Google Has Now Confirmed ‘Quality Update’

Some publishers started to notice changes to Google’s search results earlier this month, with many of them reporting a drop in rankings. Search Engine Land asked Google if these changes were due to a Panda update or any other updates, but the company replied “no.” However, as additional reports came in, it became increasingly apparent that something had changed, although Google wasn’t acknowledging it.

Search Engine Land explains that after continued follow-ups, Google has now said that while no spam-related update has happened, there have been changes made to its core ranking algorithm in terms of how it processes quality signals. However, Google has not provided any details about how quality is now assessed. Search Engine Land explains that, based on past statements from Google, the quality of a particular page or website is determined by a wide range of factors. One possibility is that the search giant is now weighing some of these factors more and others less.

Overall, the details of what Search Engine Land is calling the “Quality Update” remain unclear.

It seems that while some websites have been affected in a negative way by the recent changes, there are others who have experienced an increase in organic traffic since the “Quality Update.” Perhaps this is due to the fact that when a page is lowered in the search ranking results, there is another page that is being considered higher quality and is therefore moving up in the results.

What can marketers and webmasters do to deal with this change?

Unfortunately, because Google isn’t providing any details at this time, it’s impossible to know the specifics of the change in quality assessment, and there does not appear to be a clear pattern amongst websites that are reporting higher or lower visibility since the update. Truly, the only thing to do is to continue focusing on developing the best website possible, with an aim to delivering the top quality and most effectively targeted content to maintain a high ranking with Google.