Google Quality Update: Relevance, Impact, and SEO Best Practices

The Google Quality Update is an important algorithmic update that impacts search rankings and influences the strategies of SEO professionals. This blog post aims to provide insights into the Google Quality Update based on the information available on the webpage. We will explore the nature of the update, its purpose, its impact on websites and SEOs in the past, the best practices for adapting to the update, and effective strategies for managing quality updates to enhance local search and SEO in 2023.

What is Google Mobilegeddon Update and When Did It Take Off?

Google Mobilegeddon was a major algorithm update that was rolled out on April 21, 2015. The update was designed to give mobile-friendly websites a ranking boost in Google's mobile search results.

What Inspired Google to Launch Quality Update and What Does It Mean for SEOs?

Google launched Quality Update in response to the feedback and complaints from its users and webmasters. According to Google, some of the factors that affect the quality of a website are:

• The level of expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) of the content and the author.
• The amount and quality of the main content and the supplementary content on the page.
• The relevance and usefulness of the content to the user’s query and intent.
• The design and functionality of the website and the page.
• The reputation and reviews of the website and the author.

For SEOs, Quality Update meant that they had to focus more on creating and delivering high-quality content and user experience. SEOs had to make sure that their websites are relevant, useful, informative, engaging, and credible. SEOs also had to consider the different quality signals and guidelines that Google uses to evaluate websites.

How Quality Update Lifted or Dropped Websites and SEOs in the Past?

Quality Update had a significant impact on the rankings and traffic of many websites and SEOs in the past. According to a study, some of the winners of the update were websites that had high-quality content and user experience, such as HubSpot, Quora, eBay, and Healthline. Some of the losers were websites that had low-quality content or user experience, such as About.com, eHow, Answers.com, and WikiHow.

However, the impact of Quality Update was not uniform across all industries and niches. Some sectors, such as health, finance, education, and news, saw more fluctuations than others. Moreover, the update did not affect all pages or keywords equally. Therefore, some websites and SEOs were able to maintain or recover their rankings and traffic by improving their quality or targeting different keywords.

How SEOs Adapted to Quality Update: Best Practices

SEOs adapted to Quality Update by following some of the best practices and avoiding some of the pitfalls of quality SEO. Some of the best practices are:

• Creating original, in-depth, accurate, and up-to-date content that covers the topic comprehensively and answers the user’s questions or solves their problems.
• Establishing the expertise, authority, and trustworthiness ( E-E-A-T ) of the content and the author by providing credentials, references, sources, testimonials, awards etc.
• Enhancing the relevance and usefulness of the content by conducting keyword research, user intent analysis, competitor analysis etc.
• Improving the design and functionality of the website and the page by using clear navigation, responsive layout, fast loading speed, easy readability, user-friendly interface etc.
• Building and maintaining a positive reputation and reviews by encouraging feedback, responding to comments, addressing complaints, managing online presence etc.

How to Manage Quality Update and Rise in Local Search and SEO in 2023?

Quality Update is still relevant and important in 2023 as quality remains one of the key factors that Google considers when ranking websites. SEOs need to keep up with the latest trends and developments in quality SEO and local search. Some of the tips to manage Quality Update and rise in local search and SEO in 2023 are:

• Monitor and measure the website’s performance in search results using tools such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google PageSpeed Insights etc.
• Stay updated with Google’s algorithm changes and announcements regarding quality SEO and local search.
• Conduct regular audits and tests to identify and fix any issues or errors that may affect the website’s quality or local relevance.
• Research and understand the target audience’s search behavior patterns using tools such as Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner etc.
• Create and optimize local content that answers the user’s queries or solves their problems using tools such as Google My Business, Google Posts etc.
• Build and maintain a strong online reputation and presence using tools such as Google Reviews, Google Maps, social media platforms etc.