On March 12th, 2019, Google shocked all of us digital marketers by releasing the latest Google algorithm update: Florida 2. Various SEO and Digital Marketing experts are calling Florida 2 one of the biggest updates Google has made in years. Why is that? Because this is a broad core update. A broad core update is an update that is not targeting a specific niche or region – it’s everyone. Florida 2 will have one of the most widespread impacts on keywords and search rankings to date.
According to medium.com, the following changes were noticed in the new update:
- Indiscriminate changes in website ranking and traffic, especially where certain websites have reported zero traffic after the occurrence of the update.
- There is evidence showing the increase in traffic for website owners who provide importance to quality content and page speed.
- A worldwide impact which won’t be niche specific or specific to the region or its update.
- The great number of adjustments in the way Google is interpreting given search queries.
- Quality of backlink which plays a major factor.
- Changes in the ranking of short term keywords.
So that’s all fine and dandy… but how can your business mitigate the effects of this update? Here are Upright’s recommendations
1. Update your content
You should already aim to be updating your content a minimum of once a month, but more is very much preferred by Google. Having old, stale content won’t help you move up the ranks in any search engine. In general, content has an expiration date, so we suggest being prepared & consistently update your content!
2. Internal Linking
Internal linking = adding links to other pages on your website. Internal linking is very important to Google’s algorithm. Internal links help to connect your content and improve Google’s understanding of your website’s structure. Google “crawls” websites by using a bot called Google bot. The bot will start at your website’s homepage and follow the links to help Google figure out the relationship between the pages on your site. Don’t confuse Google bot – add internal links to your site!
3. External Linking
External linking = adding links to other sites on your website. External linking is also very important to Google’s algorithm! SEO experts believe that external links are the most important source of ranking power. But be careful about the pages you link to. Make sure you are linking to high authority sites – it can only help your site’s SEO! Think sites like manta.com, the Better Business Bureau, superpages.com, etc.
Whether you are editing your blog posts or optimizing your website on mobile, Upright Communications can help. Don’t be blindsided by Google’s broad core updates. Stay on top of your game with Upright! For more recommendations and help with your digital marketing strategy, contact us today. Check out our blog for more posts like this.
Sources:
https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/whats-new-about-google-update-florida-2-cad9c1b1c2c7
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-update-florida-2/297973/#close
https://branchedroots.com/2019/03/20/florida-2-2019-core-algorithm-update/