Skip to content
infront webworks logo
  • Home
  • Digital Marketing

      Digital Marketing

    • SEO
      • Enterprise SEO and Digital Marketing
      • Local SEO
      • SEO Audit
      • SEO Consulting
      • SEO Services
      • SEO Tools
      • SEO Workshops
      • Small Business SEO
      • White Label SEO
    • SEM | Search Engine Marketing | PPC
      • Ads & PPC
      • Advertising Management
      • Content Marketing Strategy
      • Conversion Rate Optimization
      • Reputation Management
    • Social Media Marketing
      • Facebook
      • Instagram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • Twitter
  • Websites

      Websites

    • Web Development
      • Business Websites
      • Custom Web Applications
      • Small Business Websites
      • Sitefinity CMS
      • Website Costs
      • Website Evaluation
      • WordPress
    • Web Design
      • Ecommerce
      • Mobile First Web Design
      • Site Speed Optimization
    • Cloud Services
      • Domain Registration
      • Web Hosting
      • Website SSL Certified
  • About

      About

    • The Team
    • Why Infront Webworks
    • Jobs
      • SEO Jobs
      • Website Development Jobs
  • Case Studies

      Case Studies

    • SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION CASE STUDIES
      • Assisted Living SEO
      • Attorney & Law SEO
      • Automotive SEO
      • Criminal Attorney SEO
      • Dentist SEO
      • E-Commerce SEO​
      • Employment/Staffing SEO
      • Finance SEO
      • Hospitality SEO
      • Home Services SEO
      • Manufacturing SEO
      • Medical & Health Care SEO​
      • Non-Profit SEO​
      • Retail SEO
      • Real Estate SEO
      • Religious SEO
      • Travel and Leisure SEO
    • Web Development Case Studies
      • Small Business Web Design
      • Medium Business Web Design
      • WordPress Web Design
      • Church Web Design
      • Large Business Web Design
      • Nonprofit Web Design
  • Blog
  • Contact

      Contact

    • Support
Request a Quote or (719) 577-4404

Home > Blog > Search Engine Optimization > Does a new Google Algorithm Update Replace the Last One?

Does a new Google Algorithm Update Replace the Last One?

  • March 10, 2014
  • 9:15 pm
  • By: Mike Hodgdon
Google algorithm updates
Google algorithm updates

Does a new Google Algorithm update replace the last one?

The short answer to this is, “No”. Not only does the new update not replace the old one (it typically adds to it), we don’t necessarily get all the information when the update comes out. Recently I was watching a couple of online Google Hangouts with John Mueller (Google Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst). He outlined some great SEO tips that are not new, but noteworthy reminders, some commonly forgotten usability items, and also some “SEO leaks” that had not previously been released.

Some of the search engine optimization tips that were discussed:

Panda and Content Spidering – If you are adding new content to your website daily, check Google Webmaster Tools to make sure that your site is being spidered more often. If you are adding frequent content and your site is spidered less, it is likely a Panda quality problem.

robots.txt – If you don’t need to restrict areas of your website from being crawled, you don’t need one.

Http vs Https and Duplicate Content – Many times I’ve been asked if http and https pages are the same, are they duplicate content? In the vast majority of cases, Google has no problem making that distinction, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

How does Google Handle 301 vs 302 Redirects – Simply put, a 301 is a permanent move and the 302 is a temporary move. But Mr. Mueller reinforced that Google is very efficient at making the determination, so if you have 302’s that should not be 301’s it is not a high priority fix. Google has likely already sorted that out.

Too Many Banner Ads Above the Fold – For webmasters who generate revenue from Adsense or other ads, you may remember the “page layout algorithm” update in 2012 that addressed too many ads. What you may not be aware of is that Google recently updated that algorithm (February 6, 2014) and you may want to adjust your strategy again. Although mostly targeting sites with little content above the fold, if you notice a decrease in traffic, your above-the-fold ads may be to blame.

Contact Information – Don’t worry about redundancy with contact information. It is not a problem to have a contact form and phone number at the top of your page while having your address, phone number, and another link to the contact form in your footer.

 Multiple Footer Links – For sites with multiple links to other websites in the footer of their website, beware. In many cases, Google is classifying these as unnatural links, which their webspam algorithm may pick up on.

Multi-regional, Multilingual Sites and “rel=” Alternate “hreflang”- For those of you who serve users from around the world, with content that’s translated or targeted to users in a certain region, it is worth taking the time to watch this Webmaster Tools video: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/189077?hl=en

Review Snippets – John Mueller implied that the review snippet is a quality factor, and should be implemented on product or service pages where relevant.

Multiple Web Sites with Same Content – This is something we see consistently with new potential clients who are wondering why their website traffic has been consistently dropping. In the past, it was common for development and SEO companies to diversify organic search results by making many of the same websites on different domain names and targeting different keywords. If you have had your online presence developed this way, you’ve most likely been impacted by Google’s last three algorithm updates.

