What You Need to Know About the Latest Google Algorithm Update

Last Updated: December 20, 2023

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Google is known for its ability to constantly roll out updates to its software products. This month, on May 4th, 2020, Google updated its Core Algorithm in the United States, while the rest of the world received the update on the next day.

The company often updates algorithms in the thousands, with a good chunk of them made in the first quarter of this year. Despite all the roadblocks due to COVID-19, Google was able to release a major update that is set to change the Search Engine Result Page (SERP) algorithm. 

Changes in Google Search Patterns

The update has affected the internet’s wide array of categories being searched, which works through finding deviations to spot differences in keyword usage volatility daily versus monthly. With this tool being tweaked, it becomes easier to understand the overall trends of clients by checking their stability on SERPs. 

What they Changed with SERPs

Mobile platforms are more volatile in SERPs compared to desktop users. While volatility is a term attached to negative connotations, in the search engine field, volatility may be a good thing in certain cases. 

Since the algorithms were updated, there was a net positive movement in SERPs, which means that clients are having their search engine results appear more often and are more visible. SERPs have improved by 2.57% on mobile platforms since the update, which is supplemented by these considerable revisions on Mobile SERPs:

  • Top of Page ads on 11.6% of SERPs up one-third in the last month
  • Bottom of Page ads on 2.8% of SERP results down 24% in last month
  • Top Stories on 9% of SERPs, up 22% in the last 30 days
  • People Also Ask in 39% of SERP results, down .25% in the last month
  • Sitelinks in 71% of SERPs, up 3% in the last 4 weeks

On the other hand, data for desktop searches were found to be as follows:

  • Top of Page ads on 7.8% of SERPs up past a hundred percent in the last month
  • Bottom of Page ads on 5.6% of SERP results down 337% in last month
  • Top Stories on 9% of SERPs, up 22% in the last 30 days
  • People Also Ask in 37.3% of SERP results, up 5% in the last month
  • Sitelinks in 69.7% of SERPs, up 3% in the last 4 weeks

Google statistics show clients were given a great boost with this significant update to the algorithm, making business owners have increased results over the span of less than a month. 

What Tactics to Deploy if your Search Ranking was Affected Negatively

With a spike in other SEO clients’ results, that means others have dropped negatively. Some experts on the SEO technology field will say to leave it be. While partially correct because major changes may not be necessary, it is suggested that in order to garner organic traffic it is best to optimize existing pages or bump up content quality. The best course of action to take is to contact the best SEO company you can find and work with them from there.

Some of the top tactics recommended would be to create clustered, optimize your website for speed and check its statistics, as well as making sure your content is highly relevant. When optimizing a website, check its foundations to see if they built strongly, and then supplement that with a bombardment of well-written content that the algorithm will recognize. 

It may also help to compare your site against the other more successful ones to see what works best and perhaps obtain insight into future fixes. Lastly. It helps to study data and analytics, as those are tools that may be the difference between stagnation and growth.

Conclusion

Google’s Algorithm updates continue to improve the stability of the search engine and add new statistics and tools. With a major update that comes three to four times a year, the search engine pages are always rapidly shifting, which is why you will need assistance from the best SEO agencies. 

We provide you with news and updates on the best SEO services and strategies. Go read our online blogs today to begin ramping up your business online presence in the US market!