Why & How to Track Google Algorithm Updates To Stay SEO Optimized?

Track Google Algorithm

The average person uses Google simply to look up information or get answers. For most people, online Google is just a handy tool they can use when they need to get informed. However, there are those people whose careers depend on Google. Bloggers, marketers, business owners, webmasters, and SEO specialists all have to keep a close eye on Google and everything that’s happening around it.
One of the things that can deeply affect the success of the people we’ve mentioned is an update in the Google algorithm. Now, if it were only one update at a time, we’re sure people would find a way to handle it.
But, Google updates its algorithms multiple times a day, making it impossible for us to track every single one of them. You can monitor those on Google news and even lookup the predictions on top tech websites but it’s still too easy to get lost in the information flow.
So, if Google algorithm changes can affect you or your business, it’s best that you learn more about it. Let’s break it down together and see why and how you can track these updates.

What Are Google Algorithm Updates?

Before we dig any deeper, it’s important that we define and exemplify the notion of a Google algorithm update.

  • Google algorithms are a system that uses complex operations to process the data and deliver the best possible results for a search. This means that Google ranks the results according to relevance to a specific query.

We all want our content to be among the top results of a search and so we try our hardest to optimize our content for Google search engines. In other words, we use SEO.

  • SEO is a process of creating content according to certain rules with the aim of making it recognized by the search engines like quality content worth displaying in top results.

Now, SEO depends on Google algorithms. That means that marketers, bloggers, and business owners need to understand Google algorithms and create content based on the rules defined by them.

So, whenever we feel like we’ve got it and we understand Google algorithms they tend to introduce a change.

  • Google algorithm changes are the adjustments and updates, introduced to change the way Google algorithms recognize the content as a top priority.

Therefore, keeping track of Google algorithm updates is a must if you want to stay in the game and not get crushed by your competitors.

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Recent Google Algorithm Updates

According to statistics, Google updates their algorithms a couple of times a day. This makes it impossible for anyone to track each update and adjust their content accordingly.
But, that’s perfectly fine. There are minor updates that can go completely unnoticed. These updates don’t affect your content and there’s no reason to stress about them.
Still, there are some major updates that can impact your ranking and degrade your content unless you adjust it.

For example:

  • In October 2019 Google released the BERT update. It was introduced to help Google better understand natural language processing.
  • In March 2019, Florida 2 update was introduced as a broad core algorithm update.
  • In July 2018, they announced the Speed Update which announced that page speed will be used in mobile search ranking.

In between those three updates, there were numerous smaller ones that required nothing to be fixed or improved.

Why Do You need to Track The Updates?

If you’re still not convinced that you should track Google algorithm changes, let’s define what exactly do they affect.

Algorithm changes affect:

  • search ranking
  • organic traffic
  • conversions
  • ROI
  • brand awareness
  • audience retention

If you don’t get your hands on tracking the changes, you might lose your audience, notice a decrease in organic traffic and fall down in your rankings.
So, what should you do to stay informed about the Google algorithm updates? And how can you keep your content SEO friendly?
Just keep reading.

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How to Track Google Algorithm Updates?

Now we’ve come to the big question. You’re all wondering what is the best way to stay informed about the algorithm updates and keep track of them as they’re released.
There are a couple of techniques you can use.

1. Official Google Webmaster Central Blog

Google runs an official blog that announces and publishes changes that might affect you. It’s a valid resource and as credible as it gets since it comes directly from Google.
The best way to keep track of their posts and announcements is to:

  • subscribe via email
  • bookmark the blog
  • visit from time to time
  • search for algorithm updates in the search box

Make this your habit and take a look at their recent announcements now and then. Sometimes it happens that they announce a big change months before.
This can give you the time and space to make the adjustments you need, just in time.

2. Other SEO Blogs

While the Google blog is the official blog of the company, it doesn’t go into as much detail as an SEO specialist does.
While you can find some valuable information there, it should not be your only source of information about the algorithm updates.

You need to find other SEO blogs that are:

  • credible
  • trustworthy
  • professional
  • informative
  • valuable

So, focus on the experts, influencers, and specialist in the SEO niche and see where they’re publishing their blog posts. Find a way to separate more credible blog posts from those written by amateurs.

Remember:

  • don’t trust just any source
  • find credible SEO blogs
  • look for useful advice and detailed explanations
  • make sure they’re based on credible sources

Keep reading and searching until you settle for a couple of SEO blogs that you find to be up to the task. Then, make sure you read regularly and stay informed.

3. Twitter

Social media has become a powerful source of information and if you know where to look, you’ll find some amazing data.
Google has an official Twitter account called Google SearchLiaison. In this account, they share all the major updates that people need to know about and tweet about insights on how Google search works.

