The Medic Update to the Google Search Engine Optimisation Guidelines
Google has released several major updates this summer, with one such being the Medic Update. This core algorithm change primarily impacts health and wellness websites.
This update allows passages on web pages to rank higher in search engines and finds answers for specific queries more efficiently.
On-page optimization
On-page optimization involves tweaking website content and HTML code in order to increase search engine visibility. This includes keyword research, title tags, meta descriptions, URL structure optimization, URL redirections and much more. While achieving success may take some time and effort, following best practices will help create a website which can withstand algorithm updates over time.
Google recently implemented a wide-ranging core algorithm update in early May, which was relatively strong compared to past core updates but wasn’t focused on one specific aspect of their algorithm; likely due to softened factors and a greater emphasis on quality overall.
The June update also introduced a mobile user experience update, penalizing sites with intrusive interstitials or pop-ups that hinder their usability on mobile phones. This change is expected to make it harder for such sites to rank well in SERPs and earn organic results, particularly if their mobile usability falls short of expectations.
Off-page optimization
Off-page optimization refers to external measures that influence your website’s rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). While these factors are less within your direct control than on-page elements, they still play an integral role in your SEO strategy – for instance if your content goes viral across social media it could help your site appear higher in SERPs.
Link relevance is also crucial when it comes to off-page optimization. Google’s algorithms analyze the sites linking back to you to see if their contents match up with what your topic is about – for instance if someone links to your review of a product, for instance, it should come from one that specializes specifically in its industry or niche.
On-page and off-page optimization are two complementary aspects of SEO, both essential to rank your website successfully. Most SEO specialists advise focusing on on-page optimization first before exploring off-page options.
Link building
Link building is one of the cornerstones of SEO, giving your site credibility and helping search engines trust it. Although there are multiple strategies for link building available to you, white hat strategies tend to be most successful when creating positive user experiences such as guest posting or creating high-quality content.
Acquiring quality backlinks can be an arduous, time-consuming and difficult process, yet essential for online success. Luckily, there are multiple strategies you can employ to acquire them without breaking any rules. Start by using tools such as Linked Data Explorer and Broken Link Finder to detect broken links on other sites; once found, send an email asking if they would replace the broken link with one leading back to yours as resource page linking is an innovative method of building quality links and improve search engine rankings.
Keyword research
Keyword research is one of the cornerstones of an SEO strategy. It allows you to pinpoint search terms relevant to your business and the audiences you seek to target, allowing you to produce content which ranks highly on search engines like Google while also driving long-term organic traffic growth.
As part of keyword research, it’s also crucial to keep in mind the search intent of your target audience. For instance, “best vegetarian burrito recipe” might have lower search volumes but is much more specific; thus demonstrating your content fulfils consumer need.
What happened between October 21-24 remains a mystery, though it likely involved Google tweaking their quality algorithms. MozCast recorded a 40% day-over-day drop in featured snippets which hit particularly hard for health and finance queries; then came double digit visibility gains similar to past core updates.