Google Update

[moon-boots]

My rank has dropped quite a lot this past week and I can see from the Moz tools that there is an unconfirmed Google update responsible. Is there any information from Moz on this?

[Hurf]

It appears that there have been two Google algorithm updates, recently: See: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-algorithm-update-23381.html

This might help you connect some dots.

I hope that helps.

[MarieHaynes]

It used to be that when Google updated their algorithms significantly we could say, "Oh! This update targets THIS". In the past, fixes were much easier to address. But now, when Google makes a significant algo update, in most cases there is nothing specific to fix. This is probably the case with the updates that happened this week.

My advice is usually to have a site audit done and to do whatever you can to make your site a better option than your competitors. That's not always easy though.

Also, don't necessarily assume it's due to an algorithm change. If you've made any site changes recently, make sure that those haven't affected the site as well.

[moon-boots]

Where is the best place for a site audit in your opinion? I find that every SEO company I approach is ridiculously expensive and do very little work (hence why I do it all myself now). Are there tools for this type of audit?

[Hurf]

Hi, I use Moz's Campaign's Report and SEMRush for Site Audits. SEMRush's Site Audit is very user-friendly and generates a very useful report. I tend to use that more for technical audits. I'd definitely give that a go. You can get a free trial easily enough. Sign up and they offer you a week's trial fairly quickly.

[MarieHaynes]

There are many different kinds and qualities of site audits. I've seen some expensive site audits that were useless. It frustrates me that some SEO companies are producing these expensive audits that are not helpful at all.

There are good tools out there to cover the basics, but a good SEO audit has to go well beyond what a tool can give you.

When I do a site audit it will take me several weeks to complete it. Seriously...weeks. I'll often discover something that seems off and then go down a rabbit trail for a few days investigating that. I'll agree that tools like Moz and SEMRush are awesome. But a good site audit needs an experienced eye in order to be helpful.

I also think that many SEOs overlook overall site quality when doing an audit. I'm not talking about technical quality, but rather, answering the question, "Is my site truly better than the ones that are ranking above me?" I really think that as Google gets better and better at answering a user's query, the only sites that are going to be ranked well are the ones that truly are better sites...not just the ones with the proper h tags, title tags and url structure.

For example, I recently reviewed a site that ranked #1 for years and then dropped to page 3. He was sure that he was being penalized. When I looked at his site I couldn't figure out how to purchase the product he was selling. There was almost no helpful information on product pages. There was only one stock image of the product. As a user, I would be much more likely to purchase from any of the sites on page 1 than from his site. Those sites had beautiful design, buying guides, easy to understand shopping carts, etc.

A tool won't give you that info.

The problem though is that to have an experienced person who has successfully helped sites recover look at your site, it's going to be expensive.

[moon-boots]

Hi Marie,

Thanks for taking the time to write up such a lengthy reply. I completely understand that a trained SEO eye is what is needed, which is why I set about training myself, and in the past 4 months have learnt and conducted more beneficial SEO on my site than in its 7 year history. Moz is a great tool for tracking, after conducting my own SEO changes my ranking keywords doubled, and even with this latest drop, are still higher than they have ever been.

My weakness is link building, as opposed to onsite SEO. This is my next area of focus, but without being able to identify what Google has changed it makes it incredibly difficult to make the correct changes. I suppose I can do nothing else but keep searching for my definitive answers and employing them.

Thanks again!