Google Search algorithms are updated thousands of times per year to ensure that the most relevant, reliable results are displayed prominently.
This ongoing commitment to the searcher experience and the quality of results has aided Google in reducing the number of irrelevant results appearing on a search results page by more than 40% over the last five years, according to the search engine.
While the vast majority of these updates go unnoticed, now and then one that rocks the SEO boat comes along.
In this column, we’ll look back at the changes that shaped SEO over the last year and how they might affect your plans.
Here are five of the most significant Google Search updates in 2021.
1. Page Experience Improvements
Google started rolling out its long-awaited Page Experience update in June 2021, and it was completed on September
Since it was first revealed in November 2020, SEO professionals and marketers of all stripes have been waiting for this one with bated breath.
This update introduced a Page Experience score, which marketers can view in a new report in Google Search Console.
Page Experience is self-explanatory; it was created to improve searchers’ experiences on each website. The following factors are considered in the score:
- Core Web Vitals: A set of metrics used to assess page performance from a user experience standpoint.
- Mobile usability: There must be no errors in mobile usability on a page.
- Security issues: Any security issues on a site disqualify all pages from receiving a Good rating.
- HTTPS usage: To be eligible for Good page experience status, a page must be served over HTTPS.
- Ad Experience: A site must not employ advertising techniques that are distracting, interruptive, or otherwise detrimental to a positive user experience.
Google has clarified that Safe Browsing is not had a ranking signal since its initial rollout.
According to an August 4, 2021 update to this Google Search Central blog post, “Safe Browsing systems continue to play an important role in keeping Google Search users safe, and any flags will continue to be surfaced in Search Console outside of Page Experience report.”
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2. Google’s Link Spam Update
In July, Google warned marketers that its Link Spam Update would have measurable consequences for those affected:
“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…
Sites taking part in link spam will see changes in Search as those links are re-assessed by our algorithms.”
The update was announced in a Google Search Central Blog post under the subheading ‘Improving our systems to combat link spam.’
It read:
“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 rollout across the next two weeks, is even more effective at identifying and nullifying link spam more broadly, across multiple languages.”
Google advised SEO professionals and marketers at the time to follow best practices for inbound and outgoing links, creating high-quality content, and focusing on improving user experience.
“Promote awareness of your site with appropriately tagged links, and monetize it with appropriately tagged affiliate links,” according to the announcement.
3. Broad Core Update for Summer (s)
Google began rolling out a core update in June, ran out of time to complete everything it was supposed to do, and resumed in July where it had left off.
Danny Sullivan tweeted at the time:
“Some of our planned improvements for the June 2021 update aren’t quite ready, so we’re moving ahead with the parts that are, then we will follow with the rest with the July 2021 update.
Most sites won’t notice either of these updates, as is typical with any core updates.”
However, as Roger Montti noted in his analysis of how the July core algorithm update had played out, the fact that it was preceded by two spam updates was somewhat unusual.
SEO experts speculated that this update increased People Also Ask results, may have targeted Image Search results in some way and may have even increased spam in search results inadvertently.
Google’s long-standing (and somewhat frustrating) advice on core algorithm updates is that there’s nothing you can do to prepare or recover – other than be consistently awesome. This was no different.
However, in an October Search Central SEO office-hours hangout, Google’s John Mueller suggested that improving content is more likely to help you recover from an algorithm update than technical fixes.
4. Product Review Update for April
Google released an update in April that aimed to reward higher quality, in-depth product reviews with increased visibility in Search.
The update, which went live on April 8, 2021, was specifically targeted at “thin content that simply summarizes a bunch of products,” according to Google.
The initial rollout only affected English language reviews, and Mordy Oberstein provided an excellent overview of who appeared to be affected and why.
“Although this is separate from our regular core updates, the advice that we provide about producing quality content for those is also relevant here,” Google said at the time.
The search engine suggested that content creators ask themselves the following questions about their product reviews:
- “When appropriate, express expert knowledge about products.”
- Show what the product looks like in person or how it is used, using content other than what the manufacturer provides.
- Provide quantitative measurements of how a product performs in various performance categories?
- What distinguishes a product from its competitors?
- Cover comparable products to consider, or explain which products might be best for specific uses or situations?
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a specific product based on research?
- Describe how a product has evolved from previous models or releases in order to provide improvements, address issues, or otherwise assist users in making a purchasing decision.
- Determine the key decision-making factors for the product’s category and how the product performs in those areas. A car review, for example, may determine that fuel economy, safety, and handling are important decision-making factors and rate performance in those areas.
- Describe key decisions in the design of a product and their impact on users beyond what the manufacturer says?”
Google recently announced that another Product Reviews Update will be rolled out in December over three weeks. This one is intended to reward genuine, high-quality reviews.
5. The Implementation of MUM
Google’s plan for MUM was, without a doubt, the most significant announcement in search this year.
The Multitask Unified Model (MUM) harnesses the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist searchers in completing more complex tasks. MUM had trained across 75 different languages at the time of its initial announcement and was hailed by Google as 1,000 times more powerful than BERT.
MUM recognizes information in text and images, and Google intends to expand its capabilities to include video and audio as well.
In the announcement on May 18, 2021, Pandu Nayak, Google Fellow and Vice President of Search, stated, “We’ll bring MUM-powered features and improvements to our products in the coming months and years.”
We’re already seeing practical applications of MUM technology in Google Search, such as processing and understanding vaccine information queries and creating new ways to explore and discover topics.
MUM will provide Google’s algorithms with a more granular understanding of search queries, content quality and relevance, and other factors in the coming months and years.
MUM is a technology to be aware of and understand, as it will undoubtedly continue to raise the bar in terms of content quality, relevance, and utility.
Other Important Google Updates & Stories
This is by no means an exhaustive list of Google updates that have shaped the SEO world over the last 12 months.
Here are a few other developments to keep an eye on as you plan your digital marketing strategy for the coming year.
Ranking of Passages
Google announced in February that for English queries in the United States, its algorithms could consider page passages as an additional ranking factor.
Update to the November Core Algorithm
Overall, feedback from the SEO community indicates that this update was relatively minor. “Overall, this is just another algo update… there will always be winners and losers each time,” said Jim Boykin of Internet Marketing Ninjas.
October Search Quality Raters Guidelines Updates
In October, Google updated its Search Quality Raters Guidelines with five revisions, including updated guidance on how to research reputation information for websites and creators, as well as a change in how “Groups of people” in the YMYL category are defined.
Google Updates Schema Markup Requirements
Google changed the schema requirements for HowTo, QAPage, and SpecialAnnouncement in October to simplify these structured data types. You might also want to look into changes to structured data for reviews.
Slander is the target of a Google algorithm update
According to the New York Times, Google plans to algorithmically suppress websites that publish unverified or slanderous claims about others. More information can be found in Matt Southern’s article about the update.
Preparing for a Successful SEO Strategy in 2022
You don’t have to keep up with every Google update. However, being aware of new features, shifting SERP opportunities, and major Google updates adds context to what you’re seeing in your site’s performance data.
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