The year 2021 Google Algorithm Updates has been a landmark year in SEO where Google has released many updates in its algorithm aiming to enhance relevance and ease of access in search results, along with the quality of the content. These updates were aimed at several aspects of how Google ranks websites: Core Web Vitals, Page Experience, Relevance. In this article, we’ll consider the most significant Google algorithm updates of 2021, how they affect SEO, and provide practical recommendations on how your website can prepare for improvements in its rankings.
1. June 2021 Google Algorithm Updates
The June 2021 Core Update is one of the largest updates of the year Google designed to enhance the search engine’s capacity to evaluate the quality of content and its relation to search queries.
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Important about the Core Update in June 2021
- Content Quality Over Quantity: Google focused more on the quality of the content, and sites that provided comprehensive, related, and well-organized content were valued more. Content infomation or thin content was the one that fluctuated and in some cases saw their ranking decrease.
- E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Those sites that showed high level of specialization were preferred. Google went on to prioritize the news from credible sources.
- Increased Importance of User Signals: Other factors like time on site, bounce rates and click through rates were more influential in the search engine ranking.
How to Adapt:
- Focus on Content Relevance: Make sure what you’re publishing solves the user’s problem and adds some value into the equation. Move beyond providing general content that is common to search from providing special content that satisfies the user search.
- Demonstrate Expertise: Follow the golden rule of using outside sources and/or including such citations. Links from other highly authoritative sites with high quality will complement the ranking of your site even more.
2. July 2021 Core Update
The June 2021 Core Update was followed immediately by the July update and all of these updates further built on the goal of improving the way Google interprets content. This update was aimed at problems that were not fully solved in the first of the core updates this year.
Main Factors of the July 2021 Core Update
- User Experience Signals: To achieve this, Google went further and considered additional parameters such as interactivity of a website and its usability by the end user.
- Content Depth and Uniqueness: Google prefers unique, complete, and original content, especially for the topics that already had quality coverage in the web.
- Mobile-Friendliness: When mobile-first indexing became the new standard, sites that were not optimized for mobile in any way suffered through ranking declines.
How to Adapt:
- Improve Mobile Optimization: Your website has to be mobile friendly and offer the best experience to users across any mobile platform. Mobile version of your site is the one that Google uses in its ranking process.
- Enhance Interactivity and Engagement: Increase the level of audience’s interaction and share more bright and informative materials like videos, infographics, and posts from other users.
3. Page Experience Update: Our Perspective (August 2021)
The most anticipated update of the year was the Page Experience Update that was launched in August 2021. This update integrated one of Google’s latest ranking signals, which was the Core Web Vitals. Core Web Vitals refer to a group of metrics that consider the user experience, and specifically, the load time, interactivity, and beauty of web pages.
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What This Means: Key Features of the Page Experience Update
- Core Web Vitals: When Core Web Vitals was introduced as a ranking signal, the focus turned back to the users’ experiences. These metrics included:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Calculates the performance of the loading process and checks which part of the page loads faster – the main content.
- First Input Delay (FID): Measures responsiveness, the ability of the page to react to the user input.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Checks fixed position, to ensure that the page does not jump during loading.
- Mobile-First Design: Mobile optimization was essential in the first place and with Google shifting toward mobile-first indexing, it became even more important. Having in mind that the majority of users accesses websites through their mobile devices, non-responsive sites were punished.
- Safe Browsing: Google also incorporated such security indicators as HTTPS so that websites with this protocol were placed in a more preferred position.
How to Adapt:
- Optimize Core Web Vitals: To track your Core Web Vitals, employ proficiency tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights. Focus on the aspects of loading time and speed, interactivity, and sturdiness of the layout.
- Secure Your Site with HTTPS: Make sure your website is secure by implementing https if it hasn’t been done already. This makes security and trust to be more enhanced and since Google looks at these two factors when ranking sites.
4. September 2021 Spam Update
The Spam Update in September, 2021 was aimed at weeding out spammy content and sites that fell afoul of Google’s recommendations. This update sought to clean up the search experience by weeding out content of low quality and going after aggressive SEO techniques.
Major Changes to the Spam Update Released in September 2021
- Spammy Content Removal: Google focused on sites that employed malicious methods like keyword placing, concealing, or fake links.
