Google updates are a staple in today’s online world. They are a sign of the continued efforts that the search engine makes to provide the highest quality results for its users. But for businesses, updates can shake up their hard-earned rankings overnight.
Recently, some of the changes in the ways in which Google operates have led to changes with respect to authorship, media, and content. Understanding these changes will keep you current and allow you to shift your marketing strategies easily.
Changing Tides of Search Results
There is a huge amount of site pages that live on the Internet. Google and other search engines perform the daunting task of indexing and ranking all of that information to provide users relevant results to their queries.
With each update to its algorithms, Google has increasingly provided higher quality search results. But when these updates occur, it can affect how websites are ranked, as the protocol for what makes quality content also changes.
This can lower your business rankings quickly. Staying informed of new and upcoming changes keeps most businesses stable with respect to their SEO efforts. But recently, a few new changes have led to surprising effects on searches that go beyond organic results.
Video Results
Traditionally, videos are presented on results pages with the use of thumbnails. The recent search engine shakeup has resulted in a surprising drop in thumbnails included in the search results.
There is some question as to whether it means that Google is no longer featuring video thumbnails for searches, or if it is simply a drop in their rankings. Some industry leaders have also proposed the possibility that Google may be reconsidering the value of providing thumbnails due to concerns over quality.
Author Profile Images
Google+ has become a major component of the Google experience. As a result, it has integrated this platform with its authorship concept. But what has surprised many SEO experts is the impact it has had on the use of profile photos in search results.
Although some photos have continued to appear, many profile photos are no longer visible in general results. The bylines for authors are still being presented among the results, so the authorship element is still alive and well. But the visual appeal of author photos can no longer be utilized.
How to Stay Afloat
Depending on your industry and business, these small changes may not appear critical at a glance. But it does underscore the potential for future changes to the ways in which Google presents its search results to users.
As a business, you’ll need to stay current with these changes so that you can remain agile in the face of future shakeups. This can be done through a regular analysis of your metrics, while keeping an eye on the search results themselves as a user.
For content marketers, the impact on authorship and media can influence how well they perform over time. In the end, the updates continue to lean towards the side of quality content that is relevant, unique, and useful to users.
