Google finetunes its search algorithm all the time, changing the rules of the SEO game. To get on the first page and stay on it, you must keep up with all the relevant changes.
Even more, you should build an SEO strategy that is resilient to such changes.
In this guide, I'll help you achieve this by going over everything you should know about Google algorithm updates and how to ensure your SEO strategy evolves with them.
What are Google algorithm updates?
Google algorithm updates are changes made to the search engine’s algorithms to improve how it ranks and retrieves content in response to user queries.
These updates help refine the relevance, quality, and accuracy of search results, ensuring that users find the most useful and credible information.
Google constantly makes changes to Search, though most of them are minor. They launched 4,781 changes in 2023, which may seem too overwhelming to track.
Luckily, you don't need to know about every minor tweak. But you should keep up with the major updates that occur several times a year.
Major updates can significantly impact website rankings and your SEO strategy.
Here’s a list of major Google core updates over the years:
- Panda (2011): Targeted low-quality, thin, and duplicate content.
- Penguin (2012): Addressed manipulative link-building and over-optimization.
- Hummingbird (2013): Focused on semantic search and understanding query intent.
- RankBrain (2015): Introduced machine learning to improve search result relevance.
- BERT (2019): Improved understanding of natural language and query context.
- Helpful Content Update (2022): Rewarded content genuinely created for users, not search engines.
- March 2024 Core Update: Doubled down on content quality and strengthened anti-spam measures.
How do Google algorithm updates affect SEO?
Google algorithm updates affect SEO by changing how content is ranked. To maintain or improve their search rankings, websites must focus on quality, relevance, and user experience.
The March 2024 Core Update cut low-quality content in search results by 45%.
If you notice search results shifting, there's a good chance an algorithm update is underway. SERP volatility is one of the first and most obvious symptoms, and it can be pretty frustrating if your content has previously ranked high. You may notice a sudden drop in your rank while a lower-quality page gets a boost.
As annoying as this might be, it's perfectly normal while Google tests the changes. Once the algorithm update is finalized, SERPs clean up and get more stable.
Unfortunately, this doesn't mean rankings go back to their pre-update state—some pages drop permanently, which results in massive traffic losses.
For example, one user reported losing 90% of website traffic in a single day after the March 2024 core update.
While this is an extreme case and most websites don't get hit this hard, it's common for core updates to shake things up due to changes in ranking factors or other aspects of search algorithms.
The good news is that you can hedge against the negative effects of Google's algorithm updates to enjoy a more stable long-term SEO performance.
If you're doing things well, a major update can boost your site's search performance.
This is exactly what you should focus on to prevent negative effects and capitalize on the positive ones.
8 tips to adjust your SEO strategy for Google algorithm updates
While you can't fully control your website's performance while Google's algorithm updates, you can take the following steps to minimize its volatility and enjoy steady growth:
1. Build a brand
If you had a choice to buy from a well-established brand versus an unknown one, you'd most likely choose the former—and Google thinks the same way.
Websites that have made a name for themselves are generally considered trustworthy, so their search rankings and overall SEO performance remain relatively unaffected by Google's algorithm updates.
For example, a new SaaS company offering software integrations is far more likely to suffer the consequences of an algorithm update than a well-known brand like Zapier.
That's because Google still wants to make sure users find reliable information as quickly as possible, so reputable pages typically don't see a drop (at least not a considerable one).
To enjoy such a privileged status, you should become a go-to source of information in your niche.
In a more technical sense, you need to send the right trust signals to Google's algorithm. The best ways to do this include:
- Leverage branded searches—Branded keywords (e.g., JBL wireless earbuds) signal to Google that users are specifically searching for your brand. This can boost your authority and help improve your rankings for related non-branded search terms.
- Acquire high-quality backlinks—If reputable websites link to you, Google will consider your website and brand authoritative enough to rank higher.
- Be active on social media—While social media activity isn't a direct SEO ranking factor, it increases brand mentions around the web, communicating relevance to Google.
Now, some trust signals like domain age aren't under your control, so older websites might have an advantage by default. Still, you can make up for this by building a trustworthy brand that engages users.
