Search Ranking Algorithm

In August, Google announced a new big search ranking algorithm update, named the helpful content update, probably its biggest update in a decade.

The helpful content update will target websites with a relatively high amount of unsatisfying or unhelpful content, where the content has been written explicitly for search engines to leverage rankings.

Unlike many Google algorithms that get applied page-by-page, this new helpful content update will be site wide. That means that if Google determines your site is producing a relatively high amount of unhelpful content, it will impact your whole site.

A decade ago, Panda and Penguin updates did a lot of damage back then, and there had to be made significant changes to the SEO strategies to recover and protect businesses websites.

According to Google, this update impacted these types of content the most:

  • Online educational materials
  • Arts and entertainment
  • Shopping
  • Tech-related

This is because content written in those areas has historically been written more for search engines than humans.

These are the folks that were hit the hardest:

  • Publishers focused on a broad range of topics like CNET, Forbes, etc.
  • Sites that collect and monetize organic search traffic without providing unique value
  • Sites that have content created with AI tools like Jasper or Copymatic
  • Sites with SEO doorway pages created for the sole purpose of boosting rankings
  • Sites with spammy content with a very high keyword density

New Google Business Profile (GBP) Content Guidelines

Are your GBP posts getting rejected? Well, that’s because GBP has added more restrictions to its list of guidelines. As stated in their support document under the “Avoid Spam” header, Google warns business owners to avoid uploading duplicate photos, posts, videos, or logos.

Here some examples of contents that are not allowed:

  • Misspellings, gimmicky character use, gibberish, or automated or distracting content
  • Images, videos, or links that negatively distract the reader’s attention
  • Links to malware, viruses, or other harmful software
  • Links to sites irrelevant to the business
  • Phishing scams

So, using original images & relevant content is the only way to get your posts accepted.

 

Need help? Get in touch with us for assistance.

 

Google Maps notification about fake Reviews

Recently, it has been discovered that Google Maps is emailing customers who have posted a review for any business when their review is flagged as fake and, therefore, not posted.

It came to light that legitimate reviews started getting flagged as “Fake Engagements”.

Among the many conjectured reasons and suggestions are the following:

  • It may be related to the review content. See prohibited and restricted content. Ask the reviewer to delete it and then write a new review.
  • It may be due to a problem with the reviewer’s account.
  • Because the provider is in France and the client is in Argentina, the distance between them could be the reason.
  • Ask the reviewer to try again, leaving a 4-5 sentence review, and add specifics about the services provided and, if pertinent, the location at which they were provided. If that fails, ask them to leave a review from another account.

As we all know, getting legitimate reviews is not an easy task. It takes a lot of effort to impress a client, and even more to convince the client to post a good review. It is disappointing when our sometimes hard-to-get legitimate reviews get taken down for “algorithmic” reasons, as requesting the client to post it again can be a bit awkward.

So, it’s crucial to learn how to get our good reviews to stick. The better we can prep our customers and clients, the better chance to get it right the first time.