Last month the web changed as Google's most recent large algorithm update saw many websites' rankings (and therefore traffic) fall away. What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that for most websites, their rankings have only just begun to be effected.
In early May, many SEOs saw large fluctuations in their monitored rankings and niches. This most recent update, called either Panda 2.1 or 3.0, seems to be effecting many smaller websites. Google is eager to downplay the size of the most recent update but it’s clear that for many companies the impact may be worse than the initial release.
What does this mean for you? Well, if you have duplicate content issues or rely on content re-publishing then you really need to sort that out! Furthermore, Google's algorithm is increasingly becoming smarter at judging the quality of a website - no longer on just a content level, but also on a design level.
Recent updates to Google Analytics' tracking code include a new metric to measure page load speeds. This perhaps hints at another new metric Google will use to evaluate your website's quality. If a page takes too long to load then that's bad for visitors and if Google continues to send visitors to websites that have poor quality content and take an age to load then people will start to look for another search engine (hypothetically Google's reasoning - I'm pretty sure Google will never be toppled).
Whilst standard Search Engine Optimisation techniques are still important, it is more important than ever to ensure your website has high quality, unique content that is genuinely engaging and insightful for users and visitors.