2. Demonstrate E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T is an acronym depicting the four elements Google wants to see in a website:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trust
Trust is at the core of this concept, so the remaining three elements are meant to establish it, as shown in the following diagram from Google's Quality Rater Guidelines:
The relationship between E-E-A-T and Google's algorithm updates is simple—if you're considered an authority, you're less likely to suffer negative consequences.
You can showcase E-E-A-T by:
- Consistently publishing high-quality content that provides valuable information
- Demonstrating depth of expertise by showcasing your credentials and any form of authority in the industry
- Building authoritative backlinks
While it might take some time to hit similar numbers and showcase E-E-A-T effectively, all the effort is more than worth it in the long run.
Not only will you boost your protection from the pitfalls of Google algorithm updates, but you can climb SERPs much faster and secure a high rank.
3. Provide a positive user experience
All of Google's countless updates serve the same purpose—enhancing the user experience. Google wants users to find what they're looking for quickly and effortlessly while enjoying the process.
To stay on the search engine's good side, you should tweak your SEO strategies accordingly and make sure your website contributes to Google's overarching goal.
Besides content quality, a big part of making this happen is how your website is structured. Your users should be able to navigate your pages smoothly and find answers to their questions without obstacles.
The best way to show what this looks like is to explain what not to do—and the following page is a good example:
As you can see, there are five ads on the screen, and plenty more pop up as you scroll. This makes the page incredibly distracting and annoying to scroll through, which ruins the user experience.
Another thing you should avoid is heavy visuals. While images and videos improve a page's appeal, they can also significantly slow it down, which increases the bounce rate.
Here's the exact breakdown of load time and bounce rates according to Google's data:
If you want to retain your visuals without damaging the load time, make sure to compress them using tools like TinyPNG. Google recommends using the WebP format, so leverage it to ensure optimal site speed.
Finally, pay attention to content structure. Answer users' questions as early in your content as possible, and then you can elaborate on different points later on. Doing so can increase search satisfaction and show Google that your pages provide a solid user experience.
All these changes fall under standard SEO best practices you should follow regardless of algorithm updates. Maintaining stability as the algorithm changes will only be a natural consequence of implementing them.
4. Stay informed on relevant updates
To survive Google's updates, you need to understand each update and its main purpose. As updates roll out, look at what Google is trying to achieve with them.
Google's Search Status Dashboard is an excellent resource for staying on top of all the relevant changes. It shows a full history of updates, letting you familiarize yourself with each one.
For more in-depth information on each update, check Google's Search Blog to see if any useful information has been published.
Besides official sources, you can follow third-party ones developed by reputable SEO professionals. A perfect example is Marie Haynes, who keeps a detailed log of all algorithm updates with concise explanations that help you find all the relevant details in one place.
For real-time information on Google's updates, you can follow SEO experts and influencers on social media, particularly X and LinkedIn. If you're not sure where to start, here are some recommendations:
5. Regularly audit your content
Next, you should conduct a more thorough content audit.
The goal here is to identify the most affected pages so that you can identify any patterns that shed some light on the update's effect and the reason behind it.
You can use Google Search Console to compare clicks, impressions, and other metrics between two custom dates. Here's how:
- Go to Performance > Search Results
- Use the Date filter to set a custom range between and after the update
- Head to the Pages tab and crunch the data
If you want to do this even faster, use Surfer's Content Audit. You'll see at a glance which of your pages has dropped in performance.
You can sort them by various performance metrics, such as ranking position, organic traffic, and click-through rate, to pinpoint pages that have room for improvement.
The Best opportunities tab highlights pages that have the potential to increase in traffic and rankings with minimal updates and optimization efforts.
Once you identify the affected pages, look for any issues they might share, such as:
- On-page SEO problems (keyword usage, images, etc.)
- Content quality and accuracy issues
- Technical SEO problems (load time, indexability issues, etc.)
You can analyze your pages using Surfer's on-page Audit to pinpoint the above issues.
You also gain insights into technical on-page SEO issues like load time and how your page performs compared to competitors.