Forwarding from a Penalized Domain to a New One – If your website was negatively impacted by Penguin and your solution was to set up a new website/domain name (to 301 redirects from the old site) thinking that would give you a fresh start, think again. Google does pass old site information and forward all the signals, good or bad to the new site.

Geo-Targeting Updates – If you are updating geo-targeting in webmaster tools, Google can take some time to update this information. Even if you have a .com, your content has to reflect your geo-targeting hreflang. Based on quality or trust they will decide whether or not you are relevant to that specific geolocation, not just by the URL.

New Site Honeymoon Period – Not all new websites have a “honeymoon period.” This means that your website being new doesn’t necessarily mean it will or will not get listed in Google quickly. When Google doesn’t have usability information associated with the website many times it will index the website until it starts to gather that information. Don’t just put up a half-done website because you think it will expedite the listing process. A well-thought-out and usable website will have a much better chance of getting good organic search placement over one that was simply launched earlier.

Does Website Navigation Impact Search – Not really, although it can dramatically impact usability.

Bad Links to Your Website – Links from bad or spammy websites can (and will) hurt your placement in search. If you are having this problem, Google Webmaster Tools has made it very simple to fix.

  • On the Webmaster Tools home page, select your site
  • On the Dashboard, select ‘Search Traffic’ and then select ‘Links to Your Site
  • Under ‘Who Links the Most’ select ‘More’
  • Select ‘Download More Sample Links’
  • Find the undesirable sites that are linking to you and add them to a .txt file
  • Visit the Google Disavow Tool, select your site, and follow the on-screen instructions

Google’s Search Preference for Listing Mobile Websites – Want to rank well on a tablet or mobile phone? Google recommends one of the 3 options (not in any particular order):

  • Responsive website design
  • Dynamic serving
  • Separate mobile URL

How Often do Webspam Algorithms Look at a Website – It depends, some of the algorithms or aspects of those algorithms look at your website every time they spider it, while sometimes they may not. Keep in mind that (although not published) Penguin and Panda are both still being updated.

For those unfamiliar with John Mueller’s Google Hangouts, I highly recommend them. They are extremely informative and he will take the time to look at some attendee’s actual websites and offer some excellent (free) SEO tips. To watch the Google Hangout reviewed here, please see the video below.

 

About the Author

Loading...
Michael Hodgdon Chief Operations Officer
Michael Hodgdon
Chief Operations Officer

Mike is the COO at Infront Webworks. An online entrepreneur since 1997, he has owned or run website design / SEO, online marketing and internet advertising companies for over 15 years. Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Colorado Springs Business Journal and with projects featured in N.Y. Times, L.A. Times, he has a solid track record of successful online undertakings. He has Digital Marketing and Marketing certifications from Cornell University, is a certified Yext Partner, Google Certified in Analytics, Tag Manager, AdWords, Online Display Advertising, Shopping and Video Advertising.

Search

Categories

Featured Posts

What is Chat GPT?
Mike Hodgdon Mon, 03 Apr 2023

Introduction to Chat GPT In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), one term that frequently surfaces is ‘Chat GPT’. But what exactly does it

Read More
How to Become a Google Partner and the Google Partners Program
Mike Hodgdon Thu, 02 Mar 2023

Introduction to Google Partners Program 2023 Ever landed on a webpage and found yourself intrigued by an impressive Google Partner badge? Allow us to enlighten

Read More
Artificial Intelligence in SEO: Uses, Impacts, and Pitfalls
Mike Hodgdon Wed, 22 Feb 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming almost every industry, including content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). A 2021 report by the American Marketing Association in

Read More
How To Recover from Google’s May 2022 Algorithm Update
Mike Hodgdon Tue, 20 Dec 2022

Getting on the first page of Google is an investment that brings invaluable returns. So, it’s no wonder that every time Google releases a new

Read More
How To Optimize for Google’s Free Shopping Carousel
Mike Hodgdon Tue, 01 Nov 2022

Where do you think most searchers go when looking for something to buy online? If you thought the answer was search engines like Google, you’re

Read More
Google Business Profile Ownership Request Email Scam
Mike Hodgdon Thu, 20 Oct 2022

Have you recently started receiving emails from Google letting you know that someone is trying to claim ownership of your Google Business Profile (Formerly Google

Read More
Talk with a local rep: Boulder SEO | Colorado Springs SEO | Denver SEO | Irvine SEO | Las Vegas SEO | Madison SEO | Tempe SEO

Infront Webworks

5350 Tomah Dr #2800
Colorado Springs, CO 80918


Follow Us

Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube Rss

HAVE QUESTIONS OR NEED HELP?

SALES: (719) 577-4404 SUPPORT: (719) 359-5540 BILLING: (719) 577-4404 FAX: (719) 630-7073
Open a Support Ticket
© Infront Webworks 2022

Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Jobs | Company | The Team | HTML Sitemap | XML Sitemap