Google's Everchanging Algorithm Updates and What They Mean for Your Small Business

As technology continues to evolve and as more and more people search for and purchase products/services online, updates to search engines and Google’s algorithms are continually made to better serve consumers and businesses alike.

However, as a small business owner, keeping up with the everchanging Google algorithms can be a challenging task. As we look forward to 2021 but remain mindful of changes made in 2020, keep reading to learn why Google algorithms are constantly changing, discover a few important updates throughout 2020, and learn what these updates mean for your small business.

Why Does Google Constantly Update Its Algorithms?

Google is on a mission to provide users the best, most relevant, and useful answers to their search queries. By continuously updating its algorithms, webmasters have to stay on top of best practices and Google attempts to ensure each search query is met with the most relevant and up-to-date information.

How Frequent are Google Algorithm Updates?

Small updates take place fairly frequently. There may be one or multiple small updates every couple of days. Large-scale updates tend to occur every few months and are typically more impactful.

Important 2020 Algorithm Updates

Featured Snippet Deduplication

In early 2020, Google rolled out the Featured Snippet Deduplication update that impacted 100% of search results.

Originally when a search result showed as a featured snippet, the page would also receive a spot in the regular search results. This update removed the duplication in search results. Now, if your page shows up as a featured snippet, it will no longer receive the second spot in the text results list.

May 2020 Core Update

Neil Patel suggests Google's May 2020 Core Update affected a few industries like Real Estate and Travel, while also having a large impact on Local SEO.

The main suggestion from this update was to ensure you're publishing up-to-date content. While publishing new content is always a good idea, it’s also important to update old content to ensure your small business is continuously providing relevant and updated information.

December 2020 Core Update

While many are still evaluating the impact of Google’s December 2020 Core Update, many believe it focused on providing highly relevant content toward a search query and user experience on the website.

For many small businesses, navigating through Google’s constant algorithm updates can be a challenging and time-consuming task. At Igniting Business, our SEO specialists keep up with complex algorithm updates and can help you adapt your SEO strategies accordingly to help you increase traffic to your small business website. To learn more about our ongoing SEO services, contact us today!