How To Survive The Constant Google Updates

You are far from being alone if you find Google’s constant updates annoying. Just the mention of names like penguin, hummingbird, panda, possum, and payday loan can create a dread feeling for many web masters and business owners.

The constant Google updates are also no respecter of size or brand. Both small and big corporations are not spared the wrath of penalties that often come with constant Google updates. It was reported that eBay lost 80% of its prime rankings when Panda 4.0 google updates were made in 2014. Big brands like Versace, Ryanair, and Nintendo have also been reported to suffer the consequences of Google updates in the past.

It is not uncommon to hear many business owners asking, what exactly is Google looking for? Answering this might lead you into an endless search. So, I decided to interview experts that have survived a number of Google updates overtime. Here are some of the lessons I picked up in the process.

No Shortcut – Follow Google’s own guide

Google has a bible-like guide every business owner should be following in setting up their website. This was my major takeaway from the conversation I had with Stephen Floyd, the CEO and Founder of Search Evolve. He pointed my attention to one of the under-utilized tools available to everyone on the web. Here is how he responded to my question on how to survive the constant Google updates:

“As someone who has recovered well over 100 penalized websites since 2012, I can tell you that my best advice comes from the immortal words of Miyagi from Karate Kid 2: ‘Best way to avoid penalty, not be there’

That may seem simplistic at first, but the reality is that it is far easier to AVOID penalties than it is to recover from them. While it may seem overwhelming to keep up with all the changes, the truth is that if you follow the general guidelines set forth in Google’s own Webmaster Tools Guidelines which can be found here then you will avoid 99% of all the pitfalls that get sites on Google’s naughty list. Another great place to start is with Google’s own Search Engine Optimization guide which can be found here.”

My conversation with Stephen was like a Jedi sharing wisdom that should have been obvious to me in the first instance. As a business owner, even if you want to hire an SEO consultant for your business, it is important to go through the Google’s 30-page SEO guide. The best lessons on how to survive constant Google updates lies therein.

Think like a computer – Only use tactics that are logical

At first, I found the idea of thinking like a computer counter-intuitive when it was mentioned by Chris M. Walker, the Founder and Owner of Superstar SEO. It only started making sense as he went into details about the concept. Here is how he put it.

“The most important thing to surviving Google algorithm changes is to learn how to think like a computer. Too often SEOs get caught up in new tactics, or shiny objects that work right now. What they do not do is think about why that tactic works. Is it logical? Or is it an exploit? In predicting the future of Google’s algorithm try to be so coldly logical that Mr. Spock would be jealous. Ask yourself if what you are doing make sense… and if it will continue to make sense in the future.

For example. There was a time when you could send hundreds of thousands of low quality links using automated software directly to a site using the exact keyword you want to rank for as your anchor text.

Does that seem logical? Is that something an algorithm would think makes sense? No of course, it doesn’t and eventually the AI, or the developers figured it out, adjusted the algorithm and decimated thousands of sites rankings.

So instead of using tactics that work right now use tactics that are logical such as a small amount of high quality links from powerful relevant sites created at a reasonable pace. Even if it takes you longer to get to #1 you will be there after the SEOs that use flavor of the week tactics are out looking for new careers.”

Surviving Google Updates is about QUALITY

After meditating on the lessons I picked up from experts and the content of the Google SEO guide, I found that another good question to ask is “what does Google hate?” Yes, peering into what Google hates gives clarity on what one has to improve to become Google’s friend so as to avoid the consequences of their update. Here are some of the things Google hates:

· Building links with no high regard for quality contents.

· Creating content without meaning just for traffic driving.

Let me break this down for you, Google’s interest by updating its algorithm is, “to provide quality content for every search request.” So you see, there will always be constant updates, you can’t stop it! We can never blame Google after-all, if their search engine is being left for a better search engine, that spells doom for them. So, what Google is doing is extremely reasonable. So, if you want to be in Google’s good book when they carry out their updates, focus on developing quality content and quality engagement with your target audience.