We offer a full breakdown on the changes from the July 2021 Google algorithm update to help you understand why your rankings might have changed and what you can do about it.
If you’ve noticed changes to your search engine rankings or organic traffic as you review your July statistics, it could be due to the July 2021 Google algorithm update.
Adapting to algorithm changes is a large part of the ongoing SEO strategy for any company. As search engines look for ways to continuously delight their customers, they must evolve to meet new needs.
When search engines make these changes, they rarely say what they will mean for a company. Instead, you’re left waiting to see the impacts and then adjusting your strategy to keep up.
So what happened this time when Google updated its algorithm? We’ll break down some of the major changes and what your website might experience.
This update specifically targeted link spam. The algorithm update applies even better artificial intelligence to understand the quality of outbound links from a page.
One of the largest impacts websites will see is with monetization links. Google is not trying to reduce website monetization but instead is working to encourage rel attributions to provide further information on the outbound link.
Websites with low-quality backlinks will see large impacts in rankings due to this update. The official announcement said this:
“In our continued efforts to improve the quality of the search results, we’re launching a new link spam-fighting change today — which we call the ‘link spam update.’ This algorithm update, which will roll out across the next two weeks, is even more effective at identifying and nullifying link spam more broadly, across multiple languages. Sites taking part in link spam will see changes in Search as those links are re-assessed by our algorithms.”
Google did provide reminders on what makes for a quality link and how to avoid impacts from the link spam update.
Websites that use spammy links saw the greatest impact on rankings. But the good news is, fixing this issue should not be too difficult. Reviewing your linking strategies is an essential element of rebuilding your website’s search rankings.
In some searches, one domain makes up the majority of the top search results. But this isn’t ideal for customers looking for a variety of information from different sources.
One issue that had caused this problem in the past was when a domain had different country codes, such as .uk or .au. Websites with multiple country codes dominated top search results but with the same information repeatedly.
Google recognized that this was not in the best interest of its customers. These multiple country codes, known as ccTLDs, will now be consolidated in results to only show the website with the country code that is relevant to the searcher.
If your website didn’t fare well in the algorithm update targeting link spam, reviewing your website’s analytics and rankings will be key in understanding why your rankings decreased.
Reading between the lines after an algorithm update can be challenging. New Light Digital partners with businesses in need of SEO expertise. We track your rankings for you to spot changes quickly to put you back on the right path, so you don’t lose valuable organic traffic.
Schedule a free consultation now for more information about our services and how we can help you rebound from the latest search engine algorithm updates.
Further reading:
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Learn the steps for completing an SEO audit to optimize your site. These eight activities can help you drive more organic website traffic.