This highlights exactly which aspects of your pages and their specific elements need attention to boost your rankings.
6. Check for sitewide issues after each update
Each Google update brings different changes, and every website is hit differently. Some sites may not notice any changes, while others can be hit pretty hard. For example, one Reddit user said their website in the fashion niche saw its impressions and clicks drop by half after the November 2024 core update was announced, while their other websites weren't hit at all.
With so many moving parts, it may be hard to pinpoint the specific effects of an algorithm change on your website.
That's why the first step you should take after every update is to look for sitewide issues. Specifically, you should review:
- Content health—Look for readability issues, duplicate content, low-content pages, etc.
- Traffic and conversions—Use Google Analytics and Google Search Console to assess traffic, click-through rates, and other relevant factors.
- Technical SEO—Assess Core Web Vitals and other technical SEO factors using a tool like PageSpeed Insights.
- Links—Examine your internal links for issues like poor anchor text, low semantic relevance, and broken links.
Besides official tools like Google Search Console, you can use advanced platforms like Screaming Frog's SEO Spider to perform a comprehensive analysis and check for various issues in one place. Use the data to tweak your pages accordingly, and you can recover from an algorithm update more quickly.
7. Don't engage in black-hat SEO
If you’re still using black-hat SEO tactics, here’s a gentle nudge: the days of outsmarting algorithms with tricks are long gone.
Here’s what the latest updates are specifically targeting:
Cloaking: Serving one version of your site to Google and another to users isn’t just deceptive—it’s a fast pass to penalties. Algorithms today are trained to spot the mismatch.
Deceptive redirects: Sending users to a completely different destination than advertised isn’t clever; it’s manipulative. Google’s updates are catching this trick faster than ever.
Exploiting trusted sites (Parasite SEO): Borrowing the credibility of legitimate websites to host low-quality content? It’s a shortcut to being flagged as spam.
The core updates are clear: shortcuts and gimmicks are no match for genuine quality.
Focus on building trust, relevance, and a user-first experience—it’s the only path forward.
8. Take the right action
After analyzing your site and content, use the identified problems to inform remediation tactics or changes to your SEO strategies.
While there's no one-size-fits-all action plan, focus on the following:
Update your content
Ensure your content is comprehensive and covers the key topics that matter most to your audience.
Add your published page to Surfer's Content Editor and you'll see exactly what you should be updating to boost your content score and relevance.
First, look at the Terms in the Guidelines tab. By incorporating them, you're signaling to search engines that your content comprehensively covers the subject.
I'm not talking about keyword stuffing!
Keyword optimization ensures that your content aligns with how search engines understand topics and their relationships. It gives your page semantic relevance and ensures that you touch upon the most important points of the topic.
You can add these keywords manually or use the Auto-Optimize feature. It will analyze your existing content and identify places to add these terms naturally throughout it.
Next, head to the Topics tab. Topics go one step beyond terms. You can see these terms in context and understand why and how to use them.
If you need some help incorporating these facts, Ask Surfy, your AI writing assistant inside the Editor.
Here are its results:
Now that you have the basics covered, you can move on to adding unique data, insights, or personal experiences. That will increase your E-E-A-T score in the eyes of search engines.
And don't ignore the content structure. Your content should be properly formatted, with short paragraphs, white space, and visuals to increase engagement.
You can see Surfer's Content Structure suggestions inside the Guidelines tab.
A study of 100 sites showed that using original visuals and adding personal experiences were connected to positive outcomes after an algorithm update.
Remove unhelpful content
There’s no escaping the fact that poor content will sink your rankings.
To perform well in search engine results, your content must be well-researched, informative, and genuinely useful to users.
Here’s what qualifies as unhelpful:
- Shallow content that doesn’t truly address search intent
- Click-bait content designed solely to rank without offering value
- Scraped or manufacturer-provided material with no added originality
- User-generated spam, like irrelevant links or low-quality comments
- Mass AI-generated content created purely for scale, not quality
Now, don't get me wrong on that last point; AI content is not the issue.
Google isn’t anti-AI; it’s anti-bad-AI.
