As in previous years, in 2022 there were changes in the algorithms that determine every element of Google’s searches for further enhancement of the outcome’s quality, relevance and satisfying user experience. Throughout the year, several of the core updates and a number of other specialized updates impacted heavily on the ranking of websites across sectors. In this article, we take a closer look at some of the most significant updates that happened in the Google algorithm in 2022, how they affect SEO tactics, and how you can make changes to your site to benefit from the updates.
2022 Google Algorithm Updates of the Year
Google’s algorithm updates in 2022 focused on several key aspects: These include content quality or relevance, the user interaction, or experience, spam, and the relevancy of the content. It is now time to look at some of the most important updates of the year and their consequences for SEO.
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1. The latest update of Core Web Vitals & Page Experience is being rolled out in March 2022.
March 2022 was marked as the next phase of the Page Experience update, which was started at the end of 2021. This update put more emphasis on CWV as a ranking signal and focuses on the loading experience, interactivity, and visual integrity of sites.
As a result, we have identified the following core web vitals features of the update on the 7th of March:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Google also remained focused on faster loading of the pages. Sites with longer loading times were ranked lower on the page.
- FID (First Input Delay): Google paid special attention to the first response — the time it took for a site to load, as well as mouse clicks and submissions of forms.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): The web sites that have stable layout and did not have any shift during its loading were ranked higher.
How to Adapt:
- Optimize Page Load Speed: Some of the tools that can be used to measure your site’s performance include Google PageSpeed Insights and make any necessary changes.
- Improve Mobile Responsiveness: Make sure that your site is 100% responsive for mobile since Google now uses the mobile-first method of indexing.
- Ensure Visual Stability: Do not perform content shifting during page loading, if it is necessary, use prescribed CSS attributes.
2. May 2022 Core Update
The latest one was the May 2022 Core Update, which also contained some changes affecting all the ranking factors across industries. This update made a focus on the quality and relevance of the content, and many domains reported significant changes in positions.
There are certain features of the May 2022 core update, which is as follows:
- Content Relevance: Google was already pretty smart at analyzing content and how well it aligned with what people were searching for; and it only got better. Websites, having relevant content, thoroughly researched, and authoritative, were observed to have gained more ranks.
- E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness): In particular, Google emphasized the signals of E-A-T for YMYL content, which concerns people’s money or health.
- Improved Algorithm for Content Evaluation: They enhanced Google’s ability to judge the quality of the content, and a number of factors, such as a uniqueness, scope, and relevance of the material.
How to Adapt:
- Prioritize Content Quality: Be coherent and provide meaningful, fresh and highly researched content. The content should provide answers to the user’s questions and these answers should be of high quality.
- Enhance E-A-T Signals: Socio-technical articles should be written by experts citing related works and other reliable sources to garner links to your site.
- Audit and Improve Existing Content: This involves updating old content and deleting or merging weak, meaningless pages that may have a negative effect on the site’s reputation.
3. Product Reviews Update in July 2022
The Product Reviews Update in July 2022 was designed to further refine how Google evaluates and ranks product review content. This update mainly focused on affiliate sites and all sites that created review content that was not very elaborate or informative.
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Key Features of the Product Reviews Update in July 2022
- Emphasis on In-Depth Reviews: Specifically, Google put more emphasis on those reviews which were comprehensive, sincere and written after getting acquainted with the product. The positive influence of general or superficial responses was avoided.
- Valuable Insights Over Generic Descriptions: It was disclosed that reviewers’ opinions that presented specific comparisons, new perspectives and figures and conclusions were valued more than simple descriptions of features and characteristics.
How to Adapt:
- Create Comprehensive Reviews: It is important to write detailed short informative reviews based on personal experience or comparison and real data. It is also desirable to present as many advantages and disadvantages as possible to draw an objective conclusion.
- Focus on Unique Content: Do not write like the manufacturer’s descriptions or other similar reviews. Ensure that the content of your review is relevant in a way that the reader will gain something from the knowledge in the content.
- Include Visual Content: With products reviews, it would be useful to add images, videos or any other types of media to make the user experience richer.
4. September 2022 Core Update
The recent September 2022 Core Update was another overall update that primarily aimed at enhancing the content relevance and ranking. Again, as in the May update, this update touched multiple spheres of online presence; many websites experienced shifts in ranking concerning particular keywords and queries.
Key Features of the September 2022 Core Update
- Quality Content Emphasis: Google also remained consistent with the concept of evaluating content that was likely to afford the best value to users. Low quality content, copied content, pages with little actual content were penalised.
