Many websites will experience the effects of the May 2020 Core Update, positive and negative. First, this is a core update which is termed as a broad update affecting all Google search results across the globe and across all languages. Second, one of the top factors weighted in a core update is relevancy of content, specifically new content published since the last core update. One key factor here to be taken into account is this is the first update which took place during the COVID pandemic.
Google Search has never seen as many searches for a single topic continue over a sustained period as is happening now with COVID-19. Many searches are for news about what’s happening in local areas, such as sheltering updates or the latest on testing. Here’s how we’re helping….
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 4, 2020
Due to COVID, the way that people are searching the internet is rapidly and vastly changing. Search terms for COVID related topics represent the highest search term volume increase which Google has experienced since its inception. Google wants to ensure, now more than ever, that people can find pertinent and valuable information quickly especially in categories like news, medicine, politics, weather, food and health care. Other popular searches have dropped considerably in areas such as live entertainment, seasonal events, in-person services, real estate, cars, sports, luxury items, weddings, travel and tourism.
If you’ve noticed that your website’s top keyword search results have dropped considerably, now is the time to fine tune your SEO to regain the top spots that drive your business and profits. Hiring an SEO firm is highly recommended if you are unable to enact this technical and time-intensive optimization yourself.
Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the May 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this blog post for more about that:https://t.co/e5ZQUAlt0G
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) May 4, 2020
The May 2020 Core Update is also affecting how the pre-eminent algorithm looks at links in the on-page content, regardless of whether the links lead to other pages on your site or to external webpages or websites. Google emphasizes organic linking of value to users. The almighty search giant does not favor linking schemes created to increase or “game” a site’s SEO. Making links as natural as possible for the benefit of a user’s experience has become paramount. A skilled SEO expert can install these crucial links for the most optimal results to appeal to the criteria of this core update.
No more Panda, Penguin or Pigeon
If you’ve noticed that the more recent Google algorithm updates are listed by calendar date instead of being given a name like Penguin, Panda or Pigeon, you’ve definitely noticed the trend away from catchy update names to more sequential dated names. Boring? Yes. Utilitarian? Yes. Memorable? No. Therefore, most SEO experts are calling this update The Pandemic Update since it references the actual time of the update and the impact of the update itself.
The update itself initiated on May 4th and Google estimated the update would take approximately two weeks to unfold. Now is the best time to review your website’s Search Engine Optimization and strategize for the future. Any updates you make or that your SEO adviser makes will take time to be reflected in Google search results. This is why it’s so important to take the necessary expert steps to ensure that your site will regain its preferred positioning in the SERPs.
