When it comes to keeping your company top-of-mind among customers in your service area, Google’s algorithm is king. A prominent place on the search results page is the foundation of any home services digital marketing strategy seeking to generate new leads and reach the next level of financial and professional success.
That’s why it’s crucial to be aware of any changes Google makes to its algorithm. If an update occurs and your website doesn’t adapt to it, your business can quickly begin to suffer financially.
So be sure to familiarize yourself with the July 2021 Core Update that Google recently announced. Unlike some updates that only have a slight effect on the rankings, this one will create significant changes on the search results page. Like most Core Updates, these changes will help websites with high-quality, relevant content get seen by searchers first.
Google notes that this update will be implemented over the course of 1-2 weeks.
So what can you expect? For starters, here is Google’s less-than-technical way of describing what this overhaul means:
“One way to think of how a core update operates is to imagine you made a list of the top 100 movies in 2015. A few years later in 2019, you refresh the list. It's going to naturally change. Some new and wonderful movies that never existed before will now be candidates for inclusion. You might also reassess some films and realize they deserved a higher place on the list than they had before.
The list will change, and films previously higher on the list that move down aren't bad. There are simply more deserving films that are coming before them.”
So beyond that metaphor, what will these changes look like in practice?
Changes to the Top Stories Carousel
The top stories carousel in Google Search now will now feature non-AMP pages. So any Google News Approved website can be featured in the Carousel, regardless of its Core Web Vitals score or page experience status.
An Emphasis on Quality Content
Google is carefully taking stock of the quality of content on the sites it lists. With more emphasis on quality, it’s essential to know if your site’s pages are up to the changing standards. According to Google, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- 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?
A Lot Less Spam
While this change should not impact your website, Google is making an effort to limit the exposure of sites with dubious or deceptive content.
To learn more, contact your marketing manager at Scorpion and if you’re exploring a digital marketing partner to help your business grow, contact info@scorpion.co
