What Google’s New Algorithm Update Means For You

Before I get into this article, here are some terms that would be good to know.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the process of optimizing or bettering your website, content, etc so that it can communicate with the robots over at the search engines. It helps you rank for what you’re trying to rank for (or not). It’s incredibly important to increase site traffic, build credibility, and grow a business. SEO helps connect you (the human with the website) with those searching for you (your ideal clients).

Algorithm: An algorithm is just a way of organizing content. Without an algorithm, when you searched for beluga whales you might find photos of pepper and videos of bob ross. It would be mayhem. The algorithm allows people to find what you’re looking for.

SERP: Search Engine Results Page. Once you hit search, the things that show up are on the SERP.

A few weeks ago Google announced an update to its algorithm. This is a rarity and super exciting if you’re an SEO nerd like me, but regardless, I’m going to explain exactly why you should care too. If you would rather read the update directly from Google, click here.

This update emphasizes people-first content.

Uhh what?

You know when you are searching for something and you come across an article that is clearly regurgitated, stuffed with annoying phrases, and doesn’t actually answer your question despite being #1 in Google? That content is robot-first (this is not a saying, but roll with it). These websites and blogs try to create content solely for ranking in Google. They aren’t worried about you actually finding the answer to your question, they are just trying to drive major amounts of traffic (hello ad revenue). These are the websites that Google is trying to put an end to.

Instead, the websites and blogs that are actually helpful are what Google is trying to push to the top of it’s SERPs.

So websites like mine and yours…

Which is why I have been talking SO much about blogging over on Instagram.

If you take nothing else, take this: now is the time to start a blog. (need help? click here)

This update really levels the playing field because it rewards people who talk to people. All of us small business owners who are real humans and write to real humans have an even better shot at ranking higher.

When the update was announced, Google also published a series of questions to help guide you to people-first content. I’ve pulled a handful of them to help you understand what people-first content looks like.

• Does your site have a primary purpose or focus?
  If your website isn’t about a specific topic and is instead all over the place, then it’s going to be harder to develop a strong business presence. My niching down, you appeal to humans more which Google likes.

• After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they've learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?
  Google wants you to be knowledgeable and provide real answers, otherwise your content doesn’t have a strong enough purpose.

• Are you producing lots of content on different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results?
  I personally love this question because this is something that I see A LOT on buggy websites. Some site owners even use bots to generate wild amounts of content that all say the same thing. I am stoked that this content will stop gaining traction.

• Are you mainly summarizing what others have to say without adding much value?
  Basically, if your content is useless, then Google won’t push it.

• Did you decide to enter some niche topic area without any real expertise, but instead mainly because you thought you'd get search traffic?
  Writing for PEOPLE based on what YOU know rather than what you THINK Google wants you to know.

Google’s article (linked here) has even more questions, but I think these are the strongest.

So as an entrepreneur, what should you do with this information? Start. The. Blog.

Start the blog and write to your ideal client. Write as if you’re writing an email. What are the things that you would want to tell them? What questions do they have? What solutions are they looking for? Write as a human, to a human.

And if you want an extra edge on your content, join the waitlist for DIY SEO, my SEO training program.

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