Recently they’ve tweeted this:

“Again, we have updates that happen all the time in Google Search. If we don’t share about them, there is no particular actionable guidance to follow nor changes to make other than to keep focused on great content as we’ve advised generally…”

So, it’s not a bad idea to follow this Twitter account and see what they have to say about their updates and upcoming changes.

You can also follow Danny Sullivan’s Twitter account since he’s Google’s public Search Liaison.

Use Twitter to find accurate information about the updates and even to make a comment or ask a question.

4. Tools

There’s one last way for you to track Google algorithm updates and don’t let the important changes slip.
There are some great SEO tools that can help you track the changes and see how they might affect your content.
While there are numerous tools you could potentially use, we’ve put together a list of those that are among the best ones.

Check out this list:

SEMrush Sensor

Track Google Algorithm
Image Source

SEMrush is a well-known SEO tool that has a variety of features and sub-tools you can use for your SEO strategy.

The SEMrush Sensor tool is an amazing algorithm tracking tool. It allows you to track Google algorithm changes on desktop and mobile devices. Here’s what it offers:

  • a daily ranking change score on the scale from 0 to 10
  • SERP volatility for the last 30 days
  • comparing SERP volatilities for different devices, countries’ databases, categories, SERP features, etc.
  • updates to Google’s algorithm for the last 30 days
  • monitor the personal score for your projects
  • unstable categories
  • top and bottom sites

So, you get to read about the updates, see how much they’ve affected your personal score or the global situation.
It’s a tool that gives insight into the things you need to know.

Moz Cast

Track Google Algorithm
Image Source

Moz Cast is an algorithm tracking tool in the form of a weather forecast. It shows the “turbulence” in the Google algorithm in three different scales:

  • for the previous day
  • for the previous 5 days
  • for the last 30 days

The stormier the weather, the bigger the changes.

It can help you get a quick idea of what’s going on and whether or not you should be worried or taking any action.

Algoroo

algorithm tracking
Image Source

Algoroo is another useful algorithm tracking tool.
This tool monitors around 17.000 keywords to 100 search positions deep. It looks for fluctuations and portrays them on a graph.
Here’s what you need to know about it:

  • It works for desktop and mobile
  • their flux metric is called a “roo”
  • the higher the roo, the higher the volatility
  • It shows weekly winners and losers

Also, they show official Google algorithm updates on their graphs. The updates are clearly marked orange so that they stand out from the rest of the data on the graph. You can click on the update on the graphs, and you’ll be taken to a page that explains what the update is about.
It’s useful and certainly worth your time.

SERPmetrics

Google algorithm updates

SERP metrics offers a chart showing the fluctuations in search results in both Google and Bing. You can cross-compare the two and see what kind of changes have been happening in the last 30 days.
If you notice any major changes, it will help you track the updates and see how impactful was the change that came with it.
It’s a good way to learn how impactful was the change and whether you need to act upon it or not.

What to do After You Track an Update?

There’s one last question that we need to answer to ensure you’ve got the whole picture of the importance of Google algorithm updates.
We’ve covered the part about tracking the updates, but what happens next?
The answer is very simple. Once you take notice of a Google algorithm update that is impactful and noticeable, you need to go ahead and revise your content to make it suitable for those changes.

Here’s an example:

  • In 2018 Google announced that the page loading speed will affect the mobile page ranking
  • marketers, bloggers, and SEO specialist hurried to make the changes
  • they’ve changed the heaviness of their content to make the page load faster: they compressed the images, used simpler templates, simplified the structure of the website

In addition to making changes to their precious content, they’ve applied this to their future content and from that point on kept in mind what the update brought to the world of SEO.
So, after you learn about an impactful algorithm change, you need to utilize them for all your future projects and try and apply them to your existing ones.
This is an ongoing process that’s not going to stop. But it will help you write content that performs better. In case you need additional help with writing, check out these professional writers.

Don’t Panic

Finally, there’s one last thing that you need to keep in mind.
When it comes to Google algorithm updates, there’s no room for panic. Don’t start overthinking every move that you make, in fear of an upcoming update that might completely change the course of everything.

Instead, you should:

  • keep working on the quality of your content
  • keep an eye on the major updates
  • remember that there’s plenty of time to change whatever needs to be changing
  • not jump to adjust your content for every minor change you run into

Stay professional and don’t overthink.

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Final Thoughts

Tracking Google algorithm updates is an absolute necessity if you or your business are by any means affected by the SEO. Whether you run an SEO agency, you’re a blogger, or you want your business to excel, you’ve got to stay updated.
Hopefully, the guide above helped you understand the importance of Google algorithm updates. Use it to create a strategy for following Google trends, updates and news. Make sure you’re well-informed and you’ll be able to grow and improve.

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