AI content designed to mislead or click-bait users is the issue. So if you’ve been relying heavily on AI tools to quickly churn out massive amounts of content, it’s time to clean house.
Use the Search Performance report in GSC to identify underperforming pages—those bringing in little to no traffic or failing to rank meaningfully.
Delete them or consider merging high-quality pages targeting similar keywords and redirect the outdated ones.
While you should "kill your darlings," whenever possible, update and optimize your content instead of deleting it outright—of course, unless it clearly falls under the unhelpful content definition.
Improve internal linking
Internal linking is a powerful yet often overlooked strategy. It helps search engines re-evaluate your site, redistributes link equity to affected pages, and strengthens your content’s overall relevance.
Here's how you can leverage internal linking effectively:
Redirect link equity: Link from high-authority pages to underperforming ones to help them regain visibility and rankings.
Strengthen topic clusters: Connect related pages within the same topic to showcase content depth and relevance, which aligns with Google’s focus on topical authority.
Use descriptive anchor text: Ensure anchor text reflects the target page’s content, signaling relevance to both users and search engines.
Link to updated content: After improving or publishing new content, add internal links from older pages to boost discovery and relevance.
If managing internal links feels overwhelming, Surfer’s Insert Internal links feature can simplify the process. This feature automatically identifies relevant linking opportunities across your site and suggests the best anchor text.
Fix technical SEO issues
Addressing technical issues not only aids recovery after an update but also helps prevent negative impacts in the future by ensuring your site meets search engines' standards.
A PageSpeed Insights report will show you precisely which technical SEO problems you need to fix to achieve and maintain good standing with Google's search algorithms.
For the quickest results, focus on Core Web Vitals (Largest contentful paint, Interaction to next paint, and Cumulative layout shift).
How long does it take to recover from a Google algorithm update?
Recovering from Google algorithm updates can take between a few weeks and a few months depending on the update's scope and the effectiveness of the action taken. In case of major updates (e.g., the Helpful Content Update), the recovery might even take a full year.
Keep in mind that algorithm updates sometimes take a while to roll out fully and take effect, so this timeframe can impact the total recovery time. You may not know exactly how your website is impacted until the update is complete, so wait for it to be finalized before taking any action.
Key takeaways
- Google algorithm updates change how search engines index and rank content, and they can range from small tweaks to major changes in the ranking factors.
- After an algorithm update, you might notice significant changes in your website's performance. Core updates are particularly important, as they might have the biggest impact on your keyword rankings, traffic, and other important metrics.
- Google favors brands over unknown websites, so building a reputable brand is one of the best ways to ensure performance stability as updates roll out. Step up your social media game, leverage branded searches, and get high-quality backlinks to develop a strong brand presence.
- Demonstrating E-E-A-T should be one of your main content goals, and it can save you from the negative effects of algorithm updates. Publish helpful content consistently and showcase a depth of expertise to show Google your site is a source of reliable information.
- Google is all about ensuring a positive user experience, so your pages should help the search engine achieve this goal to maintain a high rank amid algorithm updates. Make sure the pages are easy to navigate and help the user meet their search intent as effortlessly as possible.
- Important algorithm updates happen several times a year, and you must keep up with them to react swiftly if needed. Check Google's Search Status Dashboard for a complete list of updates, and engage with your SEO community to get real-time information from experts.
- After an algorithm update, you should check your website for site-wide issues. Use tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Screaming Frog to analyze the website's health and identify any issues. You can then perform a more in-depth content audit to identify negative patterns and trends.
- The specific action you can take to recover from a Google update depends on many factors, but some universal fixes include improving your content, leveraging internal linking, and resolving technical SEO issues.
- Recovering from Google algorithm updates can take between a few weeks and a few months, so be patient and try out different fixes until you see what works.
Evolve with the search algorithm
In a never-ending effort to maximize the search experience, Google will keep making changes to its algorithm. Now that you understand the basics of algorithm updates, take a proactive approach by continuously improving your website and content according to SEO best practices.
By doing so, you can future-proof your website and make sure Google's updates don't hurt your chances of ranking high in SERPs.
