your content, Google will ultimately pay you off.
Just don’t sit idle. Rather, work on to create a technically and functionally rich website. You can hire a professional for the same. We, at Complete Web Graphics, design websites and perform SEO in a way that Google easily indexes and ranks it. Click on www.completewebgraphics.com to avail our services.