[[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BlogPosting","headline":"The future of SEO: Search, trends, content, Google algorithm update","image":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SearchNeedsContent_1200x-375-1200x630.jpg","dateModified":"2021-09-14T22:14:00Z","description":"The future of SEO: Key elements include great UX and CX, omnichannel marketing, voice, content, social, and cross-functional experts.","datePublished":"2021-08-03T10:01:00Z","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/03\/future-of-seo-google-algorithm\/","name":"The future of SEO: Search, Content, Google Algorithm Update","subjectOf":{"@type":"FAQPage","name":"The future of SEO: Search, trends, content, Google algorithm update","description":"The future of SEO: Key elements include great UX and CX, omnichannel marketing, voice, content, social, and cross-functional experts. ","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

The future of SEO seemed pretty clear about a year ago\u2026 until the latest Google algorithm updates started rolling out in 2021.<\/p>

Throughout June and July of this year, Google has rolled out at least eight updates, the last of which have many SEOs pulling out their hair and begging for clarification.<\/p>

Can\u2019t be that bad, you say?<\/span><\/span><\/p> You can read the full post at Search Engine Roundtable<\/a>, but here are some of the comments they share regarding the present state of things:<\/span>

  1. \u201cMore drops this morning for me. A term we ranked top 2 for for over 4 years, we\u2019ve now dropped to 4, to 6, to now 9.\u201d<\/li>
  2. \u201cToday my home page traffic starts down 70% at 10am. Google definitely has a beef with my sites home page now, it won\u2019t allow the page to ranks for any of the terms it\u2019s was ranking well on for a decade.\u201d \u201cHuge drop in traffic in the first half of the day yesterday\u2026USA, UK and Canada. 2nd half of the day returned to normal. Today a big recovery of top three ranking terms and normal USA, CA, AU traffic, but UK is down by 68%. I am noticing updates almost every Friday, with UK traffic vanishing on weekends and a big dip in \u201cdirect\u201d traffic. Also traffic to my home page mysteriously vanishes for half a day on a regular basis. These are all types of traffic throttling, but also there are way more videos and other types of feeds now, so if you aren\u2019t top three you basically get pushed to the end of the page or page two.\u201d<\/li>
  3. \u201cGoogle seems to be hitting technically perfect sites that\u2019s have ranked well for years for ones with *tons* of issues to put it mildly. Maybe G is thinking these great site owners must the money required for ads or have figured they have spent to many years at the top so a sudden drop will force them into ads? I find it hard to believe Google has thought these sites were amazing for years then just said, nope we got it wrong all these years\/updates and pulled the plug on them on a single month\/update.\u201d<\/li> <\/ol>","name":"The future of SEO: Search, trends, content, Google algorithm update","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/03\/future-of-seo-google-algorithm\/#Answer"},"name":"The future of SEO: Search, trends, content, Google algorithm update","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2021\/08\/03\/future-of-seo-google-algorithm\/#Question"},{"@type":"Question","name":"How did we get here? The Page Experience update and other things we don\u2019t fully understand yet","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

    In 2020, Google began discussing<\/a> the Page Experience update, stressing that folks would need to focus on Core Web Vitals (CWV), along with creating great content in general.<\/p>

    Google defines the Page Experience Update as<\/a>:<\/p>

    \u201cPage experience is a set of signals that measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page beyond its pure information value. It includes Core Web Vitals, which is a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page. It also includes existing Search signals: mobile-friendliness, safe-browsing, HTTPS, and intrusive interstitial guidelines.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

    In prior algorithm updates, Google had previously down-ranked content that used nefarious methods to rank, like keyword stuffing and link schemes, so many forward-facing orgs had been investing in content strategies, nurture flows, UX<\/a>, CX, and how to obtain organic search returns for years.<\/p>

    Great content isn\u2019t simple \u2013 although great content looks<\/em> simple. <\/span><\/span><\/p>