- Focusing on Search Intent: Google also improved the work on the identification of users’ intent to make sure that search results correspond to what users wanted.
- Freshness of Content: Google later extended the freshness factor into its ranking factors and allowed only the new and updated content.
How to Adapt:
- Optimize for Search Intent: Make sure that the content of your page corresponds to the users’ queries and answers questions they may have. Include phrases that resemble exactly what the users are looking for.
- Regular Content Updates: Edit most often shared content to include new insights, facts, or data to increase the relevancy of articles and ranking.
- Remove Duplicate Content: Check and delete or merge any content that might be negatively affecting your site’s performance.
5. A link spam update will be released in December 2022.
The A link spam update will be released in December 2022. focused on targeting spammy backlinks and improving the overall link profile quality for ranking purposes. Google escalated its effort to refine its capacity to detect link spam and to prevent links that are paid, low-quality and manipulative practices that were skewing the rankings.
Uncover the impact of the 2023 Google algorithm update and its influence on search rankings. Learn more in this detailed analysis
Key Features of the A link spam update will be released in December 2022.
- More Advanced Spam Detection: Google implemented new link-building penalties designed to identify link building schemes and manipulation.
- Focus on Natural Link Profiles: Domains with many linking to them from such low quality and spam like sites were punished.
- Increased Focus on Relevance: Google also improved in judging the relevance of backlinks, it focused on those from authoritative and relevant sites.
How to Adapt:
- Avoid Link Schemes: Avoid link exchanges and links from other sites such as purchasing links or being a member of link farms.
- Build Natural Backlinks: Avoid link buying and only concentrate on link building through relevant and quality content that will attract back links from quality websites.
- Disavow Toxic Links: Use Google’s Disavow Tool to reject some links that are of bad quality or toxic which may cause your site to be down ranked.
Analysis of the Effect of the 2022 Google Algorithm Updates on SEO
The 2022 updates are much in line with a few critical SEO practices that had been confirmed while unveiling new hurdles. Website owners and SEOs had to focus more on high quality content, user friendly website design and do away with spammy techniques to rank well.
1. Content Quality and Relevance
The theme of 2022 was primarily concentrated on content that included Google’s ongoing evolution of algorithms that aimed to promote high-quality, comprehensive, and unique content. Those sites that focused on E-A-T and provided an authoritative and exhaustive response to the user query benefitted in terms of rankings.
2. User Experience (UX)
The notion that user experience is important for ranking remained evident with page experience and Core Web Vitals from Google which is still very active till today. Sites with lightning speed and also being mobile friendly and having stable pages were preferred.
3. Ethical Link Building
In December, Google announced that establishing links through such tactics would be punishable. Those efforts that were more aligned to establishing natural, top-quality backlinks from authoritative sources saw better rankings.
4. Product Reviews
For affiliate marketers and for e-commerce websites, it was the July product reviews update. Google now prefers not just lengthy descriptions of products but detailed, genuine, and extensive reviews on products.
Frequently Asked Questions About Google Algorithm Changes In 2022
1. What is the March 2022 Core Web Vitals update?
The update that took place in March 2022 referred to Core Web Vitals and was a part of the trend that focused on improving users’ experience. This update was based on Core Web Vital indicators such as Largest ContentPaint (LCP), First Input Delay(FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) as ranking signals.
2. What can I do ensure that my content is optimized to the possibility of the May 2022 Core Update?
This will help you to enhance your content relevance to the user intent, research based, plagiarism free, and exhaustive. Concentrate on producing high-quality, expert content, especially when it comes to topics related to your audience’s YMYL.
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3. What impact did the Product Reviews Update in July 2022 have?
The Product Reviews Update in July 2022 rewarded websites with detailed, original, and authentic product reviews. It diluted the value of conventional consumer reviews as well as those which fail to provide detailed analyses of the product’s effectiveness.
4. What should I do with the link spam after getting the December 2022 update?
After the A link spam update will be released in December 2022., avoid manipulative link-building tactics such as buying links or using link farms. Concentrate on getting natural backlinks and use the Disavow Tool for toxic backlinks that was stated in Section 4 above.
5. What measures should be taken in order to improve the rankings after the updates of 2022?
To find its way through the new changes in 2022, one should pay special attention to content quality, user-friendliness, mobile-friendliness, and the link profile’s cleanliness and nature. It is also important sometimes to change some of the content so that it is newer and up to date.
