If your business has an online presence, there is a good chance that you have heard of and perhaps even dread Google algorithm updates. You might assume that they are created solely to slash your metrics and slow down your website traffic. And you’re not alone.

Every time Google releases an algorithm update, SEO specialists and thought leaders within the field rush to decode the new algorithm’s inner workings to find out what makes it tick. Then, if they succeed, get to work on rearranging business’s SEO strategies to either match or surpass their previous algorithm rankings.

This approach may seem like the best way forward, but it actually ends up being the opposite. This kind of “metrics hungry mentality” often backfires when it comes to good SEO practices and can hurt instead of helping businesses in the long run. Not only that, it’s inefficient and distracts from the main purpose of SEO, which ultimately wastes business’s time and money.

Choosing to cooperate with Google’s updated algorithms rather than fighting them helps to produce a stronger, superior online presence for businesses while creating a much-improved experience for Google search users.

In the following article, we discuss Google’s algorithm updates and how they affect marketers. We also offer tips for dealing with them to create a better overall experience for everyone involved.

The importance of Google algorithm updates

To begin working with updated algorithms, you need to understand why Google releases updates in the first place. They are designed to create a better internet experience for both businesses and users.

Google’s ultimate goal is to make browsers smarter so that businesses can find their ideal customers and users can find exactly what they are looking for quickly and easily.

Focusing on the wrong metrics

For SEO experts, metrics are everything. They are concerned with total organic clicks, bounce rates, keyword rankings, impressions, etc. All this data is important because it helps them understand what is going on.

The problem comes in however when this data becomes the sole focus. Tunnel vision on metrics and traffic can lead to strategies designed to focus on maximising all the wrong numbers. Which ends up being detrimental because higher rankings aren’t necessarily all good for business. Yes, they might look great on a monthly report but impressions don’t necessarily convert to leads. Which unfortunately makes these particular numbers meaningless.

Quality content generally leads to higher revenue

As an example, let’s take a look at a business that has two sides to its website. One side houses UGC (user-generated content) while the other is filled with professionally created content.

The UGC is mass-produced and generally of lower quality and every time an algorithm update is released, the UGC side of the business suffers. They lose big chunks of traffic, but what’s puzzling is that the business’s overall revenue simultaneously increases.

Why? Because the other side of the business (the side that produces strictly professionally created content) continues to do well.

The high quality, professionally generated content is favoured by Google’s algorithm because it’s what users were looking for when they typed in their search query.

Long story short, businesses should focus on creating an effective website with relevant professionally created content rather than only focusing on SEO hacks and metrics. Once they do that, the clicks will come organically.

Google’s algorithm updates aren’t your enemy

Google’s algorithm updates are here to stay and the sooner we can accept this, the sooner we can learn to work with them by coming up with strategies that complement these updates.

To start, have conversations with your site visitors and ask specifically about your website’s user experience to get in touch with what your customers actually want.

Once you have a good idea of what your visitors need, you can get to work on creating a website that accommodates both your customers and Google’s algorithm criteria.

Finding harmony between the two will help to ease stress and do wonders in boosting your business. When your site starts showing up organically, you’ll be able to begin effortlessly connecting with customers.