What do you do if search engine algorithm updates are leaving you behind as a self-employed professional?

1 Stay Informed

To mitigate the impact of algorithm updates, you must stay informed. Subscribe to SEO news sources and forums where such changes are discussed. When a new update rolls out, search engines often provide guidelines or hints about what factors they're emphasizing. By staying ahead of the curve, you can make necessary changes to your website and content strategy promptly, ensuring you remain in good standing with the latest search engine criteria.

2 Analyze Impact

After an update, closely monitor your website's performance. Use analytics tools to track changes in your site's traffic and search rankings. If you notice a significant drop, it's likely due to the algorithm change. Identifying which pages or content types were affected can help you understand what aspects of your website need improvement. This data-driven approach allows for targeted adjustments rather than broad, unfocused changes.

3 Content Quality

Quality content has always been a cornerstone of good SEO practices. Search engines favor content that provides value to users. If you're falling behind after an update, reassess your content. Is it informative, well-written, and relevant to your audience? Improving the quality of your content can help you recover from a hit to your rankings and even prevent future declines when algorithms are tweaked again.

4 Technical SEO

Don't overlook the technical aspects of SEO. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, has fast loading times, and secure connections (HTTPS). These factors are often included in algorithm updates because they affect user experience. Regularly audit your site for technical issues like broken links, improper redirects, or slow pages. Addressing these can improve your site's compliance with new algorithm standards.

5 User Experience

User experience (UX) is increasingly important in SEO. Ensure your website is easy to navigate, has a clean design, and provides a pleasant user journey. If users struggle to find what they need on your site or encounter too many ads and pop-ups, they're likely to leave quickly, which can negatively impact your rankings. Enhancing UX is a continuous process that aligns well with search engines' goals of providing the best results for their users.

6 Adapt Strategy

Finally, be prepared to adapt your overall online strategy. This might include diversifying your traffic sources so that you're not solely reliant on organic search traffic. Engage with social media, build an email list, or explore other marketing channels. By having multiple streams of traffic, you'll be less vulnerable to fluctuations in search engine rankings and better positioned to weather algorithm changes.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?