Analyzing Google’s March Algorithm Update

It is no secret that Google updates its search and ranking algorithms every now and then without informing users firsthand. Some of these updates and changes can come off as minor and will not affect rankings drastically. However, those that do tend to shake things up to varying levels that can cause a good amount of concern.

One of the more recent cases happened during the first half of March, which saw a good amount of rankings fluctuate and rise up, which caused some SEO professionals and clients to worry about the state of their rankings. The jumps happened in a span of a week (March 5 to March 9), which prompted a good number of SEO professionals to think that a new update has been launched by Google without providing prior information.

Google’s Response

Thankfully, Google cleared things up by announcing on their @searchliaison account that a new algorithm update has indeed been launched, and added that these kinds of major updates would be happening during the year as well. The tweet mentioned that these kinds of updates are “broad updates”, which mean that these are the major updates that can shake things up in a big way. Meanwhile, “focused updates” refer to smaller and more specific updates that optimize some minor yet significant details.

The Impact of the March update

One of the most noticeable things about the March update is the rise and drop of some rich snippets in search results.

With the update focusing on website quality, it has seen a lot of websites that have been improving to be able to have rich snippets. However, this has caused other websites to lose rich snippets as well. Seeing these kinds of things happening means that the update is in full effect, and means that your website needs to be optimized to keep up in search rankings.

With this update being a major one, this will bring in significant changes that will affect the long-term picture for your websites. With quality being the emphasis of this said update, this means that It is important to deliver quality content, which has been the driving force behind high traffic.

This makes blog articles and authors much more important for your SEO efforts, as factors like quality articles and expert authors ensure that there would be a constant stream of traffic to your website, courtesy of interested users that know that you deliver relevant and timely content.

The user experience must also be put into focus, as accessibility makes users want to visit your site more. This means creating a more organized structure with a layout that is easy to become familiarized with.

Consequences of Low Quality

With quality optimization being the main focus, it is apparent that Google is cracking down on low-quality sites, making them rank lower, and keeping the high-quality ones up top. There is no doubt that a lot of websites would be greatly affected by this update, which can result to some being removed from the search index, which is definitely something that no website owner would like to happen.

How to keep up the pace

There are many ways to keep up with the latest Google update, all of which would help keep your site from getting traffic and keep users happy. Here are some handy ways to do it:

Remove Intrusive Ads from your website: Having advertisements on your site is not a bad thing but having ones that are intrusive can hamper the user experience. Deceptive and intrusive marketing is not a way to attract more users, which is why removing these kinds of ads would be a healthy start.

Keep running Website Audit tools: With tools like Woorank and Google Lighthouse providing detailed information about your website within a few clicks, it is best to use these tools more often, as these help track elements that can be improved on your website. This would not only help you gather much-needed data for your website, but also deliver reports to your clients in an instant as well.

Listen to your users: Once again, user experience matters, which is why listening to their requests will pay dividends in the long run. User input helps you iron out some of the key details that users might have issues with and smoothens out the process much more. There are many brand and websites that are not keen on this practice, and this has a large chance of damaging their image. Sometimes, taking a look at your comments section will help you find something important.

Key Takeaway

Another day, another Google update. 2018 is shaping up to be another big year for the search giant, and these updates aim to maintain their quality service to their users and deliver the best results. With more updates expected to arrive, it is best to always come prepared.

If you have any questions and inquiries about SEO, leave a comment below and let’s talk.