A Closer Look into the Google January 2019 Algorithm Update

Google’s algorithm updates have always been the talk of the SEO town, with 2018’s series of updates bringing in big ranking changes to a variety of different websites. With updates like the Google Medic impacting website content and search rankings, Google always finds a way to optimize their search engine to ensure that users would be getting the best results.

The updates that we have seen in 2018 also mean that 2019 would be no less different, as Google never sleeps and makes sure that their tools and search engines remain up and running for users and SEO professionals to use. With this in mind, a lot of SEO professionals have been expecting possible updates as soon as 2019 rolled in, and within a few days, it looks like Google has launched another impactful update to begin the year. Here are our thoughts on this new update and how it affects your SEO.

Tracking the update

When tracking algorithm updates and ranking fluctuations we use SEMRush and Accuranker to see how many search rankings are fluctuating.

While Accuranker’s Google Grump rating has been furious, it has been that same way for the past few weeks.

However, on the SEMRush Sensor, the SERP volatility has been at a high, which means that an impactful Google algorithm update is being implemented. While the past week was pretty normal and quiet, a few days after the new year bought in the most impactful changes.

Update Impact

While SERP volatility is currently high on most search tools, looking at the type of websites that have been affected by the most is worth noting, as Google tends to impact certain websites with regards to their performance and content quality.

For this newest update, the websites that have been impacted significantly are websites related to businesses such as ones in the automotive industry, food and drink, and pet and animal websites, and even some law and government websites.

This update is similar to the Google Medic update, in which websites related to e-commerce and health had their rankings affected significantly. This also means that the algorithm update is Google signaling for websites to continue optimizing their content for better search rankings and user experience.

How to recover

Similar to the past updates during 2018, the goal of this new algorithm update is to ensure that websites deliver quality content that measures up to their E-A-T guidelines. Content marketing is crucial in any SEO strategy, as it is key to bringing in traffic, while also benefiting the user with useful information.

With this in mind, it is best to identify low- and high-quality content in your website to ensure that your rankings would recover and grow. Updating older content is also effective, as they would be able to recapture traffic, and become an evergreen source of content that users would come back to. Content is a precious element for any website and making sure that you bring out highly informative, factual, and useful content, you can ensure that you would be receiving traffic on a constant basis.

Key Takeaway

Google’s latest algorithm update shows that their continued push towards optimizing content all over websites. With so many misleading and unreliable sources that can negatively affect online search, this approach ensures that only the best type of content would be available to the users.

This update is only a first for the year, and if the past few years are any indication, we would likely be seeing more updates as the year goes.

If you have questions and inquiries about Google Algorithm updates or SEO in general, leave a comment below and let’s talk.