DROPPING OFF PAGE 1 OF GOOGLE
Many South African businesses depend on SEO to drive leads and sales. Appearing on Page 1 of Google for specific keywords is a smart marketing strategy to grow a business. However, SEO is an ever-evolving industry. SEO strategies that worked in the past may not work in the future. In other scenarios, old SEO strategies can raise Red Flags with Google and serious bans may be implemented. This article will highlight the primary Reasons Why a Website Dropped in Google’s Search Rankings.
ALGORITHM UPDATES
Google updated its Search Engine to promote a more relevant and user-friendly experience. They implement short-term and long-term updates. Short-term updates are minor tweaks that are done frequently, they are known as Daily Updates. Long-term updates are implemented 2-3 times yearly, known as Core Updates. Core updates can significantly drop websites off Page 1 of Google due to major algorithm changes. Google may or may not announce updates occurring on their systems.
HERE ARE THE BIGGEST ALGORITHM UPDATES
PANDA
Panda removed poor-quality websites in 2011. Websites had to improve their On-Page SEO and produce relevant and high-quality content to feature on Page 1 of Google.
PENGUIN
Penguin removed websites implementing spammy link-building tactics in 2012. Websites had to link to relevant and high-quality sites for their Off-Page SEO Strategy.
HUMMINGBIRD
Hummingbird improved their systems to understand search queries better and deliver more accurate results to users in 2013. Not many websites were affected by this update.
PIGEON
Pigeon focused on ranking local websites over international websites in local regions. International websites that ranked worldwide saw major drops in traffic in 2014.
MOBILE-FRIENDLY UPDATE
The mobile-friendly update required websites to be compatible with mobile devices in 2015. Websites that failed to comply with the update dropped in their search engine rankings.
RANK BRAIN
Rankbrain implemented machine learning to help Google better understand search inquiries and drive better results in 2015.
POSSUM
Possum dropped poor local websites and prioritized high-valued local websites on their search engines in 2016.
SOLUTION
Sign up for Google Search Console and receive important notifications from Google regarding the health and state of your website. Google Search Console will notify you if your website has violated any of its policies, plus other useful information, such as your website being infected by viruses.
QUALITY CONTENT
Websites that offer relevant and useful information receive positive engagement. Google examines the information presented on a website and takes factors such as spelling, grammar, and structure into consideration. It then assesses the interaction between the webpage content and its user. If the user stays on the webpage for long periods or shares the content online, Google rewards the content with more traffic and better ranking positions. High-quality content is the Key Element of SEO.
HERE ARE THE BIGGEST GOOGLE CONTENT VIOLATIONS
DUPLICATE CONTENT
Websites must contain unique and well-written content on all their web pages. A Website that copies information directly from other websites will Not Appear on Page 1 of Google. Copying Content from another site is known as Duplicate Content.
SPUN CONTENT
Spun Content refers to automated programs that take an existing article and re-word it. The re-worded article will appear unique to Google and this will help save money on hiring writers. Google has become smart at detecting spam content and will penalize websites that contain it.
AI CONTENT
AI content is content information generated by Artificial Intelligence Programs. AI programs can generate high-quality articles with valuable information in seconds. Google will not rank websites that use AI-generated content, such as ChatGPT.
THIN CONTENT
Thin content websites do not contain much information or value. Google prefers websites that offer tons of details and depth. Websites are expected to have up to 1000 words (on average) per page. Thin content sites are viewed as Spam sites with limited information.
OUTDATED CONTENT
Outdated content is content that no longer applies to the present day or is no longer valid. Outdated content may have ranked well in the past, but newer and more advanced content will lower its position in time.
SOLUTION
Go to Copyscape.com to verify if your content is unique. It’s free to sign up and costs $10 to check thousands of words for duplicate content. Go to Copyleaks.com to verify if your content is human-written and not AI-generated.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
Google has high expectations for websites on its search engines. Google wants the user experience to be smooth, and websites that offer that positive user experience will perform well on Google.
MOST COMMON TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH WEBSITES
DOWLOAD SPEEDS
The design of websites is important, but the website download speeds are everything. Studies have shown that long-loading websites have lower conversion rates (sales, leads) as users grow impatient quickly. Websites that take longer than 3 seconds to load generate negative emotions in users and will not feature on Google.
SSL CERTIFICATE
Websites are required to provide security for the safety of their users. SSL certificates create a secure connection between users and websites to protect the user’s personal information. (credit card details) SSL certificates are often Free with most hosting companies in South Africa.
CRAWLING ISSUES
Google has crawling programs called spiders. Spiders crawl websites to index websites on their directory. Spiders can encounter broken links, error pages, and bot programs preventing access to certain web pages, which may lead to a drop in ranking positions.
RESPONSIVENESS ISSUES
Websites must be compatible with all devices. Devices such as laptops, mobile phones, and iPads all have different screen sizes, and websites should be displayed according to screen dimensions. Users should navigate easily around a website. Failure to provide this will lead to dropped rankings.
SOLUTION
Sign up for Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Install the necessary tracking codes on your site to be notified of any issues your site is currently facing on Google. You must speak to your web designers, send them the tracking codes and instructions to install the codes on the accounts. Once that’s done, let them know of specific issues that are affecting the performance of your website.
BACKLINKS
Backlinks are an essential factor in search engine rankings. Backlinks are a vote of confidence for Google and websites need to link from reputable and trusted sources. Here are 2 ways backlinks can impact your Google rankings:
LOW QUALITY LINKS
In the past, building links from many websites was an effective SEO strategy, where quantity was key. Now, the quality of the link is what counts. Linking from multiple low-quality sites will hurt your organic rankings.
LOSS OF BACKLINKS
Several links from a high Domain Authority website can boost your organic rankings to unimaginable positions. It can have the reverse effect if your website link is removed from the high domain authority site. Losing links can drop your rankings.
VIOLATIONS
Google knows specific people are using cheap tactics to manipulate their systems to drive free traffic. These violations can result in temporary or permanent bans on the search engine. Here are the common violations that will drop your organic rankings:
KEYWORD STUFFING
Repeating keywords often on your website will hurt your search rankings. Keywords should be inserted naturally with top-quality writing. Keyword Stuffing worked well in the old SEO days, but today this practice will lead to search engine bans.
HIDDEN TEXTS
Hidden texts include hiding your text by making it the same color as your background. Search engines will be able to index the text, but website users will not be able to see it. This sneaky tactic will surely be picked up and punished by Google.
CLOAKING
Cloaking is where a web page will present specific content to the search engines for SEO benefits but display completely different content to users when the users click on that page.
LINK SCHEMES
Link schemes involve using automated programs to build links, or practicing manipulative link-building tactics to fool Google into believing that your website should rank higher. The Buying and Selling of links can also lead to serious permanent bans.
OTHER REASONS
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VIRUSES AND MALWARE
Websites that do not offer security may fall victim to damaging viruses and malware. Google ensures the safety of its users by removing sites that contain viruses and malware. Infected websites will drop off Google and will remain on Google’s blacklist until the virus has been removed.
INCREASED COMPETITION
More industries are becoming aware of the benefits of Search Engine Optimization in South Africa, and they are joining the search engine battle. Google is becoming the primary source of obtaining business leads, and increased competition can lead to lower-ranking positions on your website.
USER ENGAGEMENT
Positive user engagement will lead to higher Google rankings. If website users struggle to navigate around your website and do not find what they are looking for, they will leave your site and move on to the next site. User engagement can be viewed in Google Analytics with the following important metrics:
BOUNCE RATE
This is the time a user spends on your website before leaving one webpage. Low bounce rates are good and indicate a user is spending significant time on your site. A high bounce rate is a poor reflection of your site and will result in low rankings.
PAGES PER SESSION
This refers to the number of web pages your users have visited. When users go to multiple pages, it’s a good indication to Google that the website offers value.
EVENT TRACKING
This tracks important events on your website such as leads, phone calls, and sales. This also helps you determine the ROI (Return on Investment) with your paid advertising campaigns.
NEW VERSUS RETURNING VISITORS
This displays the number of new users that visited your website against the number of returning users that visited your site. Returning user’s display to Google your site is creating loyalty and offering value.
CLICKTHROUGH RATE
This statistic displays the amount of people who viewed your
search engine listing, with the number of people who clicked on the listing.
This tests the effectiveness of your Meta Titles and Meta Descriptions.