- Negative SEO Practices: Some of the specific links included link farms with negative SEO and black-hat approaches that attracted penalties.
- Focus on Content Quality: Web sites that created content for the express purpose of tricking search engines and with little or no actual value to the consumer were penalized.
How to Adapt:
- Avoid Black-Hat SEO Practices: Stick to ethical SEO, or the white-hat SEO strategies. The following strategies should not be employed since they are considered manipulative or spam: unnatural backlinking and keywords.
- Focus on Content that Adds Value: Make sure you are providing your readers with relevant content and that your content has been developed with the user in mind. Do not use skills that create the impression of spam or trickery and fully focus on the user.
5. December 2021 Core Update
The latest core update was the December 2021 update that intends to provide a fine-tuning to how Google assesses content and other ranking signals. The idea of this update was to enhance the accuracy of search results based on the optimised perception of content relevance and users’ requirements.
The December 2021 Core Update is characterized by the following features:
- Greater Emphasis on Content Relevance: Google improved its capacity to determine what the content is about and how well it serves the purpose of a user when it comes to specific interests.
- Reevaluation of Ranking Signals: Google also modified the ways in which ranking signals [it] used for ranking, sometimes leading to specific websites to be ranked differently for particular search terms.
How to Adapt:
- Align Content with User Intent: Perform a detailed keyword analysis in order to know how the users are searching for the information and how you can meet their expectations.
- Enhance Technical SEO: Metadata, headers and URLs should meet both the user and search engine requirements on and for your site.
Consequences of the Core Web Vitals Updates in 2021
The updates carried out in 2021 showed that Google is progressively shifting towards the importance of user experience, and content and mobile-first indexing. Website owners and SEO professionals needed to prioritize the following areas to maintain or improve rankings:
Uncover the impact of the 2005 Google algorithm update and its influence on search rankings. Learn more in this detailed analysis
1. User Experience (UX)
As with previous years, the 2021 updates emphasized the need to deliver a clean user experience. I remember that with the Core Web Vitals and page experience updates, it became apparent that Google favors websites that provide fast, mobile-first, and engaging experiences.
2. Content Quality and Depth
Google also remained committed to indexing quality relevant content on its search engine. Website with high quality, including informative, detailed and unique content were preferred over sparse, or copied content. It was found that content that addressed the user’s purpose and specific questions, or provided specific solutions fared well.
3. Mobile Optimization
After the introduction of mobile-first indexing as the new norm, mobile-friendliness shifted to largely define SEO performance. Web sites not designed for mobile environments suffered in the rankings, while those that had a responsive design and rapid mobile load time shot up.
4. Ethical SEO Practices
The war against spam, and black-hat SEO practices escalated at Google in 2021. Those sites that engaged in techniques such as keyword stuffing or link farming where websites created specifically to link back to the site in question were banned. This was informed by the need to observe ethical SEO practices which Google referred to as ‘white-hat’.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What major changes did Google introduce in 2021?
The three prominent updates in 2021 were the June and July Core Updates, the Page Experience Update that included aspects of Core Web Vitals and the September Spam Update. Of these, the most significant updates of relevance to the SEO industry were on content quality, user experience and spam.
2. What are the best practices to recover from Google’s June 2021 Core Update?
If you want to work on your odds, make sure to write amazing, detailed content, which will be relevant to the target audience’s query. Make sure you improve the E-A-T signals on your site, focus on users’ interaction, and create useful content.
3. First of all, what is the Page Experience Update, and how is it going to impact my website?
When it launched the Page Experience Update, Core Web Vitals became the ranking signals. The same way websites with a quick load time, mobike friendly or responsive design, and a fixed structure will rank higher. Make sure your site is responsive to mobile devices and fast loading.
4. What to do to avert the penalties that came with the September 2021 Spam Update?
To evade penalties, do not employ any strategic SEO techniques such as keyword manipulation, link concealment, or link pointing schemes that are obviously unnatural. Producing high quality, relevant and valuable content for the users and most importantly following Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
5. How does mobile first indexing affect SEO in 2021?
Mobile-first indexing means that Google uses the mobile version of your site to rank your content in the search results. That means that websites that are not optimized for mobile devices will suffer in terms of rankings.
