Since the last few decades, Google has become more vigilant and cautious in displaying relevant search results to users. It has been rolling out various small and large updates from time to time to improve the efficiency of search results and provide users with the exact results they are looking for. One of those major updates known as Core Search Algorithm Update was released by Google on August 1, 2018.
This update appears to have affected both local and organic rankings. It seems that Google has made changes to the local and organic algorithms.
Based on some initial observations from some SEO nerds, this update has primarily affected:
(1) YMYL Sites: Your Money or Your Life Websites
(2) Websites in the medical, dietary, and nutritional niches that claim facts without research or updates.
(3)Many large companies with multiple locations across the country compared to smaller local companies.
As this update greatly affected websites in the medical niche, it is also said to be a “Medical Update”.
The reason behind the observed drop in search result ranking
One of the main reasons for the decline observed by these websites is due to EAT low.
What is EAT?
EAT stands for Experience, Authority and Reliability.
This means that for any website to rank high, it must have content that can demonstrate its expertise in the particular niche. It must include genuine and valid content (not just promotional content) written by the people who are the authorities in that niche. The website must be able to generate trust in the visitor through its content.
Taking EAT into account, some of the factors that seem to have affected YMYL sites are:
- There is no detailed business information on the website.
- Low or very little external reputation of websites.
- Promote or defend things that are not considered legitimate.
- Authors without medical EAT and with low external reputation.
Is your website a YMYL website and is it affected by this update? Then you can implement the following steps to get your ranking back:
1.Improve the reliability of your site
If your website doesn’t have an about us page, then it’s about time you got one. Add the detailed information about your business, mention about all the awards and certifications that your business has in it. Try to tell visitors and Google why your company is an expert and authoritative in that particular vertical industry. This does not mean that Google can understand all this information. But this is the least we can do for Google to understand that the EAT of our website is good.
2.Improve the author’s EAT
Every post on your website should include an author and should have a detailed biography of him or her.
3.Improve the reputation of your site
You can do this by getting press coverage for your website and getting more genuine reviews for your business on Google. You can also improve the EAT of your authors by placing them on other authorized websites outside of your website. All this can increase the external reputation of your site.
4. Improve your EAT products
First of all, if you are selling any product, make sure it is not harmful or spam. If so, then this may be the reason for the observed drop in your ranking. Otherwise, you can improve your product’s reputation by encouraging reviews, getting detailed and correct information about it, and all the other things that can make people think your product is good.
Conclusion:
Google Core Search Algorithm is the biggest update implemented by Google in recent times. And to protect your website, providing “Quality Content” is all you can do. You can also try to increase page load time and enable your website security.