Technical SEO: Google's Latest Ranking Revolution

What do Google Search core updates and poor technical SEO have in common?

Low search rankings.

Even with high-traffic pages, your online presence is at risk if you can't marry high-quality content with the right technical SEO tactics, leading to less online visibility and decreased performance.

In 2024, the online community desperately needs guidance as it attempts to keep up with Google's algorithm changes and SEO guidelines. Even though Google has advised publishers and marketers to concentrate on creating E-E-A-T content, many still perceive it to be a guessing game, which adds extra stress and anxiety to content creation.

How Google Core Updates Affect Rankings

According to marketing publications Search Engine Journal and Amsive, Google suggests that focusing on technical SEO and user satisfaction first can help your online business thrive in engagement and survive Google's core updates. Since September 2023, Google has launched at least four significant updates, which include:

• The Helpful Content Update (September 2023): This update prioritized content that helps users answer a specific question, perform an action, or add value to their lives. Websites that are overly optimized for SEO or solely create content for Google Search and not users will find themselves penalized.
  
  
• The Spam/Core Update (October 2023): This update focused on search quality and penalized sites that had spamming violations like cloaking, hacking, keyword stuffing, false information, and other materials that negatively impact the user experience.
  
  
• The Ranking Update (November 2023): This update prioritized publishers delivering more high-quality content to offer users helpful content, which in turn allows websites to rank higher in search results.
  
  
• The Reviews Update (November 2023): The reviews update optimized the monitoring of reviews that appear in articles or individual content comparing products and services that aim to influence a user's decision.

Impact on Publishers and Marketers

These updates can have a significant impact on the way your site ranks in Google Search. Here are just some of the ways your business could suffer if it doesn’t follow Google’s guidelines:

• Massive Traffic Declines: Many publishers experienced drops from millions to near-zero clicks and impressions, particularly across Google Discover.
  
  
• Loss of Visibility: Sites disappeared from Google Discover and Top Stories, especially after the October 2023 core update.
  
  
• Revenue Decline: Traffic losses directly impacted income for publishers relying on online ads.
  
  
• Confusion and Lack of Guidance: Publishers felt unclear about the reasons behind the changes and how to recover traffic.
  
  
• Uneven Impact: Some sites, even well-established ones, were affected, while others seemingly benefited.
  
  
• Regional Variations: Traffic changes differed based on location.
  
  
• Web Story Spam in Discover: An increase in low-quality Web Stories may be pushing down other content.

Dominate Google With Technical SEO Tactics

When questioned about the next prominent thing marketers should focus on, Gary Illyes, Google's Search Systems Analyst, emphasized that creators should produce quality content structured to help a user find what they need as quickly as possible.

To achieve this, the Google Search Relations team advised publishers to emphasize technical SEO optimizations and stop chasing SEO trends.

Technical SEO is the supportive framework of a high-ranking website. With proper website structure, functionality, and site navigation, your site can rank on Google Search’s page one.

Not sure how your site stacks up when it comes to technical SEO? Click here to get a free analysis of your site's technical SEO health.

The Three Traps of Content Creation

It's not about chasing the next best thing. Trends are among the pitfalls that confuse marketers about their online performance. According to Search Engine Journal, the following are some of the content creation pitfalls to be aware of:

1. High Traffic Equals High-Quality Content: You can target common keywords with low search volume and rank highly for those terms, but if your content lacks value to a user and only provides generic information, your high-traffic pages may be doing more harm than good.
   
   
2. Content First, Framework Later: Technical SEO is the cornerstone of your website. Would you build a house on unstable ground? Like a home, you want to create a strong foundation to ensure your website performs well behind the scenes. This means regularly running site audits for growth, checking for broken links or pages, and improving your Core Web Vitals.
   
   
3. Monitoring the Number of Visitors: The number of site visitors is essential, but if they leave after a few minutes, this will increase your bounce rate and signal to Google that your site has low user satisfaction. User engagement, time spent, and page clicks are critical metrics for determining how well your technical SEO efforts result in great user content. Developing a first-party data strategy can assist you in deciding what users want most from your website.

Build Content Quality and User Engagement With RebelMouse

Tired of grappling with the intricacies of Google’s updates and mastering technical SEO? RebelMouse is your ultimate solution! With our state-of-the-art, AI-enabled CMS technology, we aim to redefine your user experience and online success. We help our users master their site health by improving metrics like Core Web Vitals while delivering a creative specialist team. Our industry experts assist you with managing and monitoring your technical SEO performance behind the scenes while you prioritize other important business tasks.

Maximize your SEO potential with our platform, meticulously optimized for page speed, to ensure your content shines across search engines. RebelMouse empowers you to monetize intelligently, providing your team with the tools to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape systematically.

Ready to revolutionize your online presence? Request a demo and upgrade to RebelMouse to propel your digital success today!