As a Digital Marketer, SEO professional, or Content Marketer you need to upgrade with the changes in Google Algorithm updates 2021. However, the repeated updates on the search algorithms can be infuriating at times. But, simultaneously it’s worth challenging.
Google has in its pocket a list of Google Algorithms. But, today let’s talk about the series of updates for the year 2021. Now, before digging in we should know what actually is Google Search Algorithm?
Google Search Algorithm, what is it?
It is Google’s central mechanism that decides how to rank content on the search result page. Moreover, it takes on other considerations such as relevancy and the caliber of the content next to the searcher’s query.
So, now let’s come to the core topic i.e. Google Algorithm updates of 2021. We will explore the lists in order. And they comprise of the following-
- Passage ranking- Released on 10th February 2021, it was initially introduced on U.S English SERP. With the take-off of passage ranking, Google’s center of attention shifted from ranking web pages to passages (paragraphs or sentences).
In short, Google aims to provide a quick response to particular queries for the users. Accordingly, searchers don’t need to waste their time scrolling around the whole page. Thus, it’s a time-saving procedure. This ranking factor allows Google to identify the specific phrase or paragraph based on the user’s question.
- About this result- Google rolled out the ‘About this result’ update early this year in February. This algorithm allows users to check out the sources of the Website. And that is by clicking on the three dots in the right corner.
The ‘About this result’ that crops up display the following details-
- A piece of brief information from Wikipedia if the page owns any citations.
- If your site connection is secure.
- The time when the pages’ website was indexed for the first time.
- The page’s language.
- The search terms that you enquired about appeared on the page.
- Lastly, regardless of whether different sites with those search terms are connected to the page.
- Product reviews- Google set forth the ‘product review update’ algorithm in April 2021. This Google algorithm update is basically planned to give credit to the particular product review pages. In another word, Google will give preference to those sites that contribute insightful details of the product. Nevertheless, those with thin content details will go down.
- MUM- Google initiated the MUM Google Algorithm updates (Multitask Unified Model) in May 2021. Without a doubt, it’s a more mature move by Google to implement AI in its algorithms. Consequently, it’s crafted to make Google search an easier task for complicated queries with MUM, the Google SEO update
For instance, Google users face the complexities relating to manifold searches, geographical and linguistic factors. Therefore, MUM’s AI system will serve the purpose of removing all the obstacles. In one word it’s a search-friendly algorithm. Not only it has the potential to output better fixes on textual contents, but also on graphics, videos, podcasts, etc.
Moreover, this AI algorithm aims to provide more integrated search results by identifying 75 different languages. We can say it’s a revolutionary approach from Google and is a step ahead of the Bert algorithm.
- Link spam- Google’s link spam update kicked off in July 2021 and gave a final touch in August. And now, it shouldn’t be a surprise if you are seeing any changes in your ranking order. Undoubtedly, your site is impacted by the latest mentioned update.
According to the link spam update Google will target Hidden Links, Link Farms, Spam Links, Single Post Blog, and Directory Spams. Therefore the best practices you can opt to overcome from this Google Penalty is –
- Have a check on your backlink profile with SEO tools.
- Qualifying the backlinks rightly.
More than this Google suggest the following practices for every
particular link type-
- Guest post links: Recommended to label the links with the “rel= no follow” value.
- Sponsored post links: Add “rel= sponsored” value.
- Affiliate links: Mention “rel= sponsored” value irrespective of whether created manually or configurated.
- Mobile-first indexing- Google emphasized mobile-friendliness sites with the rise of mobile users. Since 2015, Google gave first-hand importance to mobile-friendly sites as a ranking factor. Mobile-first indexing aims to rank those sites which include mobile-optimized content.
In line with the 2019 mobile-first indexing update, the focus was on the new websites. And, with the recent Google algorithm update 2021 it is executed on both new and old websites.
- Page experience- The “Page Experience” update 2021 lays gravity on how users distinguish their page experiences despite the rich content. To mention the page escapade includes – loading speed, interactivity, and visual strengths. Here, Google encompasses its Core Web Vitals (set of metrics) that measures the experiences of the users.
- Page titles- It’s no surprise that Google has been modifying page titles on the search pages depending on users’ queries. And according to the latest updates, Google confirmed that it will represent the page titles based on the page as a whole. That is to say, it will not take into consideration the user’s query. It is worth mentioning here that this update is in the process as it didn’t get a good response as updated.
Wrapping up !!!
