Your one stop shop for all things Google!
Welcome to "Keeping Up With Google" – your go-to source for the latest updates and developments from the world's largest search engine. In this month's edition, we'll cover all the significant changes and updates from Google, including the recent Google’s March core update, new desktop features, and more. Whether you're a business owner, marketer, or simply a curious Google user, we have everything you need to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and tips for optimizing your website and online presence. So, let's dive in and explore the latest happenings in the world of Google!
Google Algorithm Update
Every now and then Google introduces a new way of crawling, indexing, and ranking the best search results on the internet. Let’s take a look at some major changes for the month of March.
March 15, Google Releases the First Core Update of 2023
On March 15, Google started rolling out a core update that affects the entire search engine and the rankings of all the websites. The update was announced via a Google Search Central tweet and more information will be available once the roll out is complete.
What is the update about
Core updates do not target a specific problem within the search verse, instead they are meant to reward and promote high-value, high-quality content across websites and languages.
This broad core update roll out is expected to be completed by the end of this month i.e. two weeks from the date of the GSC tweet. Concrete information about the impact of this update will be available after the roll-out is complete.
How does it impact your business
Depending on the SEO health of your website, this update could increase or decrease your web traffic. For example, websites that have been involved in taking the shortcut and publishing content only for the search engines will see a drop in their web traffic. Whereas, the websites that have been publishing insightful and actionable SEO content for their target audience will witness a spike in their web traffic or no change at all.
What you need to do about it
If your website sees a decrease in traffic, it is time to review your SEO strategies and identify loopholes if any.
In case there is nothing like that and you’re still seeing a drop in your web traffic, do not worry and wait for the roll out to be complete. Sometimes even genuine websites see a drop in traffic during the roll out. Google systems will soon realize this and your traffic will be back to normal.
March 9, Favicons and site names are coming to desktop
In a bid to make it easier for people to find sources of information, Google has introduced favicons and site names to desktop. Now website owners will be able to generate/leverage brand recall value from their SERP positions by adding a favicon and site name.
What is the update about
A favicon or ‘favorite icon’ is a small visual image, often the logo of a website which is displayed in the top left corner of each tab. This helps people identify websites from a sea of tabs on their browser.
With this update, Google has introduced favicons and site names in the search results. Now users will see a website's favicon and site name when they search for something. This will help them filter through the SERPs and get the most reliable information from sources they know and trust.
How does it impact your business
Website owners can generate more brand recall from their blogs, landing pages and other web pages through the favicon and site name. Once a searcher has read your content or visited your website, these will help you establish a strong online presence and nudge the target audience to click on your webpages for other search terms also.
What you need to do about it
Although there is no guarantee that your favicon will show on SERPs, to add a favicon to your website; first create one that follows the Google favicon guidelines and add a <link> tag to the header of your homepage.
Google automatically identifies the site name of your website based on factors such as website structured data, <title> tag, <h1> tags, and the original site name of the website. As website owners, you can influence the decision by including your site name, structured data, and meta tags of your homepage.
Here is an example of the JSON-LD structured data to add/highlight your site name.
The buzz!
There is nervous chatter in the global SEO community about the impact of the March core update. Many websites have seen a fall in their web traffic but it is still too early to make any comments.
Keeping the guesswork aside, here is an informative and educational Google Search Central video that answers the most common SEO questions such as which domain to select, how to redirect, and others.
You can watch the Google SEO office hours youtube video or read the transcript of this month’s episode and enhance your SEO knowledge from the answers of Google experts.
Alternatively, if you want to submit your own questions for the next SEO office hours episode, here is the Google form for the same.
In another update, Google is organizing another edition of the Google I/O conference. This will be one of the largest developer conferences of the year. You can register for this event on the official Google I/O website.
That was all for the month of March. It has been a rather inconclusive month as we are yet to witness the full impact of the core update. We will keep a close watch on how websites and search traffic changes and report back to you very soon.
Until next time, keep creating high quality content and keep optimizing it for the best SERP